This report is the fourth edition in a series of publications prepared by the National Intelligence Council (NIC). It aims to help leaders identify and understand the coming challenges and to steer toward positive solutions.
DI - 27/11/2008
On 5 November, the government of the People’s Republic of China launched its first policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean region.
DI - 25/11/2008
The first edition of the Immigration public opinion surveys addresses immigration and integration issues including national identity, citizenship, migration management policies, national security, and the economic opportunities and challenges brought on by migrants.
DI - 24/11/2008
The second Ibrahim Index of African Governance is based on data from 2006, the last year with complete available data for nearly all sub-Saharan African countries. The index assesses national governance against 57 criteria, which capture the quality of services provided to citizens by governments.
DI - 21/11/2008
The Resolution adopted by the Security Council –at its 6018th meeting on 20 November- authorizes a temporary increase of MONUC’s authorized military strength and formed police unit, which ‘aims at enabling MONUC to reinforce its capacity to protect civilians, to reconfigure its structure and forces and to optimize their deployment.
DI - 20/11/2008
The new ECLAC report -issued with the cooperation of the International Trade and Tourism Ministry of Peru- highlights that despite the existing growth of trade and investment between Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia Pacific regions, biregional economic links remain weak and show little diversification.
DI - 19/11/2008
Reaching common ground: culture, gender and human rights is the theme of the State of the World Population 2008 report. According to this United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) publication, ‘development strategies that are sensitive to cultural values can reduce harmful practices against women and promote human rights, including gender and women’s empowerment’.
DI - 18/11/2008
The Washington Declaration of the Group of Twenty (G-20) Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy –held on 15 November - expresses the agreement of the G-20 leaders on the understanding of the root causes of the global crisis and the common principles for reforming the financial markets and the action plan to implement those principles, based on free market.
DI - 14/11/2008
This working paper of the United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) explores the migration of highly skilled workers -which is perceived as ‘brain circulation’ (instead of ‘bran drain’ or ‘brain gain’)- and examines data from 30 countries.
DI - 12/11/2008
The World Bank released its World Development Report 2009. The publication ‘argues that the most effective policies for promoting long-term growth are those that facilitate geographic concentration and economic integration, both within and across countries’.
DI 11/11/2008
One of the main aspects of the final declaration of the 3rd IBSA Summit -issued on 15 October- is the agreement on cooperation in renewable energy. IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange.
DI - 10/11/2008
This is a background paper of the 10th Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, held in São Paulo (Brazil) from 8 to 9 November. ‘The key challenge is to resolve the financial crisis in a durable manner and to mitigate the impact of the crisis on global economic activity through comprehensive, coordinated and timely measures as appropriate’, according to this document. Also, the Communiqué is available on the G-20 website.
DI - 10/11/2008
The European Police Office (EUROPOL) has published the 2008 edition of the Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT), which aims to describe the situation in the European Union regarding terrorism and to identify trends.
DI - 6/11/2008
The ‘Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean’ ministerial conference -held in Marseilles from 3 to 4 November- adopted a declaration on governance, projects and regional political dialogue. The agreement aims to reinforce the Mediterranean- focused partnership, which is now called the ‘Union for the Mediterranean’.
DI - 5/11/2008
‘Weakening demand in developed countries, realignments in exchange rates and fluctuations in the prices for commodities, such as oil and gas, introduced uncertainties into the global markets in 2007. As a result, growth in world merchandise trade slipped to 6 per cent in real terms, down from 8.5 per cent in 2006’, according to the International Trade Statistics 2008 published by the World Trade Organization.
DI - 5/11/2008
Illinois Senator Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States. He will not take the oath of office until January 2009, but the outgoing and incoming administrations are working together for the transition. Barack Obama prepares to meet economic and foreign policy challenges, as he already said in his victory speech. Also, Senator John McCain called on Americans to unite behind the new President in a concession speech.
DI - 27/10/2008
The Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 7) -held in Beijing on 24 and 25 October 2008- was attended by the Heads of State and Government of 16 Asian and 27 European nations, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary-General of the ASEAN Secretariat. The declaration was adopted on the following issues: the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), climate change and energy security and social cohesion.
