Yemen: Crisis reaches new low, top UN officials tell Security Council
UNNEWS The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has never been worse, with conflict escalating, famine on the horizon, the economy in tatters and Covid-19 out of control, senior UN officials told the Security Council on July 28 as they issued a fresh call for an immediate ceasefire. Four months on, negotiations between the Government and Houthi rebels on a ceasefire and the resumption of...
Iran’s Rouhani urges restraint over Karabakh dispute, warns of new war in region
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to show restraint and reject any foreign interference over the Karabakh dispute, warning that the region cannot tolerate a new war. During a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Sept. 30, Rouhani voiced concern about the ongoing fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory and underlined the need for...
Ecuador’s new leader vows to ‘govern for the poor’
QUITO (IPS)–The triumph of leftist former Colonel Lucio GutiŽrrez in a Nov. 24 runoff election in Ecuador has brought this Andean country’s indigenous movement, the best organized in the Americas, to power. Mr. GutiŽrrez, who garnered 54.4 percent of the vote, against the 45.6 percent of his rival, banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa, said he would create a government...
War crimes probe focuses on U.S.
War leaders may face war crimes charges (Al Jazeera)The Crimes of War Project Online UNITED NATIONS (IPS)–A multinational coalition of jurists and civil society groups is launching an investigation of alleged war crimes in Iraq for potential prosecution by the young International Criminal Court (ICC). The move is motivated in part by Washington’s plans to set up...
World reaction to Bush’s UK visit
UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) - "Why do they hate you, Mr. President?" asked the political editor of Britain's ITV news, at a press conference in London during President George W. Bush's recent visit. "I don't know that they do," the president replied. International political analysts say that the "dislike" of Mr. Bush in Europe is the repayment with "interest" of an...
Bush accused of attack on environmental laws
NEW YORK (IPS)–The Bush administration is intensifying its assault on key environmental protection, according to a new analysis by natural resource activists. The report, released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), cites changes to the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act and the end to requirements for environmental review and public feedback when considering logging,...
Half of U.S. troops in Iraq say it’s time to come home
Most Iraqis doubt U.S. will ever leave (FCN, 02-14-2006)Broken coalition, resistance and dwindling recruitment mark two-year anniversary of U.S. invasion of Iraq (FCN, 04-06-2005) WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) - The findings of an unprecedented poll of U.S. troops in Iraq are certain to add to steadily growing pressures on the Bush administration to accelerate Washington's withdrawal from a country that...
Kofi Annan speaks strongly to U.S. and Israel
Annan: Iraq worse than under Saddam (FCN, 12-10-2006)Annan: Perceived 'double standard' at UN is a problem (FCN, 10-08-2002) UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) - As United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was scheduled to leave office on December 31, he decided to use the platform provided to him as the outgoing head of the world body to say some rather strong comments to the...
New Mideast Bush Initiative Met with Scepticism
JIM.LOBE Pro-Israel lobby dictates U.S. policy, study charges (FCN, 04-05-2006) WASHINGTON, Jul 16 (IPS) - A major policy address Monday by U.S. President George W. Bush promoting a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine has been greeted with considerable skepticism by Middle East specialists here. Most analysts said Bush's speech -- including his pledge to provide some 190 million dollars to...
War on terror is war on Islam, says advocate
Neo-con extremists push internment for American Muslims (FCN, 02-18-2005) The "War on Terror" Exposed (FCN/Minister Farrakhan, 05-03-2004) WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - The global war on terror has become a thinly veiled excuse to wage a global war on Islam with increased arrests of Muslims, calls for regime change in Muslim countries and racial profiling, according to a leader with a...