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During the 91st anniversary of the former South African president activists around the world pledge 67 minutes of community service and non-discrimination events. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and the 46664 campaign will promote tomorrow, on July 18th, the Mandela Day Celebration in New York. One of the objectives is to institute an official worldwide activist day.

Participants asked the World March team to denounce the intention of the Japanese government to modify the Japanese Constitution that renounces the right to go to war.

The United States today suspended their operations at the Manta military base, located on the Ecuadorian coast and is starting a process of definitive withdrawal from the facility it has occupied since 1999. Minister of Defence, Javier Ponce said that this is the start of the end until the installation is physically handed back.

According to the UN World Food Programme the economic crisis is adding four million hungry people per week.

The United States, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Austria and Belgium head the list of the world’s leading exporters of these types of weapons.

Delegations from various countries and international personalities are meeting until the 18th of July to talk about peace and reconciliation.

Although Obama and Medvedev pledged to work for a nuclear weapons free world this spring, they failed to take meaningful steps at their July summit to put the world on the proper path to nuclear abolition.

Avaaz.org, a community made up of three million citizens, is calling on all residents of Latin America to sign a declaration which is to be sent to the negotiating table for the political conflict in Honduras. A formal request will be submitted to Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica, “[in order for] the parties involved to be aware that the people of Latin America will only accept a political resolution based on democratic principles”.

Pressenza rediscovers an article from the Brazilian religious activist Frei Betto in which he makes a surprising proposal regarding the devolution of occupied territories. For the former consultant and personal friend of Lula and Fidel Castro, the USA should not only withdraw their troops from Iraq, but also return Texas, California and Arizona to Mexico, and Puerto Rico to the Puerto Ricans, in addition to returning the Guantanamo Naval base to the Cubans.

At the G8 meeting in Italy, world leaders pledged $12 billion for a “food security initiative” for the world’s poorest countries. The total committed falls three billion dollars short of the $15 billion promised by President Obama.