Global net censorship ‘growing’
The level of state-led censorship of the net is growing around the world, a study of so-called ‘internet filtering’ by the Open Net Initiative suggests.
Censoring the web: Reports from a handful of countries where web users face difficulties.
Belarus elections don’t impress EU
‘Arbitrary use of state power and widespread detentions showed a disregard for the basic rights of freedom of assembly, association and expression, and raise doubts regarding the authorities’ willingness to tolerate political competition.’
UNESCO bid to save Berlin Jewish cemetery
Europe’s ostensibly biggest Jewish cemetery has become so dilapidated that Berlin community leaders fear for its future. Their hopes rest on UNESCO world heritage status to save it.
Nuremberg’s legacy
The trials of 22 Nazi leaders opened at Nürnberg on 20 November, 1945. Sixty years later, the legacy of the Nuremburg Trials is apparent in the development of modern international law — even if the Americans are no longer setting the tone.
Amnesty condemns UK anti-terror laws
In a submission to MPs, Amnesty International denounced Tony Blair’s proposals to increase police powers of detention and make a new offence of the glorification of terrorism. It called them ‘ill-conceived and dangerous’, amounting to an attack on ‘the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law’.
Terror bill climbdown
The government has been forced to compromise on the proposal to hold terror suspects without charge for three months to head off a backbench rebellion.
Farewell, Sarajevo
Paddy Ashdown: ‘The generous way of putting it is that we were not ready for this. The less generous way is to say, “How was it possible to return to the politics of appeasement of the 1930s?”’
“People are always nicer than politicians, but here, you can mark that difference up a hundredfold”
— Paddy Ashdown |
French Muslims face job discrimination
Days of rioting in the bleaker suburbs of Paris have highlighted discontent among many French youths of North African origin.
Headscarf defeat riles French Muslims
Rioting in a Paris suburb has highlighted discontent among French youths of foreign origin, many of whom define themselves through Islam.
Germany marks 15 years of unity
Germany has been marking 15 years since reunification at a time of great political uncertainty and continuing east-west divisions.
US troops ‘starve Iraqi citizens’
A senior United Nations official has accused US-led coalition troops of depriving Iraqi civilians of food and water in breach of humanitarian law.
Mugabe more secure as opposition disintegrates
Divisions rocking Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have widened, as factions battling for control intensified their infighting. The MDC’s leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said he did not care if the party disintegrated.
Belarus human rights under spotlight again
The EU has condemned recent developments in Belarus that suggest the country’s attitudes towards human rights are deteriorating further.
Terror checks ‘target ethnic men’
People from certain ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped and searched on London transport after the bombings, British Transport Police have said.
Potsdam conference on the web
Records of the Potsdam conference of July and August 1945 are now available on the Foreign Office web-site.
Pages include an overview of the conference in its historical context, notes and impressions of the shattered cities of Berlin and Potsdam, and records of the meetings that attempted to find a settlement to take Europe forward in the post-war years. The principals in these meetings were Churchill, Truman, Eden, Attlee, Bevin, Stalin and Molotov.
G8 leaders agree $50bn aid boost
‘It isn’t all everyone wanted, but it is progress.’ – Tony Blair
‘All of this does not change the world tomorrow. It is a beginning, not an end.’ – President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria
But to qualify for aid, third world countries have to meet stringent conditions, such as privatising healthcare, education or the water supply. Many people cannot afford to pay the rates charged by commercial operators, and so the policies actually kill people.
Muslim leaders join condemnation
Muslim leaders have condemned the attacks on London and said they fear their communities could now fall prey to vigilante attacks.
Mount Igman declaration equals Balkan optimism
On 27 June a joint declaration was made by the presidents of Croatia, Serbia & Montenegro, and Bosnia & Herzegovina in Belgrade. It spells out the way forward for peaceful coexistence and cooperation in the region.
G8 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, UK Chairman’s statement
23 June: ‘G8 Foreign Ministers met in London to discuss a range of global and regional issues. The meeting focused on the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Iran. We also exchanged views on UN reform, international trade in arms, and developments in the Western Balkans, Sudan, North Korea, Iraq, Lebanon, Zimbabwe and Haiti.’
30 years ago in South Africa
‘In the worst racial clashes since the shootings at Sharpeville 16 years ago, at least eight people died today during riots in the Johannesburg African township of Soweto.’ Read the Guardian’s archive article.
Art & war
‘What we found time and time again is that individuals who who were trafficking in antiquities were also trafficking in weapons. They went hand-in-hand.’
Balkans urged to curb people-trafficking
Countries in south-east Europe are failing to take effective measures against people-trafficking, Unicef says.
Looted Iraqi artifacts traded on eBay
A huge number of priceless artifacts have been looted from Iraqi archeological sites and museums since the US action in the country began. Despite stern warnings from former Secretary of State Colin Powell, many of these items are now openly traded on eBay.
Zimbabwe cleric urges ‘uprising’
A senior Church leader in Zimbabwe has openly called for a peaceful uprising against President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwean singer tricked into playing for Zanu PF
A request to Oliver Mtukudzi to sing a few solo songs at what he understood would be a private gathering of relatives was turned into a Zanu PF event. Without prior warning or permission, he was filmed and broadcast.
China threatens Taiwan. Taiwan protests
Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, protesting against China’s recently-passed ‘anti-secession’ law, which paves the way for war if Taiwan moves towards independence from the mainland.
Bush’s phoney morality hides ‘cultural catastrophe’
None but the stupidest observer could genuinely believe that US forces respected Iraqi culture as they carried out their quasi-moral mission there. It is easy enough to imagine the slogans that kept the young soldiers motivated, and difficult to believe that many of them would have been greatly interested in ancient history. But the problems go much further than passive ignorance and ‘collateral damage’.
There is considerable eye-witness evidence that historical buildings were deliberately destroyed by the invading forces. Either shells were fired at innocent targets — notably mosques — or we must believe in the stunning incompetence of the gunners. It is a matter of record that ancient artifacts were looted. This, say local people, was not just a war pursued on a dubious basis: this was cultural vandalism.
Here is how one of our linked sites, Islamic Arts & Architecture — not normally known for political motivations or rabid fundamentalism — describes the effects and aftermath of the war.
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As Arabs and Muslims, we are entitled, as is the rest of the world, to record the new phase of history that began in April 2003 as the ‘second fall of Baghdad’ rather than ‘the liberation of Iraq’ — a term favoured by the US media in an effort to influence the minds and conscience of the international public and to give a moral dimension to an immoral and illegitimate war.
The looting and destruction in Baghdad of historical records narrating the development of civilisation over 5000 years is a disaster for humanity that is only equalled by the burning of books and the destruction of irrigation networks in Iraq by Hulago and his vengeful soldiers in 1258.
According to a group of international experts met in Paris in 2003 at the behest of UNESCO, in addition to the widely reported looting of the Baghdad Museum, the Iraqi National Library and Archives in Baghdad had also been looted and burned, as had the library of Islamic manuscripts attached to the Ministry of Al-Awqaf [Religious Endowments], destroying irreplaceable artifacts of Mesopotamian and Arab civilisation.
This simply means that part of the development of the human intellect has been lost forever.
Copyright © 2005 Islamic Arts and Architecture Organisation
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Roma to benefit from new initiative
Eight central European states have joined in an initiative called the Decade of Roma Inclusion (DRI). Supported by the World Bank and the Open Society Foundation (OSF), the goal of the initiative is to help Roma communities break free from poverty, discrimination and harsh social and economic conditions.
Ukraine: A House Divided
‘The Orange Revolution is carving new fault lines between Old and New Europe that have nothing to do with war in Iraq.’
Human rights concerns reignited in Belarus
Belarusian opposition candidate Mikhail Marinich has been convicted on charges of theft and sentenced to five years in prison, with a further three-year ban on holding public office. The EU is not impressed.
UK Chancellor sets out anti-poverty aims
Chancellor Gordon Brown wants to harness worldwide horror over the fate of Asia’s tsunami victims to drive forward the agenda for helping Africa. In a long-planned speech, Mr Brown has restated his goals for doubling aid and eliminating the poorest nations’ debt.
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