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Friday, April 24, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
RIGHTS-IRAN: Groups Denounce Crackdown on Dual Nationals
Human rights groups are calling on the Iranian government to halt its harassment of dual nationals, release two U.S.-Iranian citizens charged with espionage on Tuesday, return the passports to two other dual-national journalists, and provide information about the location of a peace activist who "disappeared" on May 8.
MEDIA-US: Religious Right Gets More Than Its 15 Minutes
Conservative religious figures are mentioned in the major U.S. news media as many as 2.8 times as often as progressive religious figures, says a new study released Tuesday in Washington.POLITICS-US: Immigration Bill Withers on the Vine
The immigration bill introduced in Congress last week is the first attempt at a wide-ranging compromise designed to give legal status to 12 million undocumented workers in the United States, but stiff opposition from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers has left an uphill battle for proponents of the legislation.RIGHTS: Amnesty Report Decries “Politics of Fear”
The "politics of fear" are polarising the world and leading to an erosion of human rights, according to Amnesty International's annual report released Wednesday.POLITICS-US: Halliburton Looks to Greener Pastures
As Halliburton held its annual meeting Wednesday in Houston, Texas, the Washington-based Corpwatch released its own "Alternative Annual Report" which details the alleged wrongdoings of the company and its former subsidiary, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), and questions the motivation behind Halliburton's planned move to the United Arab Emirates.RIGHTS: Bill Shields Pentagon Aid Boost from Oversight
Newly proposed legislation would expand existing Pentagon security and military aid programmes in Iraq and Afghanistan to "coalition partners" in Africa, Asia and Latin America.TRADE: Deal Rekindles Hopes and Fears over U.S. Policy
A new U.S. policy to include internationally recognised labour and environmental standards in future trade deals with foreign countries has received mixed reactions in the United States.DEATH PENALTY-US: Three Newspapers Reverse 100-Year-Old Stand
Three established U.S. newspapers, two of them among the 10 largest in the country, in three different states have in the past weeks abandoned their century-old support of the death penalty and become passionate advocates of a ban on state-sponsored killing.MAY DAY-US: Wal-Mart Skirting Labour Protections
The retail giant Wal-Mart exploits weak U.S. labour laws to prevent union formation and violates the fundamental human rights of its U.S. workers, says a report released Monday on the eve of the May Day labour holiday.UGANDA: Time Is Critical in Peace Talks with LRA Rebels
Negotiations between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government, which restarted on Apr. 26 in the northern Sudanese town of Juba, have given new hope to a 10-month-old peace process designed to end of one of the longest lasting and most brutal wars in Africa.IRAQ: Troop Surge Touted as Success, But Casualty Stats Incomplete
The George W. Bush administration and proponents of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq have claimed that the increased military presence in Baghdad and al-Anbar province has reduced sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and lowered civilian casualties. But not all of the numbers are being included.U.S.: Record Military Budget Ignores Security “Big Picture” – Study
Although 57 percent of the U.S. public now believes that sending troops to Iraq was a mistake, the military budget request that President George W. Bush submitted to Congress is the largest since World War II - and little money is earmarked for domestic security.DRUGS-U.S.: Cocaine Price Falls Despite Supply-Side Squeeze
Preliminary U.S. government data, quietly disclosed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, shows the price per gram of cocaine on the streets fell in 2006 while its purity increased, despite over 31 billion dollars spent on operations over the last decade to stem the flow of cocaine into the United States.ENVIRONMENT: "Green Nobel" for Fighting Extractive Industries, Defending Wildlife
The common denominator of all six winners of this year's Goldman Prize, often referred to as the "Green Nobel", is their effectiveness in fighting big fights to protect the environment despite their relative anonymity.MIDEAST: Secrecy Surrounds Probe of Arab-Israeli Lawmaker
The Israeli leader of an Arab-nationalist political party is under investigation, but an Israeli magistrate has put a ban on detailing in the Israeli media just what charges he faces.DEVELOPMENT-U.S.: Nestle Bottling Operations Court Controversy
As Nestlé shareholders gathered Thursday in Switzerland for their annual meeting, growing numbers of voices question the company's claims on spring water around the world and its effects on local communities.POLITICS: World Opposed to U.S. as Global Cop
The world public rejects the U.S. role as a world leader, but still wants the United States to do its share in multilateral efforts and does not support a U.S. withdrawal from international affairs, says a poll released Wednesday.POLITICS-U.S.: Massacre Renews Call for ‘Common-Sense’ Gun Policy
The massacre at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, which left at least 33 dead and 29 injured in the worst school shooting in U.S. history, has led gun control advocates in Congress and elsewhere to call for immediate reforms to current gun control legislation.ENVIRONMENT: World Bank Failing to Rein In DRC Logging
The World Bank is failing in its efforts to bring the Democratic Republic of Congo's rainforest logging industry under control, leading to negative implications for climate change, and rampant corruption, according to a new report.RIGHTS-U.S./IRAQ: Claims Detail Grim Civilian Toll
Newly released documents have made public hundreds of claims for damages by Iraqi civilians requesting compensations for the death and injury of family members as a result of operations by Coalition Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.DEVELOPMENT: War-Torn Nations in Dire Need of Schools
Children in so-called conflict affected fragile states (CAFS) represent a disproportionate number of the world's out-of-school population largely because these countries are under-funded by international aid donors when compared to other low-income countries, says a report released Thursday.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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