
Any kind of terrorism, religious extremism is unacceptable in Africa: Ethiopian leader
Speaking to ANI, he said: "We have to work together with the people of India and all relevant authorities in the African Union and the UN to eradicate this evil act."
"India and Ethiopia have a very long-standing relationship. Terrorism happens in some parts of Africa. Any kind of terrorism and religious extremism is unacceptable in Africa. We have to stand together. A global coalition is very important," he added.
The Supriya Sule-led delegation is in Ethiopia. The delegation includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjit Singh Sahney (AAP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Anand Sharma (Congress), V Muraleedharan (BJP), and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin.
On Saturday, the delegation had several meetings, including one with Adem Farah, Vice President of the Prosperity Party, Ethiopia's ruling party; a meeting with the Peace and Security Council of the African Union at its Headquarters; meeting with former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, and also met with Tagesse Chaffo, Speaker of the House of Peoples' Representatives of Ethiopia and members of the House.
The delegation had arrived at Bole International Airport in Ethiopia on Friday, where they were received and welcomed by the Ambassador of India to Ethiopia, Anil Kumar Rai.
Recently, the delegation concluded its diplomatic visit to South Africa with a series of meetings at India House in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, involving political leaders, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora.
Seven all-party delegations are taking part in various outreach programmes in the countries they are assigned to.
The delegations aim to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its fight against cross-border terrorism.
The seven delegations are visiting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Algeria, the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, the US, Panama, Guyana, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Latvia, Russia, Egypt, Qatar, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
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3 days ago
- Times of Oman
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Later, officials said a methane explosion triggered the landslide. That day completely changed life for Nansamba's family. When she returned to see if her house was still standing, she found the building intact, but many others destroyed and the cows in the neighboring meadow were all dead. "Some of the people lost their property, lost their lives," she tells DW. "Until now, we are living a miserable life. We had rental apartments down there, and I was able to pay my children's school fees with the income from those apartments." What happens now with Kampala's waste? Immediately after the disaster, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) told residents living near the landslide to move over the risk of further collapse. But families like Nansamba's, who live in this poor neighbourhood on Kampala's northern outskirts, have no money to settle elsewhere. Fear of another potential landslide keeps her awake at night, says Nansamba. Her husband is undergoing psychiatric treatment. 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The municipality has big plans for processing the city's waste, he said, Those include a composting project to create biogas. An estimated 80% of household trash is compostable biowaste, composed mainly of organic matter, because Kampala residents rarely eat processed food. The rest could be recycled, Nuweabine said. In early 2024, the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad held a conference in Kampala on the circular economy and waste processing, with companies such as Siemens listening to the Environment Ministry's plans to recycle more materials — still a rare process in Africa. Uganda's new landfills won't just be dumping grounds, but will also be recycling centres. New dumping ground proves controversial But so far, the idea lacks investors and funding. Unsorted waste is still being dumped in Buyala, which remains controversial, according to Aldon Walukamba, spokesperson for Uganda's National Forestry Authority. "To our knowledge, this is still a forest reserve," Walukamba told DW. "It is located in the catchment area of the Mayanja River, a key contributor to Lake Victoria and its biodiversity ecosystem." But, he added, "we found that indeed some garbage had been dumped." When Walukamba went to the area himself in December 2024, soldiers and police officers were on site. In Uganda, the parliament and president must give their approval before forest reserves can be released for other uses. "This wasn't done," said Walukamba. He suspects the city administration and the previous landowners worked together "hastily and illegally" to secure the sale of the land. The controversy has sparked several court cases. The KCCA insists the land near Buyala, where garbage is now being dumped, belonged to two private individuals from whom KCCA legally acquired the land in March. A court ordered an investigation into whether it was a reserve. "The report found the land in question is not part of the forest reserve," said KCCA spokesperson Nuweabine. Back in Kiteezi, the victims of the landslide that kicked everything off are still waiting for compensation to allow them to live somewhere safe. Speaking with DW, Nuweabine said that just recently a cabinet meeting had drafted a memorandum and an order had been issued to the relevant Finance Ministry to pay victims.


Times of Oman
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Times of Oman
05-08-2025
- Times of Oman
Can a global treaty solve the plastics crisis?
Geneva: After a failed attempt to finalize a global plastics treaty last year in Busan, South Korea, 170 countries are meeting in Geneva from Tuesday until August 14 to negotiate a binding agreement on reducing plastic waste. Delegates will decide the extent to which plastic production should be limited and also the design, disposal and waste management of plastic across its whole lifecycle. Worldwide, 413 million tons of plastic are produced annually, enough to fill over half a million Olympic swimming pools. Just 9% of this is recycled. The rest is incinerated or ends up in landfills or the ocean. Along the way, it pollutes the soil and harms wildlife and human health. Microplastics have found their way into every corner of the planet — and the human body. 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The pro-plastics lobby argues that the plastic crisis is founded on "poor waste management" and cannot be solved by limiting demand, notes Titze. Therefore, they want an agreement that focuses on plastic collection, consumer information and higher recycling rates. However, this would not stop overproduction, which Titze believes is the actual source of the problem. Virginia Janssens, managing director of Plastics Europe, which represents plastic producers in the region, warns against "oversimplified measures such as capping global production of primary plastics." While she admits that plastic pollution is a serious problem, solutions require "system-wide collaboration, not just within our sector, but across value chains, public authorities and more broadly," Janssens told DW. Recycling will not solve the problem Although recycling and waste management are important parts of combating the plastics crisis, they remain limited without reducing the amount of plastic, explained Bergmann, who will accompany the German delegation at the treaty negotiations. "If the amount of plastic in circulation increases every year, then we will need more and more of these infrastructures [for recycling and waste management]," said the scientist. "We can already see in the richer parts of the world that our systems cannot cope, despite the huge budget that we are already allocating to this." And that is despite a nation like Germany spending around €16 billion ($18.5 million) annually on waste management, water purification and combating environmental pollution. Hypocrisy from Germany and the EU? With around eight million tons of plastic produced annually, Germany is by far the largest plastic manufacturer in Europe, followed by Belgium and France. Globally, one-third of all plastics come from China, and just under 20% from other Asian countries and North America. Meanwhile, per capita annual plastic consumption in North America and Europe is 94 kilograms (207 pounds) and 85 kilograms, respectively. In China, the figure is 58 kilograms. Some experts who are close to the talks say it is hypocritical that the most ambitious countries demanding drastic plastic production cuts are the biggest plastic consumers. "Everybody is claiming to be super ambitious. I mean, at some point, it's even becoming perverse," said Aleksandar Rankovic, the founder of the Common Initiative environmental think tank and a regular observer at the treaty negotiations. He warns against placing responsibility solely on oil-producing countries and manufacturers and doubts that a binding target to produce a "sustainable level" of plastic can be achieved since it is too vague. Meanwhile, Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety says it's necessary to reduce primary plastic production to support a circular economy approach that aims to minimize resource consumption and keep materials in use for as long as possible — in addition to recycling. Italy, Spain, and France share this view and are promoting a corresponding position in the EU. The power of the plastics lobby In addition to national negotiating teams, hundreds of stakeholders from the plastics and chemical industries are expected in Geneva. "My experience is that there has been quite a bit of lobbying and efforts to undermine science around plastics that has been increasing over the past few years," explains Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden who researches the harmful effects of chemicals in plastics — high ambition countries also want to reduce toxin levels in plastics. Last year, more lobbyists attended the treaty round in Busan than all the delegates from the European Union member states combined. Carney Almroth says the industry is trying to cast doubt on the credibility of science with its own biased studies. But Janssens of Plastics Europe told DW that the association and its members "recognize the importance of independent science." "Ensuring evidence-based dialogue and decision-making is critical to finding the most effective solutions," she added. Carney Almroth, meanwhile, says scientists like herself have been defamed and intimidated in emails, in the media, or in letters to the editors of scientific publications. She claims that at a conference in Canada, a representative of the packaging industry stormed into the lecture hall and accused her of spreading misinformation. After Carney Almroth filed a complaint with the UN, the man was forced to apologise. Will it remain a historic opportunity? Rankovic does not believe that a groundbreaking agreement will be adopted in Geneva, but rather a kind of framework convention, a minimum consensus that could then be built upon in the coming years. Nonetheless, with plastic production set to double in the next 20 years, time is running out. With an agreement, we have a historic opportunity to get the plastic problem under control, says Bergmann.