North America
May Day Protests Held Worldwide; Dozens Arrested in U.S.
Labor and immigrant groups were joined by Occupy demonstrators nationwide on Tuesday in May Day rallies for economic injustice and humane immigration reform. In New York City, a long day of separate actions converged in a rally at Union Square and then a march down to Wall Street, where the Occupy movement began last year.
Labor, Occupy Prepare for May Day Protests
Labor and progressive groups are preparing for a national slate of protests on Tuesday in what’s expected to be one of the largest May Day turnouts since the immigrant rights marches of 2006 and 2007. Occupy Wall Street is seeking a turnout of tens of thousands under the slogan of “General Strike. No Work. No Shopping. Occupy Everywhere.”
A new review cycle, a new chance to ban nuclear weapons
Once again states parties, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations are meeting in Vienna to start another review cycle of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Unlike in 2007, however, we are returning to this first preparatory committee with a final document and an action plan adopted by consensus from the last Review Conference.
UN Urges Total Elimination of Chemical Weapons
The United Nations (UN) urged the eight countries that remain outside the Chemical Weapons Convention to adhere to this instrument and advance in the destruction of such artefacts.
The call was made by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon in a message marking the Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Weapons, which anniversary is next Sunday.
Stop the land grab!
Farmers demand World Bank – Wall Street stop grabbing their lands… at opening of the Bank’s annual conference. “Land governance in a rapidly changing environment” was the theme of the 2012 World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, held April 23-26 in Washington DC. Corporate investors, governments and International Financial Institutions met at the World Bank headquarters.
U.N. Security Council Agrees to Deploy 300 Observers to Syria
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a Russia-European resolution that authorizes an initial deployment of up to 300 unarmed military observers to Syria for three months to help bolster a fragile week-old ceasefire. The deployment depends on an assessment about compliance with a six-point peace deal mediated by envoy Kofi Annan.
What The Arab Spring Means For Freedom
By Megan Martin*
Wielding mobile phones and computers, the young activists across the Middle East have altered the way the world approaches popular mobilization, social networks and Internet freedom.
The Internet can be a transformational force for societies and individuals, allowing for organization on a mass scale and the free flow of information.
In the Great Recession, Even Death Is Too Expensive for the Poor
Editor’s Note: This story was written for New America Media as the first in a series of columns by Dr. Sanjay Basu called A Doctor’s Word, exploring the impact of the recession on health care for poor people. It appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Insight and on SFGate.com, media from where Pressenza obtained it.
2.4 Million Victims of Human Trafficking At Any Given Time Across the Globe
New York – At any given time across the globe, some 2.4 million people are victims of human trafficking, a crime that generates $32 billion annually, rivalling the profits reaped by the illicit trade in arms and drugs. Every year, thousands of people fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad, with women comprise two thirds of trafficking victims.