International

The world will remember Mr. Vaclav Havel as a great man who took several personal great risks to improve the situation in his country, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Sunday, the day that the Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician died died in his sleep at dawn after a lengthy illness, at the age of 75.

About two hundred Arabs of different nationalities attended the First Forum for The Awakening of the Arab Peoples. They analyzed the ‘Arab Spring’ and decided to start generating an environment of sharing and joint proposals that can help, somehow, the revolutions that are now taking place in their respective countries.

Paris – The Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the agency marked Palestine’s admission as a full member.

Reporters Without Borders roundly condemns the two-year jail sentence that the supreme military court of appeals in Cairo imposed today on Maikel Nabil Sanad, a blogger who has been held since March on a charge of insulting the military in a blog entry.

World without Wars and Violence has been observing the dramatic events taking place in Syria in recent months with profound concern. It is clear that the non-violent popular protests in Tunisia and Egypt were not taken as models in the case of Libya.

Cairo – ”You proved that you are right, that we were wrong. You are catalysts for reforms. Recognise your capabilities for changing the world”, said Qatar’s first lady Sheikha Moza in Doha to 400 “leaders of tomorrow” from 100 countries.

Geneva – “In 2011, the very idea of ‘power’ shifted,” High Commissioner for Human Rights said on the occasion of this year’s Human Rights Day on December 10. “We know there is still too much repression in our world, still too much impunity, still too many people for whom rights are not yet a reality,” Navi Pillay said.

23 Reasons Why We Should be Careful About Uncritically Accepting Western Views of the Syrian Insurrection.

As insurrection in Syria lurches towards civil war, the brakes need to be put on the propaganda pouring through the Western mainstream media and accepted uncritically by many who should know better.

Razan Zeitouneh talks with peace activist Ossama Nassar from Darayaa about the chances of the Syrian revolution to remain peaceful.
The trained eye cannot miss a recent change in the general mood in Syria under the pressure of the regime’s crackdown on the opposition and the lack, to date, of any change in the balance of power that could favour the revolution.

Cairo – Since its very beginning in January, the Egyptian revolution has been an all inclusive people’s movement: the Islamists, the Christians or Copts, men, women, the young, the elderly… entire families were there.