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ISSUE NO.7 - MARCH 2003
News Views is a free quarterly journal providing information and unique outlooks on current news, sports, travel, education, technological and environmental issues. The journal offers balanced articles and has a global focus. There are also daily world news headlines, a weekly column and Coffee Break, giving readers a chance to post their views on the weeks topic.
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CURRENT AFFAIRS |
TRAVEL |
ENVIRONMENT |
TECH-BYTES |
EDUCATION |
SPORT |
On February 5th 2003, Reuters reported that UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair could be tried under the new International Criminal Court (ICC)
The southern region of Egypt is an awe-inspiring travel destination. With the Nile as a lifeline, a number of cities situate along the river banks 
2003 celebrates the International Year of Freshwater, but all is not as it should be in the freshwater environment
The concept of Virtual Private Networks is simple. Take the Internet, and use encryption to pass traffic between two or more locations securely 
Romantics will tell you love is everything; Monty Python will say the meaning of life is 42; corporate executives will tell you “people are our greatest asset”
Stress affects all of us, differentially and often unexpectedly. This article focuses on racing superbikes to gain an insight into the world of the peak performer
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On Monday 24th February, 116 countries met in Malaysia for the 13th Summit of non-aligned countries, known collectively as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Although there was some coverage of the Summit by news stations and western media, much of the discussion constituted a brief overview of the two day event. The analysis and interpretation of current global events that took place during the Summit provides insights into international issues through the eyes of nations whose opinion in western media is often unheard. The Summit represents the views of some 3 billion people through their elected politicians. This editorial extracts a few of the points made in the final report of the Summit alongside providing readers with access to the full version of the final report. Due to the size of the document, 82 pages, News Views has created quick links to topics so readers can easily access areas of the report that are of specific interest.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) began in 1961, created initially in response to the concerns of the global climate when the Cold War was in full swing. 25 countries attended the initial conference in former Yugoslavia. Since then, the numbers of nations represented at the summits have grown significantly. Summits are held every three years with the agendas moving away from the political arena into discussions on global economics and other important global issues. The countries that are members of the Non-Aligned Movement are listed at the end of the final report.
The 13th Summit covered 4 major areas; global issues, analysis of the international situation, economic issues and social issues. The overall aim of the delegates was to agree a set of actions by members to promote, "peace, security, justice, equality, democracy and development". A vast number of topics were considered, this article documents only a tiny selection of the very valuable concerns identified at the Summit and documented through the final NAM report.
The first Chapter within the final report is entitled 'Global Issues' and examines such matters as the current international situation, the state and role of the United Nations, international law, disarmament and terrorism. In the present global climate, with the onset of a new war alongside further terrorism, an insight into the perspectives of half of the world who are often on the other side of the battles is vital to promote understanding. Below are a few of the extracts from this section of the report,
In the second part of the report, which looks at an 'Analysis of the International Situation', specific countries are assessed within Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. Examples from this section include;
Source:NAM
To find out what NAM considered significant issues for other various countries around the globe such as Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, Cyprus and Rwanda, view chapter two of the final report
Economic issues were the concern of chapter three. This examined affairs like international trade, monetary issues, sustainable development, food security and agendas specific to Africa's least developed and land-locked countries. For one aspect of external debt, NAM highlighted that,
- "The Heads of State or Government noted with concern the persistence of the external debt problem and its unfortunate consequences in the countries of the Movement, where the vicious cycle of debt and underdevelopment has become further entrenched. They expressed their alarm at the burden of debt payments which has become heavier in many countries of the South. They emphasised the need for the durable solution of the external debt problems of developing countries. They therefore urged the intensification of measures on debt relief to promote development and investments in accordance with the priorities and needs of developing countries."
For further information on Economic Issues, visit chapter three of the final report.
The final consideration was that of 'Social Issues', such as human rights, racism, situation of women and international drug control. A few of the interesting stances on these themes were,
- Human Rights: The Heads of State or Government emphasised that human rights issues must be addressed within the global context through a constructive, dialogue-based approach, with objectivity, respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of the States, impartiality, non-selectivity and transparency as the guiding principles, taking into account the political, historical, social, religious and cultural characteristics of each country. Exploitation of human rights for political purposes, including selective targeting of individual countries for extraneous considerations, which is contrary to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter, should be excluded. They reiterated that co-ordination of human rights activities must be carried out by the United Nations organs, bodies, programmes and specialised agencies, whose activities deal with human rights, so as to co-operate in order to strengthen, rationalise and streamline those activities, taking into account the need to avoid duplication.
- International Drug Control: The Heads of State or Government also remained committed to the pledge undertaken at the XI Summit to strengthen international co-operation to eradicate the growing and dangerous links between terrorist groups, drug traffickers and their paramilitary gangs, and other armed criminal groups which have resorted to all types of violence, thus undermining the democratic institutions of States and violating basic human rights. Effective measures must be taken to halt the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, which is linked to illicit drug trafficking and which is generating unacceptable levels of crime and violence affecting the national security and the economies of many States.
The examples detailed in this editorial outline a very brief look at the many issues featured in the report. For any reader interested in achieving a greater understanding of international, economic and social issues, as seen by non-western nations, the final report from the 13th Summit of the NAM is an important read. For further information, visit the NAM website
Weekly Column: 25 May 03 Insights: Iraq to publish its first newspaper of the new era Last week on NWI, a report by Ian Williams of Channel 4 news looked at the beginnings of a new 'free' press in Iraq. Formerly the media was under the stronghold of Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Uday and as the report explains, his style of control was authoritarian, sometimes violent and often under the influence of alcohol. Williams witnesses the wheels of an Iraqi newspaper starting to turn, the press has begun rolling. But it is not a day ofcelebration and employees cautiously appear from an unmarked building where the journalism is underway. This is the first newspaper in the post-Saddam era but people are still very wary, explains Williams.
Full Story
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