International
International
Half of World's PCs Use Pirated Software – Survey
A Business Software Alliance (BSA) survey shows that almost half of personal computer users around the world get their software illegally, with China's massive market the worst culprit.
In its new survey, BSA found that 47 percent of personal computer users globally believe there is nothing wrong with using unauthorised copies of software programmes.
The survey of 15 000 personal computer users in 32 countries found that Chinese users have the most relaxed attitude to piracy.
To read the article titled, “Half of world's computers use pirated software,” click here.Source:Times LiveAfrican Youth Day Conference 2011
The Organisation of African Youth (OAYouth) is the youth platform for information exchange, forum for debate on African issues and a network of future political, corporate, academic, literary, religious and traditional leaders in all African contexts.
The African Youth Day was declared and adopted by the African Union (AU) in 2006 to be commemorated on 1 November each year. It has since evolved as the most powerful platform of young people of Africa.
OAYouth, in collaboration with Phelps Stokes and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is hosting the ‘African Youth Day Conference 2011 (AYDAC'11)’ on 1 November 2011 in Johannesburg.
The youth of Africa will convene at AYDAC’11 to celebrate the African Youth Day. The conference will pave way for youth to examine workable methods to improve youth unity as well as strengthen youth economic empowerment through leadership development, entrepreneurship support and agricultural transformation.
Conference Objectives:- Echo the voice of ordinary young people of Africa;
- Share information and best practices in promoting opportunities for youth encouraging youth to start new entrepreneurship initiatives;
- Establish suitable structures for meeting the unique needs for youth business start-ups in developing economies in Africa;
- Build lasting relationships between youth and business institutions;
- Infuse a gender perspective and rights-based approach to policies and programs for youth;
- Cultivate in the youth the spirit of accountability, transparency and integrity (ATI).
Cost: R2 430 per delegate.
For sponsorships, exhibitions and applications, write to: info@oayouth.org.
Enquiries: Tel: +27 73 445 4355.
For more about The Organisation of African Youth, refer to www.oayouth.org.Event type:ConferenceEvent venue:Ingwenya Country Escape, Lanseria, JohannesburgEvent start date:01/11/2011No Excuse for Neglecting 10 Million People With HIV
Governments must commit to massively scale up treatment at UN Summit on AIDSGovernments will meet at the United Nations (UN) in New York for an HIV/AIDS Summit from 8 to 10 June, to discuss the global response to the epidemic over the next five to ten years. Hanging in the balance will be the lives of the 10 million people in urgent need of treatment, at a time when the latest science tells us that treating HIV not only saves lives, but also dramatically reduces transmission of the virus from one person to another – by 96 percent.10 years ago, at the first major UN meeting on HIV/AIDS, then- Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, called for a ‘war chest’ to respond to the epidemic. The decade that followed saw an unprecedented mobilisation of political will and funding to put six million people put on life-saving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). But much more is needed to break the back of the epidemic.Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) began treating HIV/AIDS in 2000, and has seen the tremendous positive effect treatment has had on people and communities, reducing deaths and illness. The introduction of ARVs has transformed HIV from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease. More and more people are receiving treatment – now more than six million in developing countries – and there are now new tools, treatment strategies and innovations that can help reach even more people.One major factor that allowed treatment scale-up to today’s levels was the fact that the price of ARVs dropped dramatically over the past decade, from more than US$10 000 in 2000 to roughly US$150 today. This price decline has made lifesaving drugs accessible to millions of people in developing countries. The newer generation of ARVs has fewer side-effects, which has a positive effect on people’s ability to adhere to their treatment.Another factor that has helped expand treatment is bringing care closer to patients, to local community clinics and health posts. This has particularly improved access to treatment for people in remote rural areas, who otherwise would struggle to find time and money to travel to distant central hospitals. Innovative models where patients are empowered to play an active role in managing their own treatment has also helped solve some of the issues related to distance, and has helped alleviate the burden on health systems. Moreover, shifting tasks from doctors to nurses, and in turn from nurses to lay workers, has reduced the pressure on overburdened health staff without compromising on quality of care.The lessons learned over the last decade have shown us how to reach people with care in developing countries. The World Health Organisation now recommends people receive better-tolerated medicines, earlier in their disease progression, before they become very sick. This is an important step in the right direction. And there are innovations on the way that could help us more easily reach even more people. New drugs and innovative formulations; ways of producing drugs that could bring their cost down; simpler and easier-to-use diagnostic tools to monitor how patients are doing on treatment – these will help make the job of scaling up treatment even more feasible.But all of this requires political will – this cannot be done without the financial resources from international donors and domestic investments in the countries affected. Scaling up treatment to all people in need will only be possible if leaders honour their past commitments by providing sustained funding, and by ensuring that drugs are affordable and available. Leaders also need to support policies to put effective treatment strategies in place and support the research and development of better, more affordable and simpler-to-use medicines and medical tools.The job is far from finished. The lessons of how to reach more people with care, coupled with the critical new science that shows us treatment can help us get ahead of the wave of new infections, tell us that now is the time to push forward with ambitious plans to get treatment to people in need. There is simply no excuse for politicians to neglect the ten million people who will die without treatment in the next several years.In the lead-up to the UN High-level meeting, MSF is releasing a series of five videos that illustrate innovative tools and models that could help make improved HIV treatment accessible to many more.30 May - Bringing HIV treatment closer to patients31 May - Reducing pressure on health services by task-shifting1 June - Enabling healthy lives with antiretroviral drugs6 June - Benefits of starting HIV treatment earlierFor more about Médecins Sans Frontières, refer to www.msf.org.za.Green Energy Use to Surge: UN
A draft United Nations (UN) report shows that renewable energies such as wind or solar power are set to surge by 2050, and expected advances in technology will bring significant cost cuts.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says in the draft that, “The cost of most renewable energy technologies has declined, and significant additional technical advancements are expected.”
The draft states that further cost reductions are expected, resulting in greater potential for climate change mitigation and reducing the need for policy measures to ensure rapid deployment.
To read the article titled, “Green energy use to surge: UN,” click here.Source:News24Call to Implement ‘Right Resolutions’
Stakeholders attending the NGO Forum of the Africa Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) 49th Ordinary Session have pointed out the need for the implementation of the various resolutions agreed to, noting that only by doing so could the effective protection and fulfilment of people’s rights be achieved on the continent.
Executive director of the ACHPR, Hannah Forster, who is also the chairperson of the NGO forum steering committee, said that the implementation of new resolutions for the protection of human and people’s right is paramount to the cause of the commission.
Forster noted that despite the persistence of human rights violations in Africa leading to violence, insecurity and conflict, there have been significant inroads by some countries in the right direction.
To read the article titled, “Implement right resolutions, ACHPR tells governments,” click here.Source:TodayStillbirths More Common in Sub-Saharan Africa
At least 7 000 stillbirths occur globally every day, with majority of such cases happening in Sub- Saharan African countries including Uganda.
World Health Organisation assistant director general for family and community health, Dr Flavia Bustreo, states that many stillbirths are invisible because they go unrecorded and are not seen as a major public health problem.
The report states that maternal infections in pregnancies, childbirth complications, maternal disorders, fetal growth restrictions and congenital abnormalities are the key factors contributing to high stillbirths. The report has also found that stillbirths have declined by just 1.1 percent per year between 1995 and 2009.
To read the article titled, “7 000 stillbirths occur daily globally-report,” click here.Source:Daily MonitorInternet Freedom Declining as Use Grows – Report
Hacked and deleted blogs, facing criminal charges for sending an e-mail complaining about service delivery and discovering that Facebook has been shut, etc, are among the restrictions on Internet freedom that users around the world have encountered in the last two years.
According to Sanja Kelly, managing editor, and Sarah Cook, assistant editor, at Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO, “...as more people use the Internet to freely communicate and obtain information, governments have ratcheted up efforts to control it.”
Kelly, who produced a report entitled "Freedom on the Net: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media," points out that the deepening Internet penetration is particularly evident in the developing world, where declining subscription costs, government investments in infrastructure, and the rise of mobile technology has allowed the number of users to nearly triple since 2006.
To read the article titled, “Internet freedom declining as use grows,” click here.Source:SFGateSouth Africa Tops on Budget Ranking
South Africa has taken the first place in an international Open Budget Survey 2010 released recently, beating the likes of the United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany and all BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.
Second position went to New Zealand, followed by the UK in third and France in the fourth position. China ranked the second lowest while Saudi Arabia ranked the lowest.
The survey, which is the world's only independent and comparative measure of budget transparency, uses criteria mainly developed by the International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions. It covers 94 countries and is undertaken every two years.
Meanwhile, Stanlib economist, Kevin Lings, points out that a survey of 94 countries which takes place once every two years has ranked the country’s national budgeting process first in terms of transparency and accountability.
To read the article titled, “SA number one on budget ranking,” click here.Source:Independent OnlineInternet Users Top Two Billion – ITU
The United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says that the number of Internet users worldwide has reached the two billion mark.
ITU’s Hamadoun Toure, points out that, "At the beginning of the year 2000 there were only 500 million mobile subscriptions globally and 250 million Internet users."
Toure further says that the latest data posted online by the ITU show that the estimates number of Internet users reached 2.08 billion by the end of 2010, compared to 1.86 billion a year earlier.
To read the article titled, “Internet users top two billion – UN,” click here.Source:News24Economic Recovery Not Creating Jobs, Says ILO
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says a faltering and uneven increase in jobs is holding back economic recovery, and unemployment is likely to continue at near records this year.
IOL notes that weak job creation is particularly devastating for young people, and official figures understate the true number of unemployed as many have given up looking for work.
ILO executive director, Jose Manuel Salazar- Xirinachs, argues that unemployment, insecurity about jobs and cuts in social benefits are depressing consumption, a key element in domestic demand, prevent a self-sustaining recovery from taking hold.
To read the article titled, “Recovery failing to put jobless to work, says ILO,” click here.
Source:Business Day
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