The Democratic Republic of Congo has freed a US diplomat it arrested but is still detaining several young political activists. President Joseph Kabila is under intense pressure not to seek re-election in 2016.
An unnamed DR Congo government spokesman accused US diplomat Kevin Sturr and a number of Congolese pro-democracy activists of posing a threat to national stability. He was speaking before the diplomat’s release on Monday (16.03.2015) Continue reading DR Congo crackdown on pro-democracy activists
Daily Archives: March 16, 2015
Boko Haram’s use of children condemned
Liz Dodd, CNS
Nigeria’s bishops condemned the Islamist terror group Boko Haram for forcing children to commit crimes such as suicide bombings.
“We deplore the fact that young children are used to commit such crimes, and the fact that young Nigerians are used by politicians to intimidate and inflict violence on their political opponents is a disturbing symptom of breakdown of family values in our society,” the bishops said at the end of a five-day meeting on the theme, “Good Families Make Good Nations.”
On 22 February a girl with explosives strapped to her chest, whom witnesses said looked no more than eight years old, killed five people and wounded dozens of others at a security checkpoint outside a market in the north-east Nigerian town of Potiskum. Continue reading Boko Haram’s use of children condemned
Environmental Damage to Gaza Exacerbating Food Insecurity
By Mel Frykberg
BEIT LAHIYA, Northern Gaza Strip, (IPS) – Extensive damage to Gaza’s environment as a result of the Israeli blockade and its devastating military campaign against the coastal territory during last year’s war from July to August, is negatively affecting the health of Gazans, especially their food security.
“We were living on bread and tea and my five children were badly malnourished as my husband and I couldn’t afford proper food,” Safa Subha, 37, from Beit Lahiya told IPS. Continue reading Environmental Damage to Gaza Exacerbating Food Insecurity
Syrian Conflict Has Underlying Links to Climate Change, Says Study
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Was the four-year-old military conflict in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, mostly civilians, triggered at least in part by climate change?
A new study by Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory says “a record drought that ravaged Syria in 2006-2010 was likely stoked by ongoing man-made climate change, and that the drought may have helped propel the 2011 Syrian uprising.” Continue reading Syrian Conflict Has Underlying Links to Climate Change, Says Study
Replace the Gospel of Money: An Interview With David Korten
What if we measured wealth in terms of life, and how well we serve it?
David Korten began his professional life as a professor at the Harvard Business School on a mission to lift struggling people in Third World nations out of poverty by sharing the secrets of U.S. business success. Yet, after a couple of decades in which he applied his organizational development strategies in places as far-flung as Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and the Philippines, Korten underwent a change of heart. In 1995, he wrote the bestseller When Corporations Rule the World, followed by a series of books that helped birth the movement known as the New Economy, a call to replace transnational corporate domination with local economies, control, ownership, and self-reliance. Continue reading Replace the Gospel of Money: An Interview With David Korten
Trade Agreements Rigged to Protect Capital From Democracy
Park MacDougald, Truthout
Barack Obama, like his Democratic predecessor in the White House, has gone all in for free trade. On January 20, the president used his sixth State of the Union address to ask Congress to pass a legal procedure (trade promotion authority) that would enable him to “protect American workers with strong new trade deals,” a reference to two mammoth agreements currently in negotiation: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), with 11 partners in the Pacific Rim; and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), with the European Union. The deals would, two decades after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), create the largest and second-largest free trade zones in the world. Continue reading Trade Agreements Rigged to Protect Capital From Democracy
Pax Christi International on the violent conflict in Syria: ending the war and saving lives must be top priority
Syria’s popular uprising started in the city of Dara in March 2011. The merciless actions of the Syrian Government – whose campaign of violent repression against what were originally peaceful protesters began four long years ago – have now morphed into wave upon wave of pitiless assaults by all sides. The Syrian conflict has killed well in excess of 200.000 people, and continues to kill more every day. It has involved the torture and ill-treatment of countless others; forced millions to flee; and deprived even more of the basic conditions for a decent life, including the rights to education, food, healthcare and housing. Continue reading Pax Christi International on the violent conflict in Syria: ending the war and saving lives must be top priority
Grounds for Better Understanding and Dialogue with Islam
By Sr. Eucharia Madueke, SNDdeN
At a timely lecture jointly sponsored by Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) and THE Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies (IPRCS) of the Catholic University on March 6, Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, M. Afr, explored “Grounds for Better Understanding and Dialogue with Islam.” At the event which attracted people from advocacy network organizations, media, universities and religious communities around Washington DC, Archbishop Fitzgerald (former Apostolic Nuncio, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and past Vatican Delegate to the Arab League) acknowledged the fundamental differences between the two religious leaders – Jesus and Mohammad; differences, he opined, that pose problems for fruitful dialogue. Nevertheless, he expressed optimism about gainful dialogue despite such hindrances, if only diversity is respected. Continue reading Grounds for Better Understanding and Dialogue with Islam
More Fighter Jets in Nicaragua, Second-Poorest Country in the Americas
By José Adán Silva
Nicaraguan soldiers unloading election materials from an Antonov 26 military plane, part of Russia’s cooperation with the country. Credit: Courtesy of the Nicaraguan army.
MANAGUA, Mar 14 2015 (IPS) – Nicaragua, the second-poorest country in the Americas, is tapping into its depleted coffers to upgrade its aging military fleet with costly new equipment from Russia – a move that has sparked controversy at home and concern among the country’s Central American neighbors.
The decision was officially confirmed Feb. 10 by the Nicaraguan army chief, General Adolfo Zepeda. Continue reading More Fighter Jets in Nicaragua, Second-Poorest Country in the Americas
“Grounds for better understanding and dialogue with Islam”
As you can see from the above photo, Sisters Eucharia Madueke and Maura Prendergast attended this important lecture. Sister Ann Gormly and I had both registered to attend. However, we were disappointed when we were unable to get to Catholic University due to very bad weather. Please follow the links and enjoy this important lecture. Continue reading “Grounds for better understanding and dialogue with Islam”
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation 