Fire kills 41 inmates, 80 hurt at crowded Indonesian prison
JAKARTA, Indonesia—A massive fire raged through an overcrowded prison near Indonesia’s capital early Sept. 8, killing at least 41 inmates, two of them foreigners serving drug sentences, and injuring 80 others. Firefighters battled through the early morning hours to extinguish the flames as black smoke billowed from the compound of the Tangerang prison on the outskirts of Jakarta. After the blaze...
Saudis implement travel changes to pilgrimage, impacting millions
WASHINGTON— Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj took over all aspects for Western travelers seeking to do the holy pilgrimage. The new system eliminated middleman travel agencies. Pilgrims traveling from Australia, Europe and North America submitted an application through an online system, entered the lottery system, paid for their travel and were supposed to receive their visa online. Each country was...
Israel major benefactor of Iraq war
DUBAI (IPS)–The biggest beneficiary of the second Gulf War–without firing a bullet–will be Israel, say two Middle East experts. Umaimmah al-Jalahmmah, professor of Islamic studies at King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia, says, "The Jews were the driving force behind the war, with powerful pro-Israel lobbies in Washington seeking the destruction of one of the main threats to...
New film portrays famed Somali runner forced into servitude in the UK
(GIN)—Somalia-born runner Mohamed Abdi Jama Farah—known as Mo Farah—won 10 gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) for being the second man in history to win long-distance doubles at successive Olympics and World Championships. But he won much more than that. He won a platform to tell his story of forced servitude and how he was trafficked to Britain as...
Macron’s Anti-Islam Platform And France’s Presidential Race
Anti-Islamic comments made by French president Emmanuel Macron and a speech he made offer previews of his rhetoric in preparation for a presidential election that is two years away. “Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country,” he said during a speech introducing a law to...
S. Africa struggles with immigration and brain drain
JOHANNESBURG (IPS)–After years of consultation with labor unions, business organizations and academicians, a new Immigration Act was unveiled late in 2002 and immediately stirred a controversy. This replacement for the notorious Aliens Control Act, which for years was used to block Black African immigration, had the support of South Africa's largest labor federation, the Congress of South African...
Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger sign agreement to defend each other if attacked
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have signed a trilateral defense agreement binding the three Sahel countries to assist one another in the event of a military attack on any one of them. The agreement, known as the Liptako-Gourma Charter, was inked by the three states’ military leaders on Sept. 16 and according to Mali’s junta leader, Assimi Goita, it establishes...
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...
Monarchy and madness
(FinalCall.com) - When Prince William and Catherine Middleton announced their engagement to the world in front of a bevy of reporters, flashing cameras and rolling video, five months ago, it was a prelude to fanatic media frenzy. Public obsession with the wedding soon followed and as nuptials for the future King of England and his fiancé drew nigh,...
U.S. gives conditions for lifting sanctions on Sudan
Misleading Congress On Sudan (BlackElectorate.com) KHARTOUM, Sudan (PANA)–Secretary of State Colin Powell recently reiterated to visiting Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail that economic sanctions against Khartoum would only be lifted after an accord has been signed with southern rebel group. "The Secretary of State told me that economic sanctions against us could be lifted immediately after a draft peace...