He was once a liberal law professor who campaigned against the Iraq war. Now, according to revelations last week, the US president personally oversees a ‘kill list’ for drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. Then there’s the CIA renditions, increased surveillance and a crackdown on whistleblowers. No wonder Washington insiders are likening him to ‘George W Bush on steroids’ Continue reading
Daily Archives: June 3, 2012
Canada, Last Holdout, Drops Opposition to Water as Human Right
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, May 31, 2012 (IPS) – Canada, in a dramatic political turnaround, has signaled its willingness to recognise water and sanitation as a basic human right. As negotiations continue over the Rio+20 plan of action on sustainable development to be adopted in Brazil next month, Canada became one of the last Western nations to drop its opposition to a reference to water as a human right in the document titled “The Future We Want.” Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, one of Canada’s largest social justice advocacy organisations, said it took “unprecedented pressure” to get the government in Ottawa to change its position. Continue reading
After War, Economic Crisis Hits South Sudan
By Charlton Doki
JUBA, Jun 1, 2012 (IPS) – The United Nations has warned that despite the austerity measures put in place by South Sudan to deal with its economic woes, humanitarian agencies will have to increase relief efforts in order to keep the country’s poor alive as the financial situation worsens. “It is going be the humanitarians who are going provide the assistance that is necessary to help families survive,” U.N. humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan Lise Grande told IPS. Continue reading
Rwanda ‘training rebels to fight Congo army’
A group of defectors fighting for the M23 rebel movement against the Congolese army say that they were recruited and trained in neighbouring Rwanda against their will. Continue reading
