Following a successful pilot, a new two-year agreement was approved today between the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and the City of Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS), which manages the city's overall homelessness outreach, to continue providing expanded outreach and support for riders who are unsheltered, as well as those grappling with mental health and substance abuse.

Unexpected increase in consumer demand

VIENNA, 13 July 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that media laws under consideration by the Parliament in Moldova run counter to international standards on media freedom.

On 7 July the Parliament adopted, in the first reading, three amendments to the Audio-visual Code of the Republic of Moldova. All three amendments aim to limit broadcasts in foreign languages or those originating from abroad.

“It is counterproductive to try to limit speech through excessively restrictive legislation,” Mijatović wrote in a letter yesterday to the Chairperson of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Andrian Candu. “In my view it seems excessive and may be ineffective.”

The reasoning given for introducing the restrictive provisions banning broadcasts or rebroadcasts of certain content is that it originates from states that are neither members of the European Union, nor are parties to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. 

“I trust that the draft laws will be carefully reviewed by the members of Parliament before being adopted in the second reading, ensuring that the regulation does not pose undue limits on free expression and free flow of information,” Mijatović said.

The Representative also pointed to the recommendations of her Office’s non-paper “Propaganda and Freedom of the Media” published in 2015 (available at www.osce.org/fom/203926).

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom. 

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Building capacities of Ukrainian gender equality advisors was the focus of the workshop Mainstreaming Gender into Communication, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Equal Opportunities Caucus of the Parliament of Ukraine in Lviv, western Ukraine, on 24 June 2016.

Twenty-five participants from government and civil society, representing seven regions of Ukraine, had the opportunity to learn about effective ways to include a gender perspective into their internal and external communication.

Oksana Yurynets, a Member of Ukrainian Parliament and the Equal Opportunities Caucus, said: "The workshop focused on enhancing the abilities of regional state-administration gender advisors to communicate clear, strong messages to general public. Such communication helps to create an environment where dialogue about gender equality is possible. Working on these issues is very important for Ukraine as a country where equality remains a strategic target."

Kateryna Ryabiko, Project Co-ordinator at ODIHR, said that in accordance with the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, ODIHR is tasked to promote equality between women and men throughout the OSCE area, including through education in gender awareness. "Promoting gender mainstreaming is essential to recognizing gender equality as a vital element of democratization of society."

Participants also discussed findings of the recent report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that urged Ukraine to intensify its efforts to overcome persistent stereotypes that are discriminatory against women and to improve national capacity for promoting gender equality.

The event was organized as part of ODIHR’s project on “Strengthening dialogue among civil society and with key government stakeholders in Ukraine on human dimension issues”. It was launched in April 2015 with the aim of enhancing effective mechanisms for dialogue to address key human rights issues in Ukraine, in line with OSCE commitments and international standards.

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Two hackers have been indicted for their role in the AT&T and Ticketmaster data breaches.

[Written by Stephen Wright] Vanessa James has reached the final of Dancing on Ice on British television along with her partner Greg Rutherford, the former Olympic long jumper. James, who is no stranger to reality TV, having previously appeared on Battle of the Blades – a Canadian figure skating competition, will compete in the final […]

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Tehran, Iran — International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi was to hold talks with top Iranian officials Thursday on Tehran's nuclear program, a week after Donald Trump's re-election as US president. During his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021, Trump was the architect of a policy called "maximum pressure," which levied against Tehran biting sanctions that had been lifted through a landmark nuclear agreement in 2015. Grossi, who is the director general of the UN agency, arrived at Tehran airport on Wednesday evening and was greeted by Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). Grossi is set to meet Thursday in Tehran with AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami as well as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and the major powers that resulted in the 2015 deal formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The deal, reached after 21 months of negotiations between Iran and world powers, gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to guarantee that it could not develop a nuclear weapon -- something it has always denied wanting to do. Three years later, then-president Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement and reimposed heavy sanctions against Iran. Search for solutions A year later, Iran started to gradually roll back its commitments to the nuclear deal, which only allowed Tehran to enrich uranium to 3.65% purity. The IAEA says Iran has considerably increased its reserves of enriched uranium to 60%, close to the 90% needed to develop an atomic bomb. The head of the IAEA "will do what he can to prevent the situation going from bad to worse" given the significant differences between Tehran and Western capitals, analyst Ali Vaez, an Iran expert for the Crisis Group, a U.S.-based think tank, told AFP. "The one who left the agreement was not Iran, it was America," Iran's government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Wednesday. "Mr. Trump once tried the path of maximum pressure and saw that this path did not work." Grossi's visit comes only two days after the defense minister of Iran's arch enemy Israel warned that the Islamic republic was "more exposed than ever to strikes on its nuclear facilities." The two countries have exchanged missile fire in recent months in a context of high tensions in the Middle East due to the war waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and in Lebanon against Hezbollah, two militant groups allied with Iran. Trump's return to the White House in January also raises fears of rising tensions between Iran and his country. "The margins for maneuver are beginning to shrink," Grossi warned in an interview with AFP on Tuesday, adding that "it is imperative to find ways to reach diplomatic solutions." Religious decree Grossi has said that while Iran does not have any nuclear weapons at this moment in time, it does have plenty of nuclear materials that could be used eventually to make a weapon. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who came to office in July with hopes of improving ties with the West and having sanctions lifted, favors a revival of the nuclear deal. But all efforts to get the nuclear agreement off life support have so far failed. The IAEA chief has repeatedly called for more cooperation from Iran. In recent years, Tehran has decreased its interaction with the UN agency by deactivating surveillance devices needed to monitor the nuclear program and effectively barring its inspectors. The foundations of Iran's nuclear program date back to the late 1950s, when the United States signed a civil cooperation agreement with Iran's then-Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In 1970, Iran ratified the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires signatory states to declare and place their nuclear materials under the IAEA control. But with Iran threatening to hit back at Israel for its latest missile strikes, some lawmakers in the Islamic republic have called on the government to revise its nuclear doctrine to pursue nuclear weapons. The parliamentarians called on supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority in Iran, to reconsider his long-standing religious edict or fatwa banning nuclear weapons. The Islamic republic has maintained its policy against acquiring nuclear weapons, insisting its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.

[allAfrica] Margareth Mwakilasa, an assistant research fellow at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania and a PhD student in Global Health at University College Dublin, presented her research findings at the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference (#HIVR4P2024) in Lima, Peru. Her study, titled ''They are Not HIV Treatment Drugs; They are Preventive Drugs (PrEP): Experiences of Using PrEP Among Vulnerable Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Tanzania,'' was part of the Oral Abstract

KARACHI: The country’s Advance to Deposit Ratio (ADR) has been gradually contracting and stood at 37 per cent in June, down from 41pc in December.

This was revealed in the latest issue of A.F. Ferguson & Co’s PwC Banking Publication — Road to Sustainability. This year’s release features core themes like economy, credit penetration and digital transformation, carries insights from over 25 industry leaders, over 10 local and global surveys, snapshots of over 40 international banks and over 10 geographic regions.

“Investment to Deposit Ratio (IDR), on the other hand, has surged from 33pc in 2007 to 88pc in 2023 and 94pc in Jun-24,” the publication reported. These key benchmarks, relative to certain other economies, indicate an enormous potential for credit penetration in the country, it added. There was a sharp rise in profitability on the back of higher margins and non-funded income from different avenues. However, higher tax charges triggered disproportionate moderation in baseline profitability.

The publication offered suggestions for sustained, long-term economic growth. One of the core themes discussed with industry leaders and senior professionals was the country’s economic outlook. Experts underscored the importance of addressing structural deficiencies to improve GDP growth and other key economic indicators.

Only 3pc of SMEs borrow from banks; 75pc farmers rely on informal sources for credit

“Consistent economic policies and actionable long-term roadmap of interventions were also stressed upon,” said the Banking Publication. Experts see increasing imports and consumption as harmful for balance of payments and foreign exchange reserves, it added.

“Opportunities for export diversification and import substitution are enormous, especially in agriculture and tech sectors,” said the report.

Agriculture and SMEs

According to the report, SMEs and agriculture are the backbone of the nation’s progress. “Contributing 40pc of GDP, SMEs constitute nearly 90pc of all private enterprises in Pakistan, generate 30pc in export earnings and employ one-third of the country’s workforce,” said the report. “Out of five million enterprises, fewer than three per cent borrowed from banks,” it reported.

It said around 75pc of farmers still rely on informal sources of credit. Despite its historic importance, access to affordable growth capital remains restrictive.

“Financing for these critical sectors has been declining over the years and currently stands below eight per cent of total loans,” said the Banking Publication. Lending to the private sector is at 12pc of GDP, it added.

According to the publication, deposits grew significantly by 24pc to reach Rs29.1 trillion in 2023, with a further increase of 12pc in June this year, touching Rs32.5tr.

“Advances rose by four per cent to Rs13tr, much lower than 16pc growth rate of 2022, with no further increase till June 2024,” the report added. A significant expansion of 42pc was noted in investments, which reached Rs25.6tr last year and rose by 19pc to Rs30.4tr by June this year.

Borrowings were up by 51pc to Rs11.3tr last year, and by 12pc in Jun-24.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

Longtime Democratic Party strategist James Carville defended his past comments warning that the Democratic Party will lose male voters if it does not change its messaging.

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Subdeacon Adam Lowell Roberts joins Fr. Barnabas to talk about taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. How do we evangelize as Orthodox Christians? You will also learn about an exciting new evangelism initiative in the Antiochian Archdiocese.

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Today, L&T technology Services Limited, an ER&D service provider to myriad technology continuum, inked a multi-million dollar contract with a giant global semi-conductor company.

The good ones help us reach home

The public Cloud services market in India will grow 35.9 pct in 2016 to total $1.3 billion, a new report by market research firm Gartner revealed on Friday.