Feed aggregator
New Libya Off to a Shaky Start
It's been almost a year since Benghazi launched its uprising against former
Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi and three months since he was killed, but
there is a growing sense of frustration in eastern Libya with the National
Transitional Council. Two weeks ago, a group of protesters attacked the
Council's Benghazi headquarters as chairman Mustafa Abdeljalil was inside,
forcing him to flee through the back door.
U.S. Leak on Israeli Attack Weakened a Warning to Netanyahu
When Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told Washington Post
columnist David Ignatius this week that he believes Israel was
likely to attack Iran between April and June, it was
ostensibly yet another expression of alarm at the Israeli
government's threats of military action.
DEVELOPMENT-NIGER: Three Million Children Threatened by Hunger
Women have been left in charge of many of the households in the village of
Zamkoye-Koïra, in western Niger, as food shortages have driven male family
members to leave in search of work elsewhere. A national survey of vulnerable
households shows that 5.4 million people face food insecurity across Niger.
UNICEF Funding Falls Short Leaving Millions of Children at Risk
If the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had 1.28 billion dollars it could
help 97 million people around the world.
Photos of Armed Children Ignite Scandal in Venezuela
A radical political group based in a working class
neighbourhood of the Venezuelan capital has sparked a furore
by publishing photographs of children from the community, with
their faces partially hidden, brandishing AR-15 assault
rifles.
Social Media Saved Africa's Oldest Community Station
When a financial crisis threatened the existence of Africa's oldest community
station, Bush Radio, an outpouring of sympathy and appeals went viral on social
networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. In the end, it was this outspoken
support that showed finanical backers that the station was worth saving.
Malawi's Consumers Have a Right to Fuel and Forex Black Market
The black market for foreign exchange and fuel is booming in the midst of an
acute scarcity in Malawi. The shortage is so severe that even the Consumer
Association of Malawi, an influential consumer rights body, has come out in
support of the black market.
Political and Economic Turmoil Threaten Women's Progress
As UN Women celebrated its first birthday, its executive
director Michelle Bachelet stressed that political upheveal
and shrinking budgets are no excuse to push back the hard-won
gains made by the women's movement globally.
Early End to U.S. Combat Role in Afghanistan Draws Cheers, Jeers, Confusion
U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's surprise announcement
Wednesday that U.S. troops will phase out their combat role in
Afghanistan by mid-2013 is drawing mixed reactions, as well as
a fair bit of confusion, from both critics and supporters of
the 11-year-old war here.
Russia Sticks to Its Guns Against Heavy Hitters Backing Syria
The political heavy hitters were all there at a key Security
Council meeting early this week to decide on the future of
beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
LAOS-CULTURE: ASEAN Attempts to Build on a Shared Language: Music
A landmark concert featuring artistes from eight of the ten South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) took place here on Jan. 21, in an effort to build a regional
community through the common language of music.
"Occupy" is the Watchword at Thematic Social Forum
Traditional social movements of homeless and landless people
have for years been organising occupations as a pressure
tactic. Now "occupying" is a key element for fighting the
capitalist system in its hour of crisis, and also in the realm
of virtual reality.
BANGLADESH: Coup Bid Reveals Extremism Within the Army
Bangladesh's army has won paludits as leading United Nations peacekeepers, but the January coup attempt against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has exposed lurking religious extremism within its ranks.
India Weighs Social Media Curbs
After India's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was slapped by
a young Sikh man at a function in New Delhi, to record his
protest against corruption in high places, social media sites
went viral with musical spoofs and caricatured images of the
incident.
Kenyan Chief Tweets His Way to Reducing Crime
Using 140 characters or less, Chief Francis Kariuki in Kenya, has tweeted his
way to reducing crime in his and surrounding villages.
Dempsey Told Israelis U.S. Won't Join Their War on Iran
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told
Israeli leaders Jan. 20 that the United States would not
participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel without
prior agreement from Washington, according to accounts from
well-placed senior military officers.
U.S. Group Urges "More Credible" Military Threat Against Iran
The administration of President Barack Obama should take steps
to make threats of a possible U.S. or Israeli attack against
Iran more credible, according to the fourth in a series of
studies released here Wednesday by a 13-man "bipartisan" task
force dominated by Iran hawks.
POLITICS-SENEGAL: Violence After Validation of Wade Candidacy
It was stones against tear gas in the Senegalese capital this morning as students
protested the killing of one of their own on Tuesday evening. At least four
people have died since Jan. 27, in wider demonstrations against the
controversial validation of President Abdoulaye Wade's candidacy for re-election
for a third term.
2011 - A Year of Weather Extremes, with More to Come
The global average temperature in 2011 was 14.52 degrees
Celsius (58.14 degrees Fahrenheit). According to NASA
scientists, this was the ninth warmest year in 132 years of
recordkeeping, despite the cooling influence of the La Niña
atmospheric and oceanic circulation pattern and relatively low
solar irradiance.
CUBA: Party Aims for Efficient, Inclusive Socialism
Cuba's communist leaders have mapped out a strategy to
modernise their country's one-party socialist model and make
it more efficient, which implies making it more inclusive and
representative of a society that is increasingly diverse.
