CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN IRAQ by the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative Press Release – 26th April, 2012 Iraq’s Journalist Protection Law, approved in August 2011 by the Iraqi Parliament which was facing international pressure to reform its laws concerning the media, in fact constitutes [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. (photo: Violaine Martin / UN Photo Geneva) UN: Israeli Restrictions on NGOs Undermining Human Rights – Common Dreams staff A UN official has added Israel to a list of countries whose restrictions on NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are undermining human rights. In the announcement on [...]
Thirteen states in India have prevented genetically modified aubergines from being planted [GALLO/GETTY] New Delhi, India - In an interview with the journal Science, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh chose to focus on two hazardous technologies – genetically engineered seeds and crops, and nuclear power – as vital to the progress of science in India and the “salvation [...]
Foreign secretary William Haguehas warned of the facing the world if Iran acquires nuclear weapons. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images William Hague faces legal action over Sri Lankan diplomat war crimes claim Tamil group to bring judicial review against foreign secretary over refusal to declare military attache persona non grata Sam Jones guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 March 2012 [...]
‘Stability’ Trumps Democracy in Egypt Charles Davis and Medea Benjamin, March 24, 2012 | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum Confronted with popular protest, the country’s unelected rulers have doubled down on repression, jailing peaceful activists and killing dozens of civilians who have the gall to exercise their rights. Those who state security forces haven’t [...]
The lifting of the travel ban came one day after the judges on the case resigned [AFP] A plane carrying activists from the United States and other countries left Egypt a day after a travel ban was lifted, an airport official in Cairo said. “They have left,” the airport official told the Reuters news agency on Thursday, without [...]
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News The initial clarity of Egypt’s revolutionary discourse has been replaced by perplexing discussions involving a range of issues from ‘Islamists vs liberals’ to football violence. The latest such issue involves the rift between the US and the Egyptian government over the latter’s crackdowns [...]
The first day of a controversial trial of 43 non-governmental organisation workers accused of working illegally and trying to push American and Israeli interests in Egypt has adjourned in Cairo. The defendants include 19 Americans and 16 Egyptians, though only seven of the US citizens reportedly remain in the country, where they [...]
Click to view caption Dempsey meets Tantawi and Anan to discuss tense Egypt-US relations This week’s diplomatic efforts did not seem to ease the row between the US and Egypt caused by the decision by Egypt’s military rulers to place 43 NGO employees, including 19 Americans, [...]
The UN must be reformed to live up to its own ideals. (UN) By Ramzy Baroud Theodore MacDonald was too ill to attend the launch of his book, Preserving the United Nations; Our Best Hope for Mediating Human Rights. Less than three weeks later, on March 7, 2011, the longtime champion of human rights [...]
The Two Faces of the United Nations: The Power of Israel and its Lobby by MOHAMED KHODR on 12/23/2011 Truth and Justice have been a historical anathema to all Empires and the powerful oligarchies throughout history. From all divine revelations to the necessity of humanity’s coexistence in peace, Justice has been the highest and noblest [...]
Israeli ministers hit back after the nation’s press reported comments by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying she feared for the future of Israel‘s democracy. (Reuters/Robert Galbraith, File) JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli ministers reacted angrily on Sunday after local media quoted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying she feared for the future [...]
Israel moves towards curbing civil liberties video at http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2011/12/2011124121511828465.html Knesset debates wave of government bills that would allow for harsh penalties to be imposed on media and NGOs. As millions of people in the Arab world fight for greater democratic rights, Israel appears to be restricting some of its freedoms. Proposed laws would allow for harsh [...]
More of the Same in the Fight Against Child Labor Neil Howard – September 6, 2011 THE INTERNATIONAL Labour Organization (ILO) has recently launched its latest campaign to eliminate the “worst forms of child labor.” Newspaper pages are consequently awash with stories anddiscussions highlighting the terrible fate of working children, while ILO staff make regular TV appearancesurging [...]
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities have extended the closure of four Palestinian NGOs in Jerusalem for another year, the Palestinian Authority said Friday. Police sealed the entrance of the four NGOs on Wednesday, said a statement calling the action reflective of a policy to control and undermine the role of Palestinian civil society in Jerusalem. [...]
There are as many as 300,000 commercial sex workers in Thailand, many of whom were trafficked from border villages or neighbouring countries after being promised legitimate work [EPA] The life of a sexually trafficked woman in Southeast Asia is almost unimaginable. The majority are tricked into leaving their homes, even in foreign countries, by the [...]
Asian Development Bank (CC-BY) Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov PENTAGON SPENDS MILLIONS PROTECTING UZBEKISTAN DICTATOR EMAIL PRINT SHARE SHARE Posted on Nov 26, 2011 Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov is notorious for heading one of the world’s most oppressive regimes, and millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are being given to a for-profit military contractor turned propaganda machine to make [...]
Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem (REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool) TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will delay a bill which would impose restrictions on international funding for Israeli NGO‘s, Haaretz newspaper said Sunday. The Israeli daily quoted sources on Saturday as [...]
Cluster munition or parts of the munition often do not explode on impact, causing great harm to the envrionment [EPA] Brisbane, Australia: A US military “base” in Darwin, Australia (spun as a “rotational deployment” for China, I suspect), will necessitate foreign weapons systems and armaments being stockpiled, retained and transited on and in Australian [...]
Activists: Robin Chaurasiya and Trina Talukdar, Kranti Filmmaker: Kate Taunton This is a film about two unique activists in India. Based in Mumbai, Robin and Trina helped found Kranti, an organisation that works to empower women that have been trafficked. India has many worthy NGOs that rescue girls but Robin and Trina are grass roots [...]
Im Chaem, right, a 67-year-old former Khmer Rouge provincial secretary, at a school event in Anlong Veng, Cambodia, on June 21, 2010 Heng Sinith / AP COMMENT PRINT EMAIL REPRINTS SHARE At first blush, it seems like a nourishing gift. The Phnom Srok reservoir in northwest Cambodia spreads nearly as far as the eye [...]
Bolivian protestors are marching against government plans to build a highway through indigenous land [EPA/EFE] Evading indigenous consultation in Bolivia Indigenous Bolivians are searching for social justice as the government plans to build a new highway. Manuela Picq Last Modified: 14 Sep 2011 08:13 Indigenous groups from the lowlands of Bolivia have been marching since August [...]
Drone War Exposed – the complete picture of CIA strikes in Pakistan August 10th, 2011 | by Chris Woods | Published in All Stories, Covert Drone War, Drones carousel | 3 Comments CIA drone strikes have led to far more deaths in Pakistan than previously understood, according to extensive new research published by the Bureau. More than 160 children are [...]
Gaza government: No crisis with NGOs, USAID Published Friday 12/08/2011 (updated) 14/08/2011 17:36 BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The minister of foreign affairs and planning in Gaza, Mohammad Awad, denied Friday the existence of a crisis with NGOs and assistance agencies like USAID. Awad told Ma’an the government in Gaza remained committed to working with NGOs [...]
Gaza govt announces compromise on US aid Published today (updated) 13/08/2011 20:5 GAZA CITY (AFP) — Hamas and the US Agency for International Development have reached a compromise to maintain the flow of aid, a senior Hamas official said Saturday. “We’ve reached a compromise with USAID through the United Nations” to allow the continuation [...]
Gaza government: No crisis with NGOs Published yesterday (updated) 12/08/2011 21:44 BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The minister of foreign affairs and planning in Gaza, Mohammad Awad, denied Friday the existence of a crisis with NGOs and assistance agencies like USAID. Awad told Ma’an the government in Gaza remained committed to working with NGOs in order [...]
You can view the video at: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/witness/2011/08/2011810113949471720.html Directed by multi-award winning director Jamie Doran Remember Band Aid, Live Aid and developed countries‘ determination to ‘Feed the World‘? Well, we failed. There are more Africans living in extreme poverty today than ever before. Africa Rising goes right inside the extraordinary story of how a large rural [...]
Junta, Parties Fume as US Millions Bankroll Egypt NGOs US Envoy Says Mass Grants ‘Will Serve as a Model’ for Other Nations by Jason Ditz, August 07, 2011 Email This | Print This | Share This | Antiwar Forum With Egypt’s first post-Mubarak elections drawing ever closer, both the nation’s interim military junta and opposition political leaders are expressing [...]
Students attend boycott rally at the University of Ber Zeit, north of Ramallah [EPA] “You should definitely postpone your book launch in Jerusalem,” warned a close friend who felt that the planned event for launching my recently published book on the Palestinian-led movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel might be too [...]
China, now the world’s fastest-growing diamond market, has allowed the sale of diamonds from the Marange fields in Zimbabwe [EPA] The recent approval of Zimbabwean diamonds mined from the $800bn Marange fields by the Kimberley Process (KP) chair, the DRC’s Mathieu Yamba Lapfa Lambang, has prompted a global “human rights” outcry with KP members such as Canada, the [...]
[Introduction to Samah Sabawi's piece by Israeli activist Ofer Neiman from BOYCOTT!] There are good things to be said about Professor Naomi Chazan, a scholar of contemporary Africa and a former member of the Israeli Knesset (on behalf of the center-left Meretz party). When an extreme right-wing and US funded Israeli student group like “Im [...]
Rattling the Cage: Bring it on, National Camp By LARRY DERFNER 07/16/2011 23:17 Only after the world runs out of patience with Israel will the public here demand change. Talkbacks (69) As the late, great V.I. Lenin said, the worse things get, the better they get. (Or did Mao say that?) Anyway, it’s all good. The [...]
From: a-infos-en@ainfos.ca Subject: (en) Austria, LISA – Libertarian Social Work Initiative Ender (VIENNA) – [machine translation] (de) To: en <a-infos-en@ainfos.ca> Message-ID: <4E084D92.5070901@gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii“; Format=”flowed” Who we are and what we want —- “Syndicate for all workers (inside) in the social and health sector” —- LISA is an initiative to create a local grass-roots trade [...]
Arab activists say liberalisation of trade, investment and deregulation advocated by the US and the EU as part of their aid packages had contributed to the unrest in the first place. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-Zuma/Rex Features Arab activists warned on Monday that conditions attached to western aidthreatened to undercut the goals of economic and social justice at the [...]
You may have felt that there has more often than not been something missing from Green Movement missions and talks. What that has been is a central or basic philosophy that can at least capture some or all the Green goals and aspirations. In many ways a ‘Green’ attitude ro an issue has been a [...]
Vast Mongolian shantytown now home to quarter of country’s population More than 700,000 people, many of them ex-herders and their families, now crowd the gers sprawling north of Ulan Bator Share83 Kit Gillet in Ulan Bator guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 May 2011 16.51 BST Article history Mongolian herders forced out of nomadic life often end up [...]
The Shura in the Porno Cafe Submitted by davidswanson on Sun, 2011-04-24 04:59 Afghanistan By Jean Athey Afghanistan ranks 176th out of 178 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index, only slightly better than Somalia and tied with Myanmar. So perhaps it isn’t surprising that no matter who I speak with, the conversation quickly turns to [...]
This is what happens when the world wants top preserve its version of security on people they do not bother to consult first. Libyan rebel city of Misrata focus of UN talks on humanitarian crisis Britain to discuss plans to ensure unfettered access for relief effort to besieged city after seven weeks of fighting Share3 [...]
Why International Day for Street Children matters We have an opportunity to send a message to governments, the UN and the donor community that an extremely vulnerable group of children needs to be included in their policy priorities Share182 Comments (4) Street children in Guatemala City. Photograph: Graeme Robertson Tuesday marks the first International Day for [...]
