Politics
Pakistan Rock Firm Against New Nuclear Treaty
Pakistan is standing like a rock in the surf resisting growing international pressure to endorse a global treaty that would ban production of fissile material used as fuel for nuclear weapons. Reiterating its adamant opposition, Pakistan has warned that it would boycott any process to negotiate a U.S.-backed treaty outside the deadlocked UN Conference on Disarmament (CD).
New Talks Proposed by Israel and US to Stop UN Bid by Palestinians
An Israeli government official said on Tuesday that his country would be willing to begin new peace talks with the 1967 Green Line as a basis for negotiations on the condition that the Palestinians drop their United Nations membership bid. The assumption is that if this process succeeds, the Palestinians will withdraw their proposal for unilateral action at the UN.
Raul Castro Announces Immigration Policy Update
Cuban President Raul Castro announced at the 7th period of sessions of the seventh legislature of the National Assembly of People’s Power that Cuba is working on updating the current immigration policy, by reformulating and drawing up a group of regulatory measures in that sector based on the current and foreseeable future conditions.
Ethiopia’s World Heritage Site Tribes Threatened
While millions in East Africa are caught in the cobweb of a devastating drought that has spread its tentacles across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, the government in Addis Ababa is snatching some of Ethiopia’s most productive farmland from local tribes and leasing it to foreign companies to grow and export food.
Libyan Rebels’ Military Chief Slain
The head of the Libyan rebels’ military operations against Col. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed in a targeted assassination. Abdel Fattah Younes was shot dead on Thursday as he headed to appear before a rebel-organized judicial committee.
According to United Nations, there have been no progress in Libya talks until now.
GOP Delays Debt Ceiling Vote, Dems Vow Senate Defeat
House Speaker John Boehner has delayed a vote on his debt-ceiling plan after failing to gather enough Republican support. Boehner pulled his measure late Thursday night after it became clear hard-line Republicans refused to abandon their demands for even deeper budget cuts. The bill would slash government spending by $917 billion over the next decade.
PLO: Palestine Meets the Conditions for Full Membership at the United Nations
The Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiations Affairs Department released a report, Road for Palestine Statehood – Recognition and Admission, says that Palestine has met all the conditions for forming an independent state according to the 1933 Montevideo Convention, which states the rights and duties of countries.
Israeli Soldiers Attack Non-Violent Protest in Al-Walajeh; Seven Arrested
Israeli soldiers arrested two Palestinians and five Internationals during an anti-wall nonviolent protest on Wednesday morning in Al-Walajeh village near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. On Tuesday, Israeli army bulldozers started to uproot trees owned by local farmers to make way for the new section of the wall that Israel has been building for three year there.
Venezuela President Chávez Launches Re-election Bid
“I have medical, scientific, humanitarian, loving, and political reasons for staying on as leader of the government and as leader of an even stronger campaign than before” said Chávez. In an interview with the Correo del Orinoco newspaper, Chávez confirmed that he would be the first to put themselves forward in a bid for presidency if he is physically and mentally capable.