The United Nations agreement, which has 48 member states, including the EU, seeks to protect transparency, public participation and justice in environmental matters

International News via Reuters:

Legal experts of a U.N. environmental convention decided on Wednesday to consider a case brought by members of the public raising concerns about the environmental impact of hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.

The case, submitted by the Citizens’ Collective JOP2030 – which includes alpine residents and environmentalists, as well as other associations, alleges that France did not comply with several articles of the legally binding Aarhus Convention.

The United Nations agreement, which has 48 member states, including the EU, seeks to protect transparency, public participation and justice in environmental matters. Its Compliance Committee, composed of independent legal experts, on Wednesday declared the case admissible. 

The groups that brought the case contend that France did not adequately consult the public during the bidding for and organisation of the 2030 Winter Olympics and that it did not transparently disclose key environmental information.

The French permanent mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The group also raised concerns about the project’s large carbon footprint and extensive infrastructure development in sensitive alpine environments.

It marks the first time a case concerning compliance with obligations under the Aarhus Convention has been brought against a Party regarding the organisation of the Olympic Games, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 

“This historic first decision should call on France to stop imposing decisions on its citizens and to immediately organise a public debate on the hosting of the games,” Delphine Larat, lawyer and co-founder of the citizen collective JOP 2030 told Reuters. 

A similar case submitted by members of the French Parliament was also deemed admissible on Wednesday.

France will have five months to submit its response. A compliance procedure will then take place, allowing a committee to assess whether France breached the Aarhus Convention, a process that could last several years.

In February, Edgar Grospiron, president of the 2030 Winter Games organising committee, said he was determined to ensure the games have as little impact on the environment as possible.

The 2030 Winter Games will be held in Nice and the French Alps from February 1-17.

Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by David Gregorio

The attack on Tuesday evening in Eruku, a town in central Nigeria’s Kwara state, puts more pressure on the government

International News via Reuters:

Gunmen have attacked a church in Nigeria, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers, police and witnesses said on Wednesday, days after 25 girls were abducted from a boarding school.

The attack on Tuesday evening in Eruku, a town in central Nigeria’s Kwara state, puts more pressure on the government, which is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened military action over what he says is persecution of Christians.

President Bola Tinubu postponed a planned trip to South Africa and Angola for G20 and AU-EU summits to receive security briefings on the two attacks, and ordered more security to hunt down the assailants in Kwara, his office said.

The president also directed the security agencies “to do everything possible” to rescue the schoolgirls, “abducted by the bandits and bring the girls back home safe”, his spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said.

GRAPPLING WITH ISLAMIST INSURGENCY

Rapper Nicki Minaj appealed on Tuesday for global action to defend religious freedom. Speaking at the U.S. mission to the United Nations, the Trinidad-born artist, who lives in New York, said that in Nigeria “Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed”.

Nigeria is grappling with an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, abductions and killings by armed gangs mainly in the northwest and deadly clashes between mainly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers in its central belt.

The government says the U.S. designation of Nigeria as “a country of particular concern” misrepresents its complex security challenges and does not take into account its efforts to safeguard freedom of religion for all.

In the latest attack, police responded to gunfire at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and discovered one person fatally shot inside the church and another in a nearby bush, said Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, police spokesperson for Kwara state.

Witnesses said they counted at least three dead church members.

“They later rounded up some worshippers, including the pastor, and took them into the bush,” parishioner Joseph Bitrus told Reuters by phone, without saying how many were taken.

GUNFIRE ERUPTS DURING CHURCH SERVICE, VIDEO SHOWS

A video posted by a local news outlet and verified by Reuters showed the Christ Apostolic Church service being interrupted by gunfire, forcing parishioners to take cover. Armed men are seen entering and taking people’s belongings as gunshots continue.

The governor of Kwara asked for the immediate deployment of more security operatives following the church attack, his spokesperson said.

Authorities have not yet located the girls abducted by armed men who stormed the predominantly Muslim Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in northwestern Kebbi state on Monday. Vice President Kashim Shettima was expected to travel to the state to meet officials and parents on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja, Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa, and Aaron McNicholas in London; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Frances Kerry

Earlier, Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve reported that about 300 jobs could be relocated away from UNICEF’s regional office for Europe and Central Asia in Geneva

International News via Reuters:

The United Nations children’s agency will move jobs out of Geneva, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Wednesday, the latest planned cuts to hit the global body in the Swiss city.

Earlier, Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve reported that about 300 jobs could be relocated away from UNICEF’s regional office for Europe and Central Asia in Geneva, with Rome named as a potential location.

An Italian government source said the jobs were being moved to Rome, but did not provide details on the number of roles. 

The Swiss foreign ministry said UNICEF will relocate some positions away from Switzerland’s biggest French-speaking city without detailing how many jobs would be relocated or where. 

It said around 100 UNICEF positions in Geneva would remain.

UNICEF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment about how many jobs are currently based in Geneva and whether any jobs are being cut or just moved. 

UN agencies face major cuts and a structural overhaul following a substantial reduction in foreign aid spending by the United States and major European donors. 

The remaining Geneva-based roles at the UN children’s agency would be in the Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS), which the Swiss foreign ministry described as the “core of UNICEF’s global humanitarian response.” 

“The continued presence confirms that Geneva remains a strategic pillar of international humanitarian coordination,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. 

On Tuesday the World Health Organization said its workforce would shrink by nearly a quarter – or over 2,000 jobs – by the middle of next year as it seeks to implement reforms after its top donor, the United States, announced its departure.

The International Labour Organization is currently considering abolishing up to 295 posts and relocating dozens of staff to cities like Turin as it faces “critical” cash flow problems if its biggest donor, the U.S., and other countries do not pay their dues, according to an internal document.

Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva and Crispian Balmer in Rome; Editing by David Gregorio

Passengers and crew were taken from the stricken vessel, the Coast Guard said in a statement, and 27 sustained minor injuries

International News via Reuters:

All 267 people on board a South Korean passenger ferry that ran aground off the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula on Wednesday were rescued, in an incident that revived memories of the major ferry disaster in 2014 in which 300 people died.

Passengers and crew were taken from the stricken vessel, the Coast Guard said in a statement, and 27 sustained minor injuries.

Most will be transported to the coastal city of Mokpo while 21 crew members will remain on the ship.

A mistake by the captain or a navigating officer might have caused the accident, but the Coast Guard will conduct a thorough investigation, the organisation’s Commissioner General Kim Yong-jin said.

President Lee Jae Myung, who is travelling in the Middle East, ordered details of the rescue operation to be made public as they occurred, Yonhap News Agency reported.

RESCUE BOATS DEPLOYED

The 26,000-ton ferry Queen Jenuvia 2 was travelling from Jeju Island to Mokpo. The boat’s Mokpo-based operator, Seaworld Ferry, lists the vessel as having a capacity of 1,010 passengers, as well as lower decks for large vehicles and passenger cars.

A Coast Guard official said the ferry had struck a rocky island near Jindo.

A loud bang had startled passengers during the night, causing panic and confusion, said passenger Kim Namhyun.

“I thought I might die. The sound was too loud,” said Kim, 51, a diving instructor on Jeju Island.

“But having seen the Sewol ferry, I knew that in situations like this, you have to stay calm, move outside, wear a life jacket, and wait,” said Kim, referring to the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014.

Footage showed passengers wearing life vests awaiting transfer to rescue boats.

The vessel’s bow appeared stuck on the edge of a small island, but looked to be upright and the passengers seemed calm. Weather conditions were reported to be fair with light winds.

2014 FERRY SINKING ONE OF COUNTRY’S WORST DISASTERS

Memories are still fresh in South Korea of the sinking of the Sewol ferry carrying many children on a school trip to Jeju.

The Sewol was sailing from the west coast port of Incheon when it sank near the site of Wednesday’s incident, though further off the island of Jindo.

The ferry, later found to have been overloaded with cargo and illegally modified to carry more than it was designed for, went into a turn too fast and began listing.

It lay on its side as passengers awaited rescue before sinking as the country watched on live television.

Many victims were found in their cabins, where they had been told to wait while the captain and crew members were rescued by the first Coast Guard vessels to arrive at the scene.

Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Ju-min Park, Joyce Lee, Jack Kim and Heejung Jung; Editing by Ed Davies, Aidan Lewis and Ed Osmond