Prague, 22 March 2015 (Pressenza) – Czech anti-war campaigners have launched a new campaign to focus opposition to the proposed procession of US military equipment through the country having completed military exercises in the Baltic as part of “Operation Atlantic Resolve”.
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Map showing the route of the US convoy through the Czech Republic | Source: Pressenza
The US is building up its military capacity by upgrading its hardware and increasing numbers of personnel in a direct display of force to Russia which has been conducting its own military exercises near the Ukraine border.
The Nato exercises, led by the US have taken place in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and are due to be extended to Romania and Bulgaria over the coming weeks.
As the Baltic exercises come to an end the hardware will be transported to the Vilseck base in Germany and in order to get there, the quickest route from Poland is via the Czech Republic.
Yemen stands on the brink of civil war amid deepening political tensions and an uptick in sectarian violence, United Nations Special Adviser Jamal Benomar on 22 March 2015 warned as he explained that only through dialogue could the country achieve a peaceful political transition.*
A wide view of the Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen. UN Photo/Mark Garten
Briefing the Security Council via video conference in a rare Sunday [22 March] session, Benomar told the UN body that Yemen was on a “rapid downward spiral” as the conflict took on “worrying sectarian tones and deepening north-south divisions.”
“Emotions are running extremely high and, unless solutions can be found, the country will fall into further violent confrontations,” Benomar declared. “Events in Yemen are leading the country away from political settlement and to the edge of civil war.”
The situation in Yemen has been rapidly deteriorating since the country formed a new Government in November 2014 aimed at ending a period of political turbulence and bringing about a full transition towards democracy.
As the perils of climate change increasingly threaten the planet, the international community must unite in “a spirit of urgent cooperation” to address the many water-related challenges facing humanity, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 22 March 2015 declared.
Photo: UNICEF/Wathiq Khuzaie
In hismessage marking the 2015 edition of World Water Day, observed annually on 22 March, the Secretary-General warned that access to safe drinking water and sanitation was among “the most urgent issues” affecting populations across the globe.
“The onset of climate change, growing demand on finite water resources from agriculture, industry and cities, and increasing pollution in many areas are hastening a water crisis that can only be addressed by cross-sectoral, holistic planning and policies – internationally, regionally and globally,” Ban affirmed.
Up to 250 child soldiers including four girls, one as young as nine, were released in South Sudan from an armed group, the Cobra Faction. Another 400 are being released in the coming days, according to UNICEF. New release will bring number of freed children to more than 1,300 since 26 January.*
Source: UNICEF
JUBA/NAIROBI/NEW YORK, 21 March, 2015 – Up to 250 child soldiers including four girls, one as young as nine, were released today in South Sudan from an armed group, the Cobra Faction. Another 400 are being released over the next two days.
The release happened in the remote village of Lekuangole, in Jonglei State. It is the third release of children following a peace deal between the faction and the Government.
In a report released on 15 January 2015, SIWI informed that the respondents also found that a water crisis is closely linked to several other risks; obviously to food, extreme weather events and failure of climate-change adaptation, but also to inter-state conflict, profound social instability and failure of urban planning.
“The picture painted by the Global Risk report should be a very sobering one. The water challenges confronting us are indeed tremendous”, says Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of SIWI.
22 March 2015, World Water Day* — The planet is facing a 40% shortfall in water supply by 2030, unless we dramatically improve the management of this precious resource. This is the unavoidable conclusion reached in the 2015 United Nations World Water Development Report, “Water for a Sustainable World”, launched in New Delhi India ahead of the World Water Day marked on 22 March 2015.
Source: FAO
“There is already international consensus that water and sanitation are essential to the achievement of many sustainable development goals. They are inextricably linked to climate change, agriculture, food security, health, energy, equality, gender and education. Now, we must look forward to measurability, monitoring and implementation”, says Michel Jarraud, Chair of UN-Water and Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization.
“Knowledge of history and memory of past crimes can allow us to build a future of peace, providing an antidote to hatred and prejudice,” said Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO marking theInternational Coalition of Cities against Racism on 21 March 2015.*
Source: UNESCO
“It is in this spirit that International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is dedicated this year to the theme of “Learning from historical tragedies to combat racial discrimination today.”
UNESCO has been working tirelessly for many years to disseminate teaching of the history of slavery and the slave trade, recognized as a crime against humanity in 2001, she said.
As the American saying goes: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
I would say: “Today is the first day of the battle for the next elections!”
The battle for the salvation of Israel must start right now.
SOME PEOPLE say that the best course now is a so-called National Unity Government.
Looks like a nice idea. Unity always sounds nice.
I can muster some good arguments for it. The combination of the two major parties creates a bloc of 54 seats (of 120). Such a coalition needs only one other party to form a majority. There are several possibilities, headed by Moshe Kahlon’s 10 seats.
The advocates of this choice have one good argument: it’s the Lesser Evil. The only other possibility is an extreme right-wing-religious government, which will not only stop any step towards peace, but also expand settlements, enact more laws to choke democracy and impose reactionary religious laws.
It’s a good argument, but it has to be rejected outright.
Rome, 21 March 2015 – For a long time, citizens of the United States have firmly believed that their country has an exceptional destiny, and continue to do so today even though their political system has become totally dysfunctional.
Roberto Savio
The three pillars of U.S. democracy – legislative, executive and judicial – are no longer on speaking terms, so dialogue or the possibility of bipartisan policy has virtually disappeared.
In this context, to please his opponents, and with a view to the U.S. presidential elections in 2016, President Barack Obama is increasingly being pushed to act as strong guy.
This is the only reasonable explanation on why he has suddenly declared Venezuela a security threat to the United States, just months after starting the process of normalisation of relations with Cuba, a long-time U.S. enemy in Latin America and ally of Venezuela.
The country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, is extremely happy because his denunciations of a U.S. plot with Venezuela’s opposition to have him removed have now been officially justified – by no less than the United States itself. Even the New York Times, in an editorial on 12 March 2015, wondered about the wisdom of such move.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 