Muslim minority faces jail time in China, Guantanamo
NEW YORK (IPS/GIN) - An influential congressional committee has delivered a scathing criticism of China’s closed trial of 15 men on terrorism charges. The closed trial resulted in the immediate execution of two defendants, as well as in three suspended death sentences and 10 sentences of life imprisonment. The men were members of the Uygur Muslim minority in western China....
Int’l Court indicts Sudan’s leader with genocide
International Court prosecutor charges Sudan’s leader with genocide Is oil behind indictment of Sudanese president? (FCN, 07-22-2008)Sudan and America's racist foreign policy (FCN, 06-25-2007) UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) - The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which is located in Brussels, announced July 14 that he was presenting the case for genocide against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, of...
Zimbabwe sanctions resolution fails
UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) - A draft resolution calling for sanctions on Zimbabwe, including a travel ban and freezing the assets of President Robert Mugabe and 12 other individuals, was not adopted by the 15-member UN Security Council on July 11. Permanent Security Council members China and Russia vetoed the text with South Africa, Libya and Vietnam voting against the resolution. The...
Attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan up 40 percent
JIM.LOBE WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) - Six and a half years since the ouster of the Taliban, U.S. media attention is returning to Afghanistan, where more U.S. and NATO troops were killed in June than in any previous month. Indeed, as noted by both the New York Times and the Washington Post, June was the second month in a row in which...
Hands off African import taxes, Europeans told
/GIN BRUSSELS (IPS/GIN) - A new report commissioned by the French government is expected to fault the European Commission for pushing trade agreements with African and Caribbean countries that ignore social and economic development needs. In the report by Christiane Taubira of the French national assembly, she recommends that the mandate given to the 27-member European Commission to negotiate...
What next for Zimbabwe?
West says battle is for democracy, others say fight is for control of land in Southern Africa UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) - Robert Mugabe, 84, has been elected president of Zimbabwe for another six years. The United Nations, pushed by the United States, Britain, France, Australia and Canada, says the election did not reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people. President...
Does Iran Have Bush Over a Barrel?
JIM.LOBE WASHINGTON (IPS) - If U.S. President George W. Bush wants to boost Republican chances of holding on to the White House and keeping Democratic gains in Congress to a minimum in the November elections, he might consider taking an attack on Iran before the end of his administration "off the table". Of course, that's probably the last thing Bush...
Prospect of Obama election buoys U.S. image
JIM.LOBE Historic Obama win ushers in hope for change (FCN, 06-13-2008) WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) - After a virtually relentless fall during the administration of President George W. Bush, Washington’s image abroad rebounded modestly in 2007, according to the latest edition of the annual Pew Global Attitudes Project. “For the first time we have some encouraging signs for the image of the United...
Report calls for U.S.-China cooperation in Africa
JIM.LOBE China gets foothold in Africa by staying out of politics ((FCN, 06-12-2006) China And Africa Seek A Win-Win (BlackElectorate.com, 04-2006) WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) - The U.S. and Chinese governments should coordinate their policies toward Africa in order to enhance the effectiveness of their economic aid and investment, to further political stability and to ensure the success of peacekeeping operations...
Zimbabwean farm case moved to July 16
Zimbabwe Ambassador: Self-determination is at root of conflict (FCN, 04-22-2008)Activists: Fast track is right track in Zim land redistribution plan (FCN, 02-13-2003)Special Report on Zimbabwe land crisis (FCN, 10-13-2002) WINDHOEK, Namibia (PANA) - The South African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal has moved the hearing of Zimbabwe’s land case, in which 78 White commercial farmers are challenging the expropriation of...