What has in the past and what is going to happen in Rio 2012? Rio+20: from environment to sustainable development To grasp the background and stakes of Rio+20, it is useful to have a look at the Stockholm-to-Rio continuum of the Conferences, and to go through some key milestones in the long march that gave birth to international agreements on sustainable development. How did we move from Environment to Sustainable Development, what are the consequences of this move, and where … [Read more...]
Sahely Ferdous, Superintendent in 100% Female Formed Police Unit, Haiti
May 30, 2012 by
Sahely Ferdous, Superintendent in the Bangladesh Formed Police Unit, Haiti The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, commemorated each year on 29 of May, is an occasion to salute the 120,000 peacekeepers serving in 17 missions in some of the world’s most volatile and dangerous environments. In the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the Bangladeshi contingent is composed entirely of women. Leading by example, the 102 women contribute to restoring … [Read more...]
World Pulse is Taking Action for RIO +20 – Submit Your Story !!!
May 29, 2012 by
Advise World Leaders on What Sustainable and Equitable Development Means to YOU In partnership with the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), World Pulse is collecting personal stories outlining women’s experiences and recommendations on sustainable and equitable development for presentation at the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. How Can My Voice Be Included? SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Log in to your PulseWire account. Not a … [Read more...]
Bhutan: Namgay Peldon, first woman elected ‘Gup of Tashiding Gewog’
May 24, 2012 by
Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, tr ʼbrug-yul, "Druk Yul"; Devanagari भूटान, Bhūṭān), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from the nearby country of Nepal to the west by the Indian state of Sikkim, and from Bangladesh to the south by the Indian states of Assam and West … [Read more...]
Victims Without a Voice – 18 month old dies from RAPE – Take Action!
May 23, 2012 by
- Fighting child sexual abuse - "18-month old baby boy died of internal damage after being raped" "I am not sure which of the following story is more painful; the pain of the children without a voice OR the spiritual condition of the souls inside these perpetrators, brutally pillaging INNOCENCE. WHAT compels a grown man to violently hurt a child let alone penetrate and violate through RAPE?" KINGSTON, Jamaica, May 2012 – A nine-year old boy was systematically raped by his … [Read more...]
India: Transforming poor rural women into successful business managers
May 22, 2012 by
Ten years ago Pushpa Devi Maurya joined a self-help group to make ends meet in the village of Chak Padri in the state of Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Today this 35-year-old mother of two manages the bulk milk chilling centre set up by the milk producers’ company near her village. The centre collects milk from 56 villages and supplies on average 2000 litres of milk a day to the state’s milk grid. This project was possible because women’s voices are starting to be heard. The lives of 50,000 … [Read more...]
BOGOTA – Margot Wallström hears stories of sexual violence
May 22, 2012 by
Margot Wallström hears stories from survivors of sexual violence in an IDP community, 100 km from Bogota, Colombia. UN Photo/R. Riveros Colombia must increase its efforts to fight impunity for crimes of sexual violence, a United Nations envoy said today, adding that such efforts should be paired with assistance to survivors and victims.“I understand that the country as a whole wants to look to the future, instead of dwelling on the past, but there can be no lasting peace without security … [Read more...]
New Asia – Pacific report focuses on transgender persons
May 22, 2012 by
Bangkok – A lack of targeted research on transgender persons in Asia and the Pacific is significantly hindering their access to health services and blocking effective responses to HIV, says a groundbreaking study released here today to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. In this region, where long marginalized sexual minorities are already bearing the brunt of the HIV epidemic, transgender persons are among the most socially ostracized, lacking fundamental … [Read more...]
BANGLEDESH: women build better roads
May 20, 2012 by
BANGLEDESH: women build better roads One of the exciting things about training that cuts across divisions is that you get to learn stuff from colleagues with very different experiences of IFAD’s work. The gender training that’s been running this week was an excellent opportunity for this because the sessions I attended involved a lot of group work and discussion, as well as giving guidance and insights on the challenging business of gender mainstreaming. That’s how I learnt that poor … [Read more...]
Afghanistan is no longer the worst place in the world to be a mother!
May 15, 2012 by
Afghanistan is no longer the worst place in the world to be a mother, according to a new report by Save the Children. I am at once heartened and shocked by this news. If that respected NGO can show that progress has been made in this country, it must be true, and that is a good thing. But then this means that there is a place where women risk even more to have a child than in Afghanistan. My heart goes out to the women of Niger, the new holders of this soul-wrenching title. Even … [Read more...]
Biologist Bryan Ballif, Langereis & Junior blood type proteins
May 12, 2012 by
You probably know your blood type: A, B, AB or O. You may even know if you’re Rhesus positive or negative. But how about I tell you that in addition to those 2 systems (ABO and Rhesus), one could have as far as 28 other types in his blood? Intriguing, isn’t it? 28 in fact, until a week ago. The number has now grown to 30 with the discovery of 2 new blood types, raising the total, alongside the classics we know to 32 blood types discovered so far. MNS, Lewis, Duffy, Kidd, Kell are the … [Read more...]
HEROINE – History & Hope for Solutions
May 11, 2012 by
Heroin was first synthesized in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, an English chemist working at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, England. He had been experimenting with combining morphine with various acids. He boiled anhydrous morphine alkaloid with acetic anhydride over a stove for several hours and produced a more potent, acetylated form of morphine, now called diacetylmorphine. The compound was sent to F. M. Pierce of Owens College in Manchester for analysis, who reported the … [Read more...]
