New immigration laws worry experts
PARIS (IPS)–Setting out new rights for minorities is a dance of half a step forward and two steps back, say human rights activists. The half-step forward comes with the announcement by Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy that he is ready to partially revoke the so-called double sanction against immigrants convicted of a crime. This double sanction means...
Protests build against genetically modified food
LONDON (IPS)–Protests were held around the world March 15 against genetically modified foods on World Consumer Rights Day. Protest meetings were held by about 250 consumer organizations under the wing of the London-based Consumers International. Meetings reportedly were held in many cities across Europe, Africa and Asia. In Jamaica, Consumers International launched a study into the prevalence...
UN perceived as U.S. ‘tool’
/GIN UNITED NATIONS (IPS/GIN)–The massive bomb attack on the UN compound in Baghdad on Aug. 19 was an assault on an institution that is increasingly perceived as a political mouthpiece of the United States, say some Middle East experts and U.S. academics. The suicide bombing killed Under-Secretary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello, UN chief Kofi Annan’s special representative in Iraq...
Bush policies spur Iraqi rebel resistance, say 500 national security experts
JIM.LOBE Is “Zarqawi” Another Black-Op? (Al Jazeera.info, 10/25/2004)A Failed 'Transition': The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War (AntiWar.com, 10/22/2004)Farrakhan: The Duty of The Righteous in a Time of War (FCN, 06/17/2002) WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) - The Bush administration's failure to accept advice on Iraq from its military and foreign service officers has led to policies that have fuelled the insurgency against U.S.-led...
Muslims around the world suspicious of Bush ‘war on Islam’
Interview with Syria's UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad (FCN, 10-31-2005)UN's Mehlis report discredited: International espionage over Syria? (Media Monitors, 10-28-2005)Is America headed to Damascus? (FCN, 04-23-2003)Guidance to America and the World (FCN Webcast, 05-03-2004) WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - Even as critics in this country assail the U.S. Iraq war as a quagmire; more and more former high-level officials condemn the Bush...
Non-aligned nations continue to resist domination
NAM 14th Summit Conference - Havana, Cuba 2006Africa - Venezuela: Weaving New Alliances with Cultural Threads (FCN, 10-29-2005) (FinalCall.com) HAVANA - Born in Bandung, Indo-nesia as the "Afro-Asian Bloc" of nations who wanted their voices to be heard independent of the Cold War rivalry that pitted Western Capitalists against Eastern Communists, in the 21st Century the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has...
UN-backed court to start trial of Charles Taylor in June
UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) - The war crimes trial against the deposed former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, will begin on June 4 with opening arguments, according to a UN News Service, dated May 8. The United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone announced the starting date during a recent pre-trial conference in The Hague. “That Charles Taylor will now face...
Rice apologizes for Britain over renditions
NEW YORK (IPS/GIN) - The U.S. and British governments revealed in late February that two U.S. “extraordinary rendition” flights carrying terrorism suspects refueled on British territory on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in 2002. Meanwhile a federal court bowed to pressure from the George W. Bush administration to dismiss a case against a Boeing...
Next president inherits Guantánamo
NEW YORK (IPS/GIN) - Leading human rights groups reacted with outrage to media reports that the administration of President George W. Bush has decided not to close the prison at the U.S. Naval Base at US-Occupied Guantnamo, Cuba. Quoting anonymous senior Bush administration officials, the New York Times reported that the issue would in effect be “kicked the down...
Seeking global peace through strong families
-Staff Writer- MANILA, Philippines (FinalCall.com) - While America continues war in Afghanistan political, religious and community leaders from 28 nations came together Dec. 10-13, to work for peace–through focusing on family relationships. “I am a changed person. I really learned a lot here especially about peace in the family,” said Dr. Markandey Rai, coordinator of the Global Parliamentarians UN...