Peru imposes, then withdraws curfew to quell price protests
LIMA, Peru—Peru’s president on April 5 lifted a curfew he had decreed less than a day earlier in the country’s capital and its main port in a bid to quell sometimes violent protests over rising fuel and food prices. President Pedro Castillo had announced the surprise curfew and emergency measures shortly before midnight and ended them the afternoon of April...
Sri Lanka orders troops to shoot those involved in violence
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Sri Lanka’s defense ministry ordered security forces on May 10 to shoot anyone causing injury to people or property to contain widespread arson and mob violence targeting government supporters. The order came after violent clashes a day earlier left eight people dead and prompted the resignation of the prime minister, who is blamed along with his brother, the...
2030 development agenda ‘fails’ on racial equality and non-discrimination
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are characterized by a “shallow commitment” to racial justice and equality, an independent UN-appointed rights expert told the UN Human Rights Council on July 5, adding that they fail to address systematic racism and xenophobia. “Despite the 2030 Agenda’s promising rhetoric, it largely fails to fulfil its pledge to...
Macron warns French public of difficult time amid soaring energy prices
French President Emmanuel Macron says tough months are ahead as his administration braces for energy price hikes due to the war in Ukraine. Addressing a cabinet meeting on Aug. 24, Mr. Macron said people were living through a series of crises, ranging from extreme temperatures, fires and drought of the past weeks, to the Ukraine conflict and disruptions to global trade. “This...
Libya’s Tripoli government signs economic deals with Turkey
BENGHAZI, Libya—One of Libya’s rival governments signed preliminary economic and maritime deals with Turkey, in a move that has inflamed tensions between it and the North African country’s other administration. The agreements signed Oct. 3 also angered Turkey’s neighbor and regional rival Greece, which denounced them as “illegal.” The deals, signed by Turkey’s foreign minister with the Tripoli-based Libyan government, signal...
Suspected German coup plot spawns dozens of arrests
BERLIN—German police seized dozens of people including a self-styled prince, a retired paratrooper and a former judge on Dec. 7, accusing the suspects of discussing the violent overthrow of the government but leaving unclear how concrete the plans were. A German official and a lawmaker said that investigators may have detected real plotting, drunken fantasizing, or both. Regardless, Germany takes...
Still no peace: No reconciliation in sight for Palestine and Israel
Prospects for peace between the Zionist occupier state of Israel and the occupied Palestinian people are more distant than ever. A deadly cycle of Israeli aggression, state repression, and slaughter of Palestinians has sparked angry protests. And adding fuel to the tension is a new ultraright government angling to tighten its oppressive reign and denying Palestinians their right to...
Saudi Arabia and Iran close ranks in a move toward reestablishing ties
The recent wave of global realignments among nations has taken an unexpected twist with a China-brokered accord between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The longtime geopolitical foes signed a treaty ending a seven-year rift in relations. The March 10 détente restored diplomatic ties with the reopening of embassies in both countries by May....
Grandson of Nelson Mandela shows solidarity with Palestinians
Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, the grandson of the late South African president and freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, was recently in Chicago. Mr. Mandela is an elected member of the South African National Assembly, tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council. He toured the U.S. from May 15-May 20, speaking in several cities in support of solidarity with the Palestinian people...
Canada’s Indigenous women still being forcibly sterilized: Report
Canada’s Indigenous women are still being pressured into having their tubes tied decades after other rich countries stopped the appalling practice, a report says. A large number of activists, physicians, politicians, and at least five class-action lawsuits confirmed that the practice of forcibly sterilizing Indigenous women has not ended in Canada, The Associated Press revealed in a report in mid-July. Last year, the Canadian Senate...