January 31, 2010

Climate Terror: Global Warming, Failed States, and the Rise of Terrorism


A very interesting article I just found in the Huffington Post dated January 18, 2010 from Colin J. Fleming, about how climate change and its consequenceson development may represent a challenge to international security.


January 28, 2010

MASHAV 2.0 - Israel Center for International Cooperation goes digital

Look at this blog post about MASHAV... nice. Thank you!
http://diplomatstalk.blogspot.com/2010/01/mashav-20-israel-center-for.html

Human Rights Council opens Special Session on Support to Recovery process in Haiti: A Human Rights approach


The Office of the High Commissioner for Human rights of the UN published a report following the Special Session on “The Support of the Human Rights Council to the Recovery Process in Haiti after the Earthquake of January 12, 2010.


Haitian boy to undergo heart surgery in Israel

An article from Ynet, January 27, 2010
Six-year old Wadley to arrive in Israel on flight with returning delegation for life-saving surgery.
Six-year old Wadley Elysee, a resident of a small Haitian village, will join the returning Israeli delegation on an El Al flight home Thursday. It will be the boy's first time on an airplane, and he says he is very excited.
Wadley is suffering from four different heart defects, which keep oxygen from circulating properly through his body. If he does not undergo a complicated surgical procedure he will in all probability not reach the age of 10.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3840758,00.html

January 24, 2010

Update on Rescue and Relief Efforts in Haiti


An update on the U.S rescue efforts in Haiti. From Dipnote, the official blog of the US Department of State.


Israel and Germany Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel, signed an MOU in Berlin on January 18, 2010, regarding development cooperation with emphasis on water and agriculture.

Following the cooperation agreement signed between the two parties in March 2008, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs through MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will join forces to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by enhancing cooperation in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia with particular emphasis on water management, agricultural development and public health.

Israeli aid to Haiti, field hospital set up

The Israeli delegation landed in the capital of Port-Au-Prince on Friday evening (15 January) and established its operation center in a soccer field near the airport. On Tuesday night (Jan. 19), an additional team joined the IDF forces operating in Haiti since last week’s earthquake, consisting of GOC of the Home Front Command, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, CEO of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Eitan Hai-Am, and the Chief Medical officer, Brig. Gen. Nahman Esh. After landing, the team arrived at the IDF field hospital and was updated on the current situation regarding the treatment of victims.

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Israeli_aid_arrives_Haiti_17-Jan-2010.htm

January 14, 2010

Israeli search and rescue delegation departs to Haiti


Following the tragic earthquake in Haiti, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Wednesday), 13 January 2010, ordered Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Public Security Ministry officials to quickly consider how to render humanitarian assistance to the Caribbean nation. To this end, an advance IDF Home Front Command, IDF Medical Corps and Foreign Ministry delegation has already departed for Haiti.



January 11, 2010

Nicole Kidman helps break ground on UN-backed centre to end violence against women

from UN news Center- 8 January 2010 – Actress and Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman is set to help break ground today on a new centre located in San Francisco to combat violence against women, part of an initiative between the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Family Violence Prevention Fund.
According to UNIFEM, data suggests that up to 70 per cent of women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33439&Cr=violence+against+women&Cr1

Meeting the challenges of climate change in Israel

Based on its rich experience in developing cutting-edge technologies in such fields as water management, recycling and reuse of treated wastewater, desert agriculture and afforestation, the challenges presented by climate change may well serve as a lever to position Israel as a regional and global center of knowledge on adaptation to climate change. Dr. Yeshayahu Bar-Or, Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, strongly believes that "in about 20 years, Europe will experience some of the conditions that Israel faces today. Therefore, Israel has a great deal to offer to the international community in terms of technologies for effluent irrigation, combating desertification, agriculture and forestation in desert conditions and salinity reduction."
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20politics/Meeting_challenges_climate_change-Dec_2009.htm

January 1, 2010

Third International Renewable Energy Conference to be held in Eilat

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20politics/International_Renewable_Energy_Conference-Feb_2010.htm

The Third International Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference will be held in February in Eilat. Organized by the Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Administration in association with the Technologies Company, the conference focuses on the latest innovations in renewable energy.
The conference is an international forum encouraging discussion and debate of policies, technology, business and investment practices to lead to cost effective, doable solutions. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the conference, including former US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones, who is now the Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency; Michael Peevey, President of California Public Utility Commission and Dr. Hermann Scheer, General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy.

Hebrew University receives $5 million grant to research disease in Ethiopia

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases a $5 million grant for research into visceral leishmaniasis in Ethiopia. The project is a collaborative effort with Addis Ababa University.

http://www.israel21c.org/briefs/5-m-for-disease-control-in-ethiopia