International issues

New York – UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser is committed to convening an international conference directed at establishing a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East.

In a variation of the legendary slogan “make love, not war”, an eminent Buddhist philosopher is calling for a nuclear-free world in which genuine human security, sustainable development and unwavering respect for the dignity of life do not only comprise an ideal but constitute an entrenched reality.

Filmmaker and environmentalist Josh Fox is to appear in court on 15 February on a charge of “unlawful entry” following his arrest in Congress on 1 February, when he was prevented from filming a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment on the grounds that he lacked press credentials.

More than 60% of ships involved in reported cases of sanctions-busting or illicit transfers of arms, drugs, other military equipment and sensitive dual-use goods that could be used in the development of missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are owned by companies based in the EU, NATO or other OECD states.

Finally, there is some argumentation in the West supportive of a nuclear free zone for the Middle East. Such thinking is still treated as politically marginal, and hardly audible above the beat of the war drums.

Geneva – Almost 1,100 Palestinians, over half of them children, were displaced due to home demolitions in the West Bank by Israeli forces in 2011 – over 80 per cent more than in the previous year – according to a [United Nations new report.](http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41051&Cr=palestin&Cr1=)

Berlin – “We want a nuclear weapons free world.” More than 80 percent of people around the globe have expressed this overwhelming desire to authors of a new report. But a close look shows that very little is happening rather slowly in terms of reducing nukes and putting a halt to proliferation. This is cause of profound concern also to atomic scientists.

Thanks to a wave of demonstrations and protests in Santiago the government has abandoned plans to force journalists to hand over images to police under controversial new legislation sponsored by interior minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, who announced on 18 January that he would withdraw that section of the bill.

Reporters Without Borders is stunned by Paris-based TV satellite operator Eutelsat’s decision yesterday to stop carrying the broadcasts of Copenhagen-based Kurdish TV station Roj TV on the grounds that a Danish court found it guilty of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an armed separatist group regarded by Turkey as a terrorist organization.

Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns yesterday’s decision by Hungary’s Media Council to strip Klubradio, the country’s only national opposition radio station, of its broadcast frequency within a couple of months.