International issues

In North Korea, more than 100,000 people attended a government rally Thursday denouncing the United States. Government speakers promised “a fire shower of nuclear retaliation” in the event of US or South Korean military action.

Amid the clutter of calls for a revamped response to the Iranian presidential elections, Shirin Ebadi defends the constitutional right to public protest and appeals for protection, not violence.

During meeting with Rafael de la Rubia, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, the president of the General Assembly, says that there is 100 per cent agreement with the goals of the World March

Hunger Strike at the Rafah Gate by 4 representatives of the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border (IMORB) demanding an end to the siege of Gaza which has lasted for more than two years. 1.5 million Gazans need to get food and medicines, as well as rebuild their homes after Israeli military strikes that have left the Gaza Strip decimated.

United States envoy George Mitchell called Tuesday for a “prompt resumption” of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, saying regional support for President Barack Obama has boosted peace prospects.

*”We all share an obligation to help create the conditions for the prompt resumption and the early conclusion of negotiations,”* the special Middle East envoy said.

Mitchell, speaking at his first press conference in Washington since his appointment in January, gave no time-frame but hoped his preliminary discussions aimed at reviving the negotiations would conclude in a matter of weeks.

The Brazilian President, in an official visit yesterday to Kazakhstan, advocated for international disarmament initiatives, including nuclear weapons.

Adopted by the UN in 1996, the treaty can only come into force when 44 specific countries who at the time of negotiations had nuclear technology have ratified it. China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States have yet to do so although during the US election campaign Obama said, “As president, I will reach out to the Senate to secure the ratification of the CTBT at the earliest practical date.”

Former President Jimmy Carter has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of setting up new obstacles to peace with the Palestinians. On Sunday, Netanyahu said for the first time he could accept a two-state solution, but only if the new Palestinian state had no army and no control of its airspace and borders. Jimmy Carter spoke during a stop in Jerusalem.

Chomsky continues writing for Pressenza in an article in which he reflects on the direction of US policy in the Middle East.

The month of June has brought sad news, as three members of the global movement against gun violence were on the Air France flight that went missing on 1 June while flying from Brazil to France.