Yale University Press | $26.95 | 337 pages
In July 1989, just back from reporting for the ABC on the aftermath of the massacre in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, I was sent from my post in Singapore to cover the meeting of the foreign ministers of the ASEAN countries. The annual confab rotates through the Southeast Asian members, and this year was Brunei’s turn.
The numbered paragraphs of the communiqué of that twenty-second ministerial meeting ranged over refugees, drugs, southern Africa, Afghanistan, Asia-Pacific cooperation, disarmament, the search for a settlement in Kampuchea… on and on it ran. By the time I got to the end of the eighty-seven-paragraph document my puzzlement had turned to astonishment. That 4 July statement said nothing at all about what had happened in Tiananmen a month earlier.
Sunburst sun rays through leaves of large green tree in autumn A series of projects in the south west that protect landscapes and wildlife, connect people with nature and help to create and retain green jobs have secured millions of pounds of funding. The government is providing nearly £40million to 68 projects across England in the first round of the Green Recovery Challenge Fund. Over 800,000 trees will be planted and damaged habitats such as moorlands, wetlands and forests will be restored. The projects will also support conservation work and help to improve education about the environment. Eight south west-based organisations have secured funding towards ten projects.