Haiti and Haitians still in turmoil, fighting to recover
A shake-up has entered Haiti’s government, after Prime Minister Ariel Henry came under scrutiny by a top prosecutor who wanted him charged in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The accusations have prompted high-level changes in the country’s cabinet, and calls for resignations, as the Caribbean nation also continues to recover a month after a devastating earthquake. Government fallout Port-au-Prince prosecutor...
Catalan independence leaders accuse Spain of ‘huge’ espionage by Israeli-made spyware
Catalonia’s regional leader Pere Aragones says the Spanish government is purportedly spying on dozens of Catalan pro-independence figures using an Israeli-made spyware. “It’s an unjustifiable disgrace. An extremely serious attack on fundamental rights and democracy,” Mr. Aragones tweeted in English on April 18. “The Spanish government must give immediate explanations and get to the bottom of the matter.” His comments came after...
Mali’s prime minister hits out at ‘neocolonialist’ France in UN speech
Mali has censured France over its deteriorating security situation, accusing Paris of having stabbed the impoverished, though minerals-rich, Sahel country in the back with the withdrawal of French troops. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, the new acting prime minister of Mali, made the remarks in a speech at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept....
Racial profiling by French police challenged in class action
PARIS—Three leading rights organizations joined with grassroots groups to launch France’s first class action suit targeting the country’s massive police machine, contending that it lawfully propagates a culture leading to systemic discrimination in identity checks. The NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Open Society Justice Initiative, allege that police target Black people and people of Arab descent in...
Civil society groups urge UN action against France over Islamophobia
Dozens of civil society organizations have urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to open formal infringement procedures against the French government for entrenching Islamophobia. In a written complaint to the UNHRC, some 36 groups from 13 countries outlined the “clear violation of a number of basic rights that are protected in legislation that is ratified by Paris.” The coalition said...
Minority communities in France faced surge in police fines during pandemic: Report
Police in France fined minority communities more frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic than the majority community, a new report has revealed, confirming discriminatory practices of French law enforcement agencies against non-White citizens. In a report published on Dec. 6, Reuters found that inhabitants of areas in France with the highest number of immigrants received fines by French police at higher rates during the...
U.S. foreign policy mess leaves fear, uncertainty in Afghanistan
“And the devil will say, when the matter is decided: Surely Allah promised you a promise of truth, and I promised you, then failed you. And I had no authority over you, except that I called you and you obeyed me; so blame me not but blame yourselves. I cannot come to your help, nor can you come to...
Powerful neocon brotherhood begins unraveling
JIM.LOBE United States foreign policy Hijacked (FCN, 07-02-2004)Webcast: Guidance in a Time of Trouble (FCN, 05-03-2004) WASHINGTON (IPS/GIN) - The Washington foreign policy elite finds itself on pins and needles awaiting a response from the neoconservative heavyweights at the Weekly Standard magazine to a scorching denunciation by one of their most venerable fellow travelers, Francis Fukuyama, in Sunday's New York Times...
Syria, Tunisia to reopen embassies, resume diplomatic ties after a decade
Syria and Tunisia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations after a decade, with the Syrian government planning to reopen its embassy in Tunis after the North African country announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Damascus. The announcement was made in a joint statement by Syria and Tunisia on April 12, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported. Damascus government, the statement...
Destruction in Gaza could take decades to fix, warn analysts
Palestinian residences, hospitals, schools, government offices, businesses, local and international media outlet buildings lay in ruins after massive airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank. A ceasefire ended an 11-day barrage of missiles between the Zionist State of Israel and primarily the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on May 20. It left massive destruction of property and a carnage...