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Updates to Global Geneva Insights

ESGs

New global sustainability reporting requirements are out. Here's what companies need to knowwww.weforum.org29 August 2023 (LINK)

— Backed by the G20, a set of standards released by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will set worldwide sustainability reporting requirements for decades to come. The new requirements pave the way for companies across jurisdictions to disclose uniform climate and sustainability information.

It aligns with financial accounting practices in more than 140 countries and will help investors understand the sustainability-related risks and opportunities facing businesses. Singapore, Canada and the UK have already signalled that they are looking at routes to integrate the new standards.

'Not just money and math': Young people are willing to sacrifice returns for ESGwww.cnbc.com27 August 2023 (LINK)

Updated UNEP FI portfolio impact analysis tool for banks now availablesee_link31 August 2023 (LINK)

— Its Needs Mapping toolkit covers the needs and priorities of over 100 countries across the 12 Impact Areas and 38 Impact Topics of the UNEP FI Impact Radar. These are compiled from the statistical data sets, research and policy documents of the UN, international organizations as well as reputable academic and civil society organi zations.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Interested in ESG? Look at the facts, not opinions (LINK)

FTX, Finance

FTX scandal exposed: Misuse of customer deposits revealed in second investigative reportwww.cryptopolitan.com26 June 2023 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: My FTX crypto horror story (LINK)

Nuclear fusion, energy

World's Largest Fusion Project Is in Big Trouble, New Documents Revealwww.scientificamerican.com15 June 2023 (LINK)

— Accumulated schedule slips and budget overruns threaten to make it the most delayed—and most cost-inflated—science project in history. As late as early July 2022, ITER's website announced that the machine was expected to turn on as scheduled in December 2025. Afterward that date bore an asterisk clarifying that it would be revised. Now the date has disappeared from the website altogether.

In January 2022 the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) put a stop to ITER assembly entirely. ASN is unconvinced that, among other issues, the planned amount of radiation shielding around the machine will be adequate, and the authority won't let the assembly go forward until ITER can prove that it can keep personnel safe.

Adjusted for inflation, its price is about the same as that of the Manhattan Project, which made the first atomic bombs — and is almost certain to get larger.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Climate change is NOT our main problem, says TV science star (LINK)

Climate Change, Development

Terry Babcock, LA Times: Greta Thunberg's "The Climate Book": "We now have a book that marshals the evidence and knowledge of over 100 diverse experts. The Climate Book, with its encyclopedic nature and ready accessibility, is a remarkable contribution to climate literature — and an urgent must-read."lareviewofbooks17 April 2023 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Climate change is NOT our main problem, says TV science star (LINK)

Culture, History

All Quiet on the Western Front's Bafta win has caused chaos. Good — awards season could really do with more anarchyindependent.co.uk20 February 2023 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Key German anti-war book finally a film after 90 years (LINK)

International Geneva

War crimes round–up: Liberian civil war rebels on trial again, survivor testifies against Gambian 'death squad'genevasolutions2 February 2023 (LINK)

— The appeal trial against former lieutenant–colonel and spokesperson Gibril Massaquoi of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) – a Sierra Leonean group that had close ties with Charles Taylor – began on 10 January in Turku, Finland. In April 2022, a lower court had dismissed charges against Massaquoi for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including homicide, sexual violence, and the recruitment of child soldiers, arguing "reasonable doubt" that he took part in those acts.

The appeal trial is set to continue in Liberia on 6 February and will probably go until June. Civitas Maxima and its Liberian sister NGO, the Global Justice and Research Project, had submitted the initial information about Massaquoi's alleged involvement to the Finnish authorities.

Meanwhile, a Liberian former rebel commander is seeking to overturn Switzerland's first–ever war crimes ruling. Alieu Kosiah, former United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) commander was convicted to twenty years in prison in June 2021 by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court for war crimes, which included, ordering and committing the murder of civilians, rape and cannibalism, during the first Liberian civil war that ran between 1989 and 1997. Kosiah is the first Liberian to be tried for war crimes perpetrated during the conflict. Another Liberian rebel leader was found guilty of crimes against humanity and torture by a court in Paris in November 2022.

Kosiah's appeal trial opened in Bellinzona on 11 January and is expected to end on 3 February. Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima, is representing four of the plaintiffs who came to Switzerland to testify.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Jungle Jabbah, Alieu Kosiah and the fight against war crimes impunity (LINK)

Culture, History, Lifestyles

In the Neanderthal site of Combe-Grenal, Dordogne, France, hunting strategies were unaffected by changing climatephys.org18 January 2023 (LINK)

— The archaeological site of Combe-Grenal in France was inhabited by Neanderthals for many millennia throughout the Middle Paleolithic from around 150,000 to 45,000 years ago. These inhabitants hunted local animals whose remains are also found at the site. During the Neanderthals' occupation, the region experienced numerous oscillations of climate and environmental conditions which are known to have impacted the habits of local fauna. The Neanderthals in Combe-Grenal (France) preferred to hunt in open environments, and their hunting strategies did not alter during periods of climatic change, according to a study just published. These results put into perspective the link generally established between the evolution of the production of lithic tools and the adaptation of hunting strategies of human populations in response to environmental changes.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Global Sarlat: From prehistory to tomorrow's world (LINK)

Literature

Valleys, Lakes and Waterfalls in Switzerland That Inspired Tolkien, Queen and Moregoworldtravel.com23 December 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Tolkien's Switzerland — and much more — is in jeopardy (LINK)

WorldWideWeb

BBC testing Solid Pod secure data platform from Inventor of the world wide webCNN16 December 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Tim Berners-Lee, a SOLID defender of Internet users (LINK)

Lifestyles

From Portugal to Bali, these 28 countries and territories offer 'digital nomad visas' for remote workersBusiness Insider8 December 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Digital nomads, Caribbean revolutionaries and making the best of lockdown through NBN (LINK)

Environment

Economic experiments support Ostrom's polycentric approach to mitigating climate changenature10 December 2022 (LINK)

—Interestingly, the minister of trade and commerce of a European country has just suggested that all households together each saving 10% energy could resolve the country's energy crisis, very close to Ostrom's ideas. Sanctioning does not help reach the target: it also hits the fair contributors and provokes them to reduce their further share neutralizing the positive effect of sanctioning.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: The Swiss commune that changed ecology (LINK)

Culture

The greatest film of all time has been chosen by experts: Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles unilad2 December 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Chantal Akerman â€" In search of lost culture (LINK).

Cities

Making cities safer for women: UN report calls for radical rethinknews.un.org24 October 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Getting smarter in Geneva about cities — and meetings (LINK

Lifestyles

47 countries embrace digital nomads. It's been estimated that there are currently 35 million digital nomads working around the worldweforum13 October 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Digital nomads, Caribbean revolutionaries and making the best of lockdown through NBN (LINK)

Coffee

For International Coffee Day, DONA, the Swiss-based supplier of coffee from women's enterprises is offering 20% off your next order if you sign up to its journaldona1 October 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Coffee with a mission — from Switzerland, where else? (LINK).

Environment

The aspiring 'coral factory' restoring reefs wrecked by climate changewashingtonpost29 September 2022 (LINK)

Coral Vita has raised more than $4 million in funding from a roster of investors including Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Apollo Projects and Builders Initiative. It planted corals for the first time earlier this year. The company has grown its team to more than a dozen people. Coral Vita signed its first restoration contracts with the Bahamian government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority in 2021. paying visitors can take an educational tour of the farm. Coral Vita also has an adopt-a-coral program, through which individuals and corporations can sponsor anything from small fragments to entire tanks. Last year the coral adoption program brought in more than $60,000. The company was recognized in 2021 as one of five inaugural Earthshot Prize winners, an environmental award established by Britain's Prince William that gives awardees a million pounds (about $1.07 million in today's dollar) each to fund their work.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Coral Vita: Making reef rescue fun — and a business (LINK).

Environment

The environmentalists at the heart of Maine's booming oyster businessbangordailynews29 September 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Letter from Maine's 'Oyster Lady': The comeback of a mollusk healthy for food and the planet (LINK).

Swiss

Statistics prove Roger Federer's class, but his love for his opponents shows his greatnessThe Guardian26 September 2022 (LINK)

Roger Federer retires: Twitter reacts as Rafael Nadal sheds tears after Federer's final match in Laver Cupindiatvnews24 September 2022 (LINK)

Protester against private jets sets arm on fire on O2 tennis court ahead of Roger Federer's farewell match at Laver Cupground.news24 September 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: 'Roger Federer, welcome home!': When Roger is on form, even the ball seems to take on its own balletic path across the court (LINK).

Swiss creators

Top 10 Helvetica alternatives for graphic designerscreativeboom20 September 2022 (LINK)

—including "probably the best typeface ever designed": Akzidenz-Grotesk by H. Berthold, plus Avenir and Univers by iconic Swiss designer Adrian Frutiger.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: HELVETICA: Swiss Style and 60 years of font war (LINK). This notes that many designers consider Frutiger "the best general typeface ever". It features on Swiss road signs and Dutch railway stations.

Culture

Jean-Luc Godard, giant of the French new wave, dies at 91The Guardian13 September 2022 (LINK)

— His family apparently said he died peacefully at home and there will be no funeral service, only a cremation. New York Times

Godard's 12 Best Films: A Beginner's Guide to the Great Filmmaker's Work indiewire, but not this:

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Made in U.S.A. — Godard spills the beans on politics and atrocity in a fantasy that seems more and more realistic (LINK)

Media

10 things you should know about AI in journalismlse7 September 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: "Why I prefer my news from AI…" (LINK)

Lifestyles

The darker side of digital nomadismtheconversation7 September 2022 (LINK)

How to choose the best digital nomad visa and what to consider before applying: Barbados, Maltaeuronews12 February 2022 (LINK)

The best countries for digital nomads: Iceland, Estonia, Barbados, Croatia, Costa Ricaregus9 August 2021 (LINK)

Hit by coronavirus, Philippine beach resorts target local long-stay tourists, digital nomads — scmp — 28 February 2021

"There is even a new online booking platform for resorts offering monthly packages that will allow guests to continue working while at the beach."

My 10 Favorite Digital Nomad Basesmedium18 Jan 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Digital nomads, sCaribbean revolutionaries and making the best of lockdown through NBN (LINK)

Swiss icons

7 unconventional uses for your Swiss Army knifeesquire7 September 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS author's piece: What makes the Swiss army knife so special? The U.S. soldier (LINK)

Food etc.

Single-serve coffee balls touted as compostable alternative to podsnewatlas6 September 2022 (LINK) Backed by Migros (link in French)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Coffee with a mission â€" from Switzerland, where else? (LINK)

Counterpoint

How Bill Gates is reinventing the toilet and why it's a game changerbenzinga28 August 2022: (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Perfumed toilets: going round the S-bend? (LINK)

From the field: Okinawa

Jon Mitchell's investigations for Okinawa Timesokinawatimes6 August 2022 — (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: The Continuing Battle for Okinawa (LINK)

Culture: Films

JD Vance: Trump-backed contender clinches Ohio Senate raceBBC4 May 2022 (LINK)

What happened to J.D. Vancemotherjones3 May 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Understanding the hysteria over Hillbilly Elegy (LINK)

P.S. Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83 percent. Critics' score: 25 percent.

History: Holocaust

Anne Frank betrayal book pulled after findings discreditedBBC23 March 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Remembering Anne Frank — and Buddy Elias, guardian of a teenage legacy (LINK)

Environment

Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush 'Lord of the Rings' Landscapesmithsonianmag18 March 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Tolkien's Switzerland — and much more — is in jeopardy (LINK)

Environment

Earthshot Prize: Costa Rica wins £1m from William's Earthshot prizeBBC18 October 2021 (LINK)

The winning project is a scheme paying local citizens to restore natural ecosystems that has led to a revival of the rainforest.

Another winner: Coral Vita, Bahamas: A project run by two best friends who are growing coral in the Bahamas, designed to restore the world's dying coral reefs. Using special tanks, they have developed a way to grow coral up to 50 times faster than they normally take in nature.

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Coral Vita: Making reef rescue fun — and a business — (LINK)

Young conservationists call for help to take their seat at the tablegenevasolutions14 September 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Agenda 2021: a youth cure for the UN (LINK)

Overfishing

Seven Reasons to Be Optimistic About the World's Oceanssmithsonianmag11 August 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Overfishing: The greatest threat to our oceans (LINK)

Bahamas

Businessman Mario Carey calls FTX's landing in The Bahamas 'the holy grail of financial services'ewnews11 January 2022 (LINK)

Downhill from 2016: Grand Bahama growth "stunted" after back-to-back hurricanes, notes IDB reportewnews22 September 2021 (LINK)

Real estate agent says cruise homeporting can revolutionize economyewnews22 September 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Caribbean Dreams – Economic Nightmares (LINK)

Travels in Switzerland

When the Nobel Prize Committee Rejected The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien "Has Not Measured Up to Storytelling of the Highest Quality" — (1961) openculture.com 22 September 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Tolkien's Switzerland â€" and much more â€" is in jeopardy (LINK)

Internet

Can MIT's Tim Berners-Lee Save the Web?bostonmagazine14 September 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Tim Berners-Lee, a SOLID defender of Internet users (LINK)

From the Field

Why the Island Nation of Palau Is Going Cryptodecrypt12 January 2022 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: At the Edge of the World (LINK)

Coral Reefs

The Sudan expedition postponed to 2022trsc9 August 2021 (LINK)

"The postponement of this first mission is due to the prolonged immobilisation of the sailing vessel Fleur de Passion following an incident in the Gulf of Aqaba on July 21st."

Reef Rescue: ETH alumni Marie Griesmar and Ulrike Pfreundt are printing 3D Lego-like clay bricks to help rebuild and regenerate the world's coral reefsthe-good-times.org12 July 2021 (LINK)

First Immortal Cell Line Cultured for Reef-Building Coralsthe-scientist.com1 July 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Transnational Red Sea project to save coral reefs launched in Aqaba (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: The Last Great Coral Reef Wilderness (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Coral Vita: Making reef rescue fun â€" and a business (LINK)

Digital Switzerland

Internet Computer (ICP) logs revenge recovery after crashing 95% since launchcointelegraph28 June 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: A Swiss initiative to redo the Internet: crypto scepticism abounds (LINK)

International

Swiss court jails Liberian commander for 20 years in war crimes case court jails Liberian commander in war crimes caseswissinfo18 June 2021 (LINK)

"No mitigating circumstances were taken into account in the sentencing. A deportation from Switzerland was also ordered for a period of 15 years," the said. Kosiah was also ordered to pay compensation to seven plaintiffs. Human Rights Watch called the sentencing a "landmark".

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Jungle Jabbah, Alieu Kosiah and the fight against war crimes impunity (LINK)

WTO

Incoming WTO head warns 'vaccine nationalism' could slow pandemic recoveryreuters16 February 2021 (LINK)

GLOBAL GENEVA INSIGHTS piece: Pan(dem)ic policies: what WTO can do (LINK)

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