World | WPN World People News

Brando Benifei

The Commission's proposal for a standard EU travel document, to speed up the process of returning non-EU nationals who stay "irregularly" in EU member states without valid passports or identity cards, was endorsed by Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Monday. Members highlight that many EU countries are currently facing serious difficulties in returning these residents to their home countries in a safe and lawful way.

(Left to right)Rula Ghani, first lady of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General and Eklil Ahmad Hakimi, Minister of Finance.

Youth attending the sixty-sixth UN DPI/NGO Conference in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, flank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a social media moment at a youth caucus event.

Concluding a two-day visit to Azerbaijan on 28 May, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on the South Caucasus Kristian Vigenin (MP, Bulgaria) reiterated the need for increased parliamentary communication in favour of efforts for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Tallinn on May 27, called on member states to foster city-to-city co-operation in the field of culture, so as to re-energise democracy, increase the stability of regions and restore confidence in Europe. The parliamentarians also pointed out that these initiatives included economic activities, as the more direct trading and financial dealings urban centres have, the more likely it is that both culture and the quality of life will improve.

Based on current assessment, cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus. Brazil is 1 of almost 60 countries and territories which to date report continuing transmission of Zika by mosquitoes. People continue to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of reasons. The best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice.

New initiatives emerged in East Asia this month, largely through the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with consequences that have greatly damaged the ongoing Anglo-American war drive, while opening up the potential for the integration of all East Asia into a “zone of peace,” defined by the economic development perspective of the New Silk Road and China’s “One Road, One Belt” policy.