Archive for October 11th, 2012

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11/10/2012

First International Day of the Girl Child: End Child Marriage – UN

The UN marked on 11 October 2012t he first International Day of the Girl Child by calling for an end to child marriage, and stressing education as one of the best strategies for protecting girls against this harmful practice.

Girls learn to read in Bubel village in Orissa, India | UNICEF

“Education for girls is one of the best strategies for protecting girls against child marriage,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day. “When they are able to stay in school and avoid being married early, girls can build a foundation for a better life for themselves and their families.”

“Let us do our part to let girls be girls, not brides,” he stated, urging governments, community and religious leaders, civil society, the private sector, and families – especially men and boys – to promote the rights of girls.

Approximately 70 million young women today were married before age 18, according to the UN, which notes that child marriage denies a girl her childhood, disrupts her education, limits her opportunities, increases her risk of being a victim of violence and abuse, and jeopardizes her health, the UN reports.

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East, Mother Earth, The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

11/10/2012

Middle East: U.S. Deploys Military Task Force in Jordan… In Preparation for Wider War?

Human Wrongs Watch

By Bill Van Auken, WSWS* – In preparation for a direct US intervention in Syria and a wider war in the Middle East, the Pentagon has secretly deployed a 150-strong military task force in Jordan.

Middle East map. By: W123 | Wikimedia Commons

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Wednesday confirmed the existence of the task force, which was first reported by the New York Times.

Speaking to the media at the close of a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, Panetta stated, “We have a group of our forces there working to help build a headquarters there and to insure that we make the relationship between the United States and Jordan a strong one so that we can deal with all the possible consequences of what’s happening in Syria.”

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Posted in Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | Leave a Comment »

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