Transition to low-carbon society is gradually being in the EU

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Transition to low-carbon society is gradually being in the EU
Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy.
Today, the European Commission publishes its third report on the state of the energy union. It provides an overview of the results achieved and look forward to the coming year. Along with the general report published today also 28 country files.
 
The report also confirms that no energy can be achieved if the infrastructure is not adapted to the needs of the future energy system. The infrastructure for energy, transport and telecommunications are becoming increasingly intertwined. Local networks will become increasingly important in the daily lives of European citizens, which is becoming more will switch to electric mobility, decentralized energy production and demand response.
Although significant progress has been made, problems persist, particularly in the field of electricity. To address this problem, the Commission today adopted a Communication on the target of 15% electricity interconnection 2030. She adopted the third list of projects of common interest.
Following the report said Vice-President MaroĆĄ Ć efčovič, verantwo orderly for energy union “Energy Union can only be successful if we all follow the same course, the goal is to fulfill our promise to complete the energy union by the end. of the Commission’s current mandate. by 2019 the energy union should not policy anymore, but a daily reality that every European citizen to reap the benefits. This requires more commitment needed from all walks of life. Therefore, I consider next year the year of action. “
Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy: “The energy transition in Europe is on track: the share of renewable energy reached record highs and rapidly declining costs, but the European energy infrastructure must evolve in the same direction and at the same pace this. energy full support. Therefore, we propose to focus the new list of projects on major electricity interconnections and smart networks. the measures taken today to improve the infrastructure for clean energy, is another important step towards a sustainable, competitive and secure energy – with a real European added value “.

Opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi

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Opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, President Macron (France) and spouse, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister – Picture by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. 8 November 2017, Saadiyat Island, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE: The United Arab Emirates fĂȘted with much pomp and circumstance the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, already being labelled as the most pulchritudinous museum architecture worldwide.
HH Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture of Oman.
Under the patronage of President Emanuel Macron (France) and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron accompanied the French Head of State as well as the UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Emir of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Other regional sovereigns such as HM The King of Bahrain, Hamad II, HM The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as well as the ruling princes (amirs) of Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, Ras Al-Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain, which also form part of the Emirati federation, were likewise in attendance. For additional picture on the museum collection, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157690074340005
French and Emirati ministers of Culture signing cooperation agreements – Picture by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
Louvre Abu Dhabi is the first museum of its kind in the Arab world: a universal museum that is a cultural beacon, bringing together different cultures to shine fresh light on the shared stories of humanity. Located on Saadiyat Island, Pritzker Prize winning French architect Jean Nouvel designed a museum-city (Arab Madina) under a vast silvery dome. Therein one can walk through the promenades overlooking the sea beneath the museum’s 180-metre diametre dome, composed of almost 8,000 unique metal stars set in a complex geometric pattern.
Emir of Fujairah, King of Bahrain and Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the Louvre Museum.
When sunlight filters through, it creates a moving ‘rain of light’ beneath the dome, reminiscent of the overlapping palm trees in the UAE oases.
Louvre Abu Dhabi 2 – Picture by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
  Designed as a micro-city, Louvre Abu Dhabi is an archipelago out at sea. Dedicated areas entice and encourage a multitude of activities, especially contemplation. For a diverse choice of transportation, visitors can arrive by either land or sea.
Louvre Abu Dhabi – Picture by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority,
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Vogue Fashion Festival 2017

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Vogue Fashion Festival 2017
24-25 November 2017, Paris: Swarovski has partnered up yet again with Conde Nast Vogue to support the Vogue Fashion Festival 2017. Amongst the different events set to take place within this second edition of the festival, the crystal company has collaborated with Vogue to select young and emerging fashion designers, either head designers of historic Parisian houses or founders of their own label. Swarovski has worked with Nina Ricci, CourrĂšges, Wales Bonner, Vanessa Seward, Facetasm, Ronald van der Kemp, Y / Project, Faith Connexion and Swarovski Collective 2017 member Wanda Nylon, to create iconic, one-off crystallized pieces. With the project led by Ms  Nadja Swarovski, great-great-grand daughter of Swarovski’s founder, the company aims at encouraging emerging talent to innovate, experiment and play with its brilliant and multifaceted material in collaboration with the Vogue Fashion Foundation. For further information: Vogue Fashion Festival 2017 with Swarovski: http://en.vogue.fr/voguefashionfestival/ http://en.vogue.fr/voguefashionfestival-2017/speakers ——- Karlie Kloss wearing the Nile Collection, Atelier Swarovski Core Collection, Fall-Winter 2016 – Picture by Swarovski

Lorena Larios appointed general consul to Shanghai

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Lorena Larios appointed general consul to Shanghai
Mexican general consul-designate to Shanghai Lorena Larios – Picture by Lorena Larios. Mexican Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the United Mexican States to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg (with seat in Brussels), Minister-Counsellor Lorena Larios RodrĂ­guez, is departing this November 2017 to Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, to take up her new position as General Consul of Mexico in the aforementioned city.  Lorena Larios is a career diplomat. She has excelled in representing her homeland vis-Ă -vis the European Union. In the past, she has also served as Deputy Director General for Europe and the United Nations at the Mexican Foreign Office.  Minister Lorena Larios RodrĂ­guez holds a degree in Law from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara and a Master’s degree in International Politics from the Center for International and Strategic Relations Studies (CERIS) in Brussels. She specialised in Public Administration at the National Institute of Public Administration of Mexico as well as International Law and Human Rights at the Washington College of Law of the American University in Washington, D.C. She has completed diplomatic studies at the MatĂ­as Romero Institute of Diplomacy and on European integration at the College d’Europe in Bruges. Additionally, she obtained a Diploma in Strategic International Scenarios at Mexico’s Autonomous Institute of Technology (ITAM) and on Mexico-U.S. relations at the University of California, San Diego. She has been a panelist at national and international fora regarding migration, development, human rights and foreign policy. Her nomination had been approved by the Mexican Senate already on 14 September 2017.  Shanghai is Asia’s most important economic and financial centre as well as one of global relevance. Its port is the main point of entry for Mexican agricultural products entering the Chinese market.  Sino-Mexican diplomatic ties are excellent. Thus far seven presidential encounters have taken place since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office.  ———- For further information:   

Nipponese Emperor to abdicate in 2019

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Nipponese Emperor to abdicate in 2019
The Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. The Japanese government has reportedly picked out a tentative date for the abdication of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito.

The Japan Times reports that the government has selected 30 April 2019 as the date for the abdication, with the accession to the throne by Crown Prince Naruhito to take place the following day, 1 May.

The Japanese government also announced yesterday that a meeting of the Imperial House Council would take place on 1 December of this year to discuss the dates and iron out the details.

The meeting will have ten members present who will include the Prime Minister, the heads of both chambers of the National Diet (Japanese bicameral legislature), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the head of the Imperial Household Agency and two members of the Japanese Imperial Family, which will include the Emperor’s younger brother, Prince Hitachi.

The meeting will be closed to the media, and the decision will be announced afterwards by Imperial Household Agency Grand Steward Shinichiro Yamamoto and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

This date would avoid any election distractions, as they are due to take place in March or April of 2019. However, some argue that His Imperial Majesty’s abdication should take place on 31 March instead with 1 April being set as the date for the Crown Prince’s accession. According to the Japan Times, “These dates would offer more convenience for the public because the start of the new gengƍ (era name), used in the Japanese calendar, would coincide with the start of the fiscal year.”

The abdication date must be selected by the government under an ordinance, and it is believed that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will approve of the date on or around 5 December.

For further information:  Imperial Household Agency: http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/eindex.html ———– Photography Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko by  Joseph Vidal, Malacanan Photo Bureau, Presidential Communications Operations Office (Public domain) via Wikipedia Commons.

Fatou Bensouda at the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

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Fatou Bensouda at the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we are once again reminded that despite widespread condemnation and growing efforts to eliminate it, abhorrent acts of violence continue to be a reality for countless women and girls throughout the world. Particularly vulnerable in times of conflict, women and girls are too often the victims of egregious sexual crimes. Moreover, while the horrors and suffering of war are felt by entire communities, prevailing inequalities exacerbate these consequences for women and girls. In addition to physical and psychological scars, conflict intensifies their vulnerability to poverty as they endure inadequate access to education, health services and welfare, fewer economic opportunities, as well as diminished political participation. The need to curb reprehensible crimes perpetrated against women and girls in times of conflict, and to change the culture of impunity in which they thrive, has been an intrinsic focus of my Office at the International Criminal Court. We recognise that an important aspect of challenging the culture of discrimination that allows such crimes, including sexual and gender-based crimes, to prevail is the effective investigation and prosecution of those most responsible for such heinous crimes. Today, as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, in strict accordance with the Court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, and on the strength of my Office’s Policy on Sexual and Gender-based Crimes and on Children, I reiterate my commitment, as well as that of my Office, to do everything we can, within our mandate and means, to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of grave crimes against women and children. We count on the support of the Court’s States Parties and the internationality community in the discharge of our mandate. We must address reprehensible crimes perpetrated against women and girls in times of conflict. It is a collective responsibility. Our humanity demands it.
Fatou Bensouda. Photography by ​Photoline.

Inaugural Ceremony International Institute for Justice Excellence

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Inaugural Ceremony International Institute for Justice Excellence
By Roy Lie A Tjam. On, 14 November 2017, The Hague acknowledged the establishment of the International Institute for Justice Excellence and celebration of the legacy of the ICTY. The ceremony took place at the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace, and attendees included representatives of the various tribunals, ambassadors, and diplomatic staff of an array of embassies. Mr. Jeffery Apperson, chairman and founder of the International Institute for Justice Excellence (IIJE), delivered the opening remarks. Jeffrey Apperson presented his board members to the audience, whom have come from the four corners of the globe- among them: China, USA, Nigeria, Netherlands, Trinidad & Tobago. For additional Hester Dijkstra’s pictures, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157664116126258  
H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Ambassador of Bangladesh, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, from Pakistan and Judge Walid Akoum, from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Mr. Jeffery Apperson went on to explain the reasons behind the selection of The Hague and for being at the Peace Palace that particular evening. “The Hague, Apperson said, is about windmills, palaces and dreams of achieving the impossible; it is an international symbol of justice with institutions and a government dedicated to that symbol. I envision our institution adding value to these local and international institutions and hope we will eventually be a good local partner.” As for being at the Peace Palace he exclaimed, “We are gathered here to announce the establishment of the International Institute for Justice Excellence, to establish an international justice excellence day and to honor the legacy in justice administration of a truly historic institution and its people, the UNICTY, and Lord Harry Woolf, a historic public figure.”
Mr Roy Lie A Tjam, Diplomat Magazine’s Editor, Judge Geoffrey Henderson, International Criminal Court and The Hon. The Chief Justice of Trinidad&Tobago, Mr Justice Ivor Archie O.R.T.T.
Other Speakers Apperson was followed by Ms. Astrid Bronswijk, Head of International Affairs, and municipality of The Hague. Bronswijk expressed the municipality’s contentment with the arrival of yet another International Institute in The Hague- city of peace and justice. Bronswijk was followed by the Honorable Justice Kashim Zanna of Bornio State Nigeria. Justice Kashim Zanna commenced his discourse with a quotation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exclaiming, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. He furthermore stated, “The mission of the International Institute for Justice Excellence (IIJE) is to contribute to the refinement and enhancement of the vehicle for justice delivery, everywhere. It is an endeavor: to establish a non-political, non-profit, international institution dedicated to developing a collaborative approach to improving, globally, the administration of justice more uniformly and efficiently by promoting and providing: research and more.” The final speaker was Mr. John Hocking, Registrar UN-ICTY. The Award Ceremony. An Award presentation ceremony followed, The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was presented with the first Justice Administration Excellence Award. The Tribunal received the award for its significant contributions to the field of Justice Administration. The President of ICTY Carmel Agius received an award. In his Keynote address, President Agius expressed his gratitude noting that the award speaks to the ICTY’s lifetime achievements. According to Agius, the award is also an acknowledgement of its judges, principals, and past and present staff members who have excelled in the performance of their assignments.
Mr. Jeffery Apperson, chairman and founder of the International Institute for Justice Excellence (IIJE).
Furthermore, the Right Honorable Lord Woolf has been acknowledged with the International Justice Excellence Award. In conclusion of the inaugural ceremony, Alexis Gill singer accompanied by Victor Segura piano, gave a rendition of “From a Distance” and concluded with a reception.

German Permanent Representation to the OPCW

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German Permanent Representation to the OPCW
Ambassador Christine Weil hands over her Letter of Introduction to Director General H.E. Ahmet  ÜzĂŒmcĂŒ(© OPCW) The German Permanent Representation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, is under the direction of Ambassador Christine Weil since early august. Ambassador Weil recently declared: “Our central objective is the one of the OPCW: to free the world of chemical weapons. Major challenges remain. Germany wants to play an active role in solving them.”    

ICC holds Retreat with African States Parties in Addis Ababa

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ICC holds Retreat with African States Parties in Addis Ababa
Participants of the ICC Retreat with African States Parties to the Rome Statute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 22 November 2017 ©ICC-CPI On 22-23 November 2017, the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) organised a Retreat with African States Parties to the Rome Statute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss ways of strengthening the Rome Statute system of justice. The Trust Fund for Victims (“TFV”) at the ICC and the African Union also joined the retreat. With a total of 33 African States Parties, African countries form the largest regional group amongst the ICC membership. Government delegates from 19 African States, representatives of the African Union and ICC and TFV officials shared experiences and explored further avenues for engagement and cooperation, including within the framework of the complementarity principle enshrined in the Rome Statute. The participants also exchanged views on the relationship between the ICC and national, sub-regional and regional organisations and judicial institutions. In addition, participants discussed victims’ issues, including victims’ participation in ICC proceedings as well as assistance and reparation for victims of crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Court. This Retreat builds on a series of seminars, organised jointly by the ICC and the African Union, held annually in Addis Ababa between 2011 and 2015, as well as a similar retreat organised in 2016. The event was organised with the financial support of the European Commission and the International Organisation of La Francophonie.

A Tulip Planting Ceremony at the Keukenhof Flower Exhibition

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A Tulip Planting Ceremony at the Keukenhof Flower Exhibition
H.E. Mrs Kaili Terras, Ambassador to Estonia; H.E. Mr Vidmantas Purlys, Ambassador of Lithuania; Keukenhof Flower Exhibition’s director, Mr. Bart Siemerink and H.E. Mrs Ilze RĆ«se, Ambassador to Latvia.   By Roy Lie A Tjam. A tulip-bulb planting ceremony took place at the Keukenhof Flower Exhibition. Ambassadors of the Baltic states, H.E. Mrs Kaili Terras, Ambassador to Estonia; H.E. Mrs Ilze RĆ«se, Ambassador to Latvia; and H.E. Mr Vidmantas Purlys, Ambassador of Lithuania, planted the tulip bulb “Flaming Baltic” also known as Tulipa ‘flaming baltic’.
H.E. Mrs Kaili Terras, Ambassador to Estonia; H.E. Mr Vidmantas Purlys, Ambassador of Lithuania and H.E. Mrs Ilze RĆ«se, Ambassador to Latvia.
The Flaming Baltic Tulip is a tulip variety that was created to commemorate the Baltic Way, a movement that stands for the Baltic states’ independence and freedom. The special tulip will also mark the upcoming centenary of the Baltic countries in 2018. Thanks to the contributions of Dutch tulip-growers and the excellent collaboration with Keukenhof Flower Exhibition, a ‘Baltic flowerbed’ adjacent to the William-Alexander pavilion featuring a tulip collection associated with each of the Baltic states. The numerous Keukenhof visitors will enjoy the wide spectrum of tulips such as “Tallinn”, “Latvija” and “Gintarine Lietuva”. The planting event took place under direction of the Keukenhof Flower Exhibition’s director, Mr. Bart Siemerink, on 13 November 2017. In his speech, Siemerink indicated how delighted and pleased Keukenhof is to cooperate with the Baltic States, and that he is aware of the significance of next year’s historical celebrations for the Baltic States. ———  Photography by Mr. Kristaps KÄŒaviƆơ.  
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