WAR IN IRAQ IS NOT OVER!

Most people would answer that the war in Iraq is, most certainty, over, as that is what the media told us. This is what happened to soldier Christopher Corder when he told people he was in Iraq. The most common response was to confuse Iraq with Afghanistan or to argue that his job in Iraq was useless as war in Iraq is over. Unfortunately, Iraqis have not notice the end of the war yet. The situation remains the same, with troops in their streets, rockets and fear.
How can a war be over when attacks keep taking place in their streets and people keep dying? The possible misunderstanding arises when mentioning the transition between Operation Iraqi freedom to Operation New Dawn. When this took place people could not help to celebrate and assumed that war in Iraq was over and soldiers were ready to go home. Unfortunately, this was not the case. War still remains in Iraq, and the frustration suffered by those soldiers is understandable. It is difficult to keep fighting if people assume that, just like that, from one day to another the war ended.
What really shocked me about this article is what the writers battalion commander told his troops before they left Iraq : “You have seen the worst that humanity can do to each other and you will want to talk to somebody about it. Unfortunately, no one back home will care. The only person who will care is the teammate to your right and left who was there with you when it happened.” This shows the ugly truth: people do not care anymore about Iraq; they have more important things to think about, such as the release of the new Iphone or the situation in Palestine. Sadly the Iraq war has become the forgotten war and nobody seems to remember all the suffering that has been going on in this country and all the people who has died and keep on dying due to the war.

Serbs ’em right

After beating a Brooklyn student Miladin Kovacevic, a Serbian basketball player at SUNY, was helped by two diplomats to escape from U.S.A, they provided him a passport and the needed documentation to fly back to Serbia. Yesterday a Serbian court sentenced them. Igor Milosevic was given 18 months of jail while his chief Slobodan Nenadovic got a year suspended for not stoping Milosevic. Now, the criminal has been given a 27-month prison term. And the victim after three months of coma is nearly fully recovered.
As a conclusion this dispute create tensions between Serbia and the U.S.A and finally The Serbian government paid $900,000 to Steinhauer as compensation for the cost of medical treatment.

In my opinion, Serbian diplomats harmed Serbians position in many ways specially now that they are struggling to get the acces to the E.U. However, i think the title of the article is a little bit controversial and could even be claimed to be racist as it is generalizing the actions of three men with a whole country, i see the main idea, and i do agree that maybe even the punishment is not enough but, i don't think the tittle for this article is very appropriate. Also, i'd like to remark the fact that the Serbian government tried by all means to judge this criminals themselves as they were afraid Miladin Kovacevic might get death sentence.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/serbs_em_right_Y7nasCcDV8V0OUZyOuQ3hN#ixzz1b8N71sf6











http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/serbs_em_right_Y7nasCcDV8V0OUZyOuQ3hN

Syrian Health Services Questioned

Syrian security forces have been accused of violating human rights in Syria over the last months. It has been said that Syria has been targeting doctors and raiding hospitals in order to find wounded protesters who are against the Syrian regime. Groups such as Human Rights Watch and Local Coordination Committees (LCC) have seen how a number of doctors and pharmacists have been arrested in the last couple of weeks and how patients have also been taken away from hospitals, preventing doctors from treating them.

This is not the first time this issue is raised. In August the Syrian authorities were also accused of “attacking” people working in health, and those in need of medical facilities, through a report issued by Physicians for Human Rights, based in the United States.

Hospitals have also been controlled by security forces that have forced doctors and nurses to inform them of who enters the hospitals. This was, in most cases, not allowing the health services in the country to help people in need because they were protesters. This situation also led to the arrest of many patients and the decision of others who decided to heal their wounds at home.

It is believed that the uprising is becoming increasingly militarized, something worrying for the civilians, who are starting to suffer the consequences in their own skin; LCC and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have confirmed that at least 12 civilians were killed on Monday in Homs by Syrian security forces.

In my opinion this is a clear violation of human rights. The right of health assistance should not depend on the side a person takes in a conflict, and even less in one like this where the uprising has been going on for about five months and does not look like it is going to end soon.

A large number of Syrians are involved in this uprising and if security forces continue to control hospitals, or try to control them more than they already are, things can get worse. I think it is not going to benefit the Syrian security forces as I think it will only produce more unrest and bitterness among the protesters.

There is proof behind all these allegations so I guess it could get to the point where an international intervention to support human rights might be necessary, but we will have to wait and see how the conflict evolves.

Article: http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/10/17/3449469/syrian-regime-accused-of-targeting.html#ixzz1b4lIjYox

Ezeiza, Aeroparque airports slowly resume services

The Ezeiza and Aeroparque airport situation in Buenos Aires, is going back to normal after being all the domestic and international flights cancelled. This cancellation was caused by the big cloud of ash that the Puyehue volcano, located in the Chilean Patagonia, brought last Monday due to strong winds. The winds began to blow at 80 miles per hour, causing not only the movement of ash in the atmosphere, but also that it is placed on the floor, roaf and routes in the south. 

According to the Secretary of Transportation, Juan Pablo Schiavi, rescheduling the flights suspended will take up to three days. Airlines Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral began to resume its operations last Monday noon. 

Moreover the National Geological Service ( sernageomin) of Chile reported that the volcano remains the "low intensity eruption process and stable trend" with "low emission of fine particulate material and abundant water vapor." 

The Chilean agency found that given the current characteristics of the activity of the volcano the dispersion of the ash cloud, may continue to occur for months, depending on conditions and variations of the winds.

This terrible event has had really bad consequences for Argentina not only in the touristic framework which it is supposed to decrease during the coming winter and being many flights already cancelled, but also for the argentinian ecosystem and the ranching. There has been several other eruptions recently, so we hope that there are no more in a short time because ,as I have said before, is bringing very bad consequences for the argentinian economy and  ecosystem.

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/81786/ezeiza-aeroparque-airports-slowly-resume-services

A Step Backward? A Step Forward?

Mexico’s Supreme Court has recently given green light to ultra-conservative anti-abortion laws passed in the states of Baja California and San Luis Potosí. These states have altered their constitutions to hold that life begins at conception, which means that abortion is now illegal –a murder- in virtually all cases. After 2008, when Mexico City passed new pro-choice laws which consider abortion up to 12 weeks into pregnancy, many other states have passed strict anti-abortion laws, to equal reactions of joy and dismay. Mexico City has also approved gay marriage and it is planning to regulate prostitution, something inconceivable for its neighbour states. This dispute underlines the big difference between Mexico’s liberal capital and its countryside.

Abortion seems to be the never-ending debate in many Western countries, like ours, nowadays. In Mexico, laws and measures taken in its politically liberal capital are counterbalanced by more conservative laws in its peripheral states. Whereas Mexico city is in touch with liberalism and other countries’ ideas, rural areas are pretty much influenced by tradition and religion. It seems quite obvious, though, that these anti-abortion measures are taken in an overwhelmingly catholic country. Regarding these strict anti-abortion laws, to what extent are they a step backward or a step forward? Are women in these states unprotected? Wouldn’t it be more fair to regard different cases instead of “abortion yes” / “abortion no”? Is there a “happy medium” between conservative and progressive ideas in which both the woman and the would-be baby are protected?

http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2011/09/abortion-rights-mexico

Colombia: Clashes with Guerrillas.

Colombia: Clashes with Guerrillas.

Seven soldiers and 11 guerrillas died during two separate clashes on Monday, less than three weeks before elections to choose mayors and governors nationwide. Guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia attacked an army convoy with explosives in the mountainous southwest of the country. In the second clash, the Colombian air force bombed a guerrilla camp in the north.

What is the first thing that comes up to your head when someone sais Colombia? When I hear it I think of the terrorist group FARC. Its sad to recognise a country by a terrorist group or guerrillas, but the truth isnt always pretty. The article wasnt very good, but I just wanted to point this out, terrorism. A term that just by listening to it scares me, it's something that should be our first priority. We have to take care of, it's a question of Global Security and the respect to human rights.

Safety measures in Chilean mines did not improve substantially

Since the 33 miners were rescued in the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Chilean government has taken measures to improve the safety of the miners. The number of inspectors at Chile´s mines has increased from 18 to 45 since the incident occurred. According to The Economist, the Chilean government “sent a draft bill to parliament to overhaul mine safety regulation”. However, despite of the work done, Chile still needs to ratify the International Labor Organization´s Convention 176 on mining safety. ILO 176 has been adopted by 25 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe and it started taking place in 1995, more than a decade ago. It upholds the rights of workers to refuse work they consider unsafe. They have the right to leave a mine they consider dangerous or to elect their own health representatives. The government ought to ratify the Convention, and the Chilean president has said to do so, but the ratification has been hold up. As the mining industry constitutes a fifth of the country´s GDP, the government needs more information about the ILO to ensure its profits.

Surprisingly, when the price of the copper lows, the accident rate falls. Chilean miners go to the Atacama Desert in order to search for the mineral without supervision, which strongly increases the rate of mining accidents. The numbers speak from themselves: “the safest year in the history of Chilean mining was 1999, with just 0.09 deaths for every million hours worked. That year copper sold for just 72 cents a pound”.

With the media boom that took place in Chile in August, 2010, when 33 miners were trapped deep underground, the Chilean government succeed. But the challenge is to improve the security measures without skimping. The Chilean government promised to improve the safety measures of the mines, and, although the conditions at work are way better, it is not enough. According to the Chilean legislature, there is not a national organism that regulates and verifies the work conditions of the big mining companies, which makes the process even more complicated. Furthermore, many accidents that occur while the miners head out in search of minerals are not counted as labor accidents in the statistics. In spite of the little success of the Chilean government, Sebastian Piñera needs to ratify the ILO and put into practice the promises made.

Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2011/10/mining-safety-chile

Lebanon: opening Hariri case trial in absentia

Rafik Hariri a Lebanese Politian and twice served as Lebanon prime minister, was assassinated on February 14, 2005 in a car bomb explosion in Beirut. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (an organism created by the UN) began proceedings on the attack in March 2009 (near The Hague). The court's mandate was to try those considered responsible for the bombing, a politically delicate issue because it is widely believed that both Hezbollah, the militant Shiite group that controls south Lebanon, and Syria were involved. In September 2011 the court provided accusations to prosecutors naming four men, two of them members of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, which is allied with Syria, is today the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon. The leader of the Shiite group will not tolerate any accusation for Hezbollah by the court; that’s why Hezbollah and its allies were the responsible for a major crisis over the United Nations-backed tribunal due to the fact that the Shiite movement & allies forced the fall of the Lebanese government.

The re-opened case of Hariri is giving now a new perspective of how Hezbollah is getting even more popularity; however it makes me wondering if the fact that they toppled the government of Hariri’s son after he resisted calls to renounce the tribunal affects… or, why the UN-backed tribunal was not supposed able to find enough evidences to charge the “possible Hezbollah suspects”… what is happening with the indictments the UN already made against the responsible members of the attack? Too many questions and too questionable answers; however the UN asks all the states to support the judicial process and once again wishing Lebanese government cooperate with this Special Tribunal.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2197052&Language=en

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Oct-17/151504-cabinet-wont-approve-tribunal-funding.ashx#axzz1b3uI0prr

'Il Cavaliere' survives stockade

Italy's current Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, survived a confidence vote in parliament last Friday after failing to pass a routine measure last week on economic resolutions. However, his coalition has failed to maintain a solid majority, which multiplies Prime Minister's objectives to pass forthcoming economic legislation to alleviate  country's debt crisis. Even current Italy's delicate financial situation, Il Cavaliere found support on his loyals, while opposition leaders repeatedly call for his resignation, arguing that Italy needs cohesion to face the problematic budget deficits.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/world/europe/berlusconi-holds-onto-power-in-italy-but-barely.html

Opinion:

I believe that Italy's current situation needs a strong Prime Minister capable to unite a divided country in a context of increasing budget deficit; population growing dissatisfaction, which has been materialised on last weekend's demonstrations; political uncertainty; a Prime Minister involved in a number of scandals, such as abuse of power, bribery, and the latest: sex with minors, and so on. As I see it, italians are fed up with their Prime Minister, and yet Il Caveliere seems to survive in spite of it all. For me, Berlusconi has destroyed the country's image, and what Italy needs is a new face, new opportunities, new and effective measures... in short, a new Prime Minister!

"Occupy" Switzerland

The "Occupy Wall Street" movement, that started a month ago in New York has gone global, reaching some of the most important cities of the world. Switzerland has not been an exception. This Saturday, October 15th, the movement reached Zurich´s Paradeplatz, where up to 1.000 Swiss demonstrators took a stand against the bankers and the financial institutions. The protest, along with all the other events that were taking place worldwide, aimed to criticize the growing economic disparity and inequalities that exist among the society - the ultimate critique against corporate power.


Many have blamed the movement for being leaderless, as well as for its poor organization and lack of a clear agenda or focus. Despite all those critics, I believe it is a great example of civil society in action - an example of how people can get together and raise their concerns and discontent about the economic system, and how it is directly affecting their lives. A movement to show dissatisfaction. We are witnessing a moment of unpredecedented social consciousness. It is one of the very few ocasions in which people from every corner of the world have come together to join a common concern. Only time will tell if this concern turns into real action.


Source:
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/polics/Swiss_Indignados_take_to_streets.html?cid=31356288

Japan and its duties as a U.N. member state

The current situation in the later U.N. member state, South Sudan, is yet to be improved. The international organization has put the aid issue among its goals and has demanded the provision of help from the rest of the international community.

More specifically, last month U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon asked Japan to consider sending military engineers to the nation in order to fulfill the efforts that have been made until now. Even though Japanese Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa (who occupies this position since the presidence of former Prime Minister Naoto Kan) was reluctant to offer immediate help due to the past events that have struck the Asian country, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has finally acceded to dispatch Ground Self-Defence Forces in South Sudan to take part in the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Now that two area studies have been made in the region, Noda's Cabinet has stated that these forces will be involved in road construction (huge lack in the state) and also in road construction related to bridge work, as well as work in other areas such as Bor in the future.

Everything points to the dispatch of the forces in the beginning of the new year, if everything goes as expected.

Japanese new Prime Minister seems to be struggling in order to cope with all the stress that the management and the decision-making of a country must provide. Not only he has to bear with the whole nuclear accident situation and its consequences (which are still on the main domestic policy framework today), but also try to keep up with the race Japan is up against-a race at all levels with the rest of its neighbours, such as China or Russia- and at the same time fulfill its duties as a U.N. member state.

According to one of the ius cogens principles that appears in the Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, every member state will provide with help to the organization in any kind of action or mission that this may carry out in accordance with the Charter. All the members must cooperate in order to achieve and maintain peace as part of their obligations and rights.

This is probably the main reason why even if the Japanese government has other issues to solve at the moment, it yet has to contribute to achieve a better world where peace is present and the international community keeps on developing.

Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces Ad

Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201110150268.html

Syangjalis protest against river pollution

Protests against river pollution took place this past Sunday in Syangja, one of the 5 districts of Nepal. Protesters claimed that the government should take action towards the conservation of Nepal's rivers and natural sources. “Aandhikhola is being polluted by wastes dumped by municipalities, hospitals and people. Similar is the fate of many rivers in Nepal. So this program was organized to raise environmental issues,” said President of Peace for Nepal Dr Sushil Koirala.


In my opinion, the preservation of the environment must be on every government's agenda, and is of higher importance in countries such as Nepal, where most cities are poor and rely heavily on these rivers and natural resources, and in many cases have no purifying systems to prevent them from unhealthy safety conditions.

Qatari firm buys two important European Banks

Precision Capital, a Qatari firm established in Luxembourg has agreed in the last few days KBL European Private Bankers, the group that involves KBC, one of the most important Belgian banks. This deal has supposed a great relief for the bank that has reduced its risk index by releasing capital into other stronger companies. Dexia, another important European firm, has been part of this giant operation that ahs encourage the governments of Luxembourg, France and Belgium to trust European banking. Although the exact amount of the operation has not been disclosed yet, KBC’s deal could have reached over $ 1.4 billion. However, this is not the first case of Qatari investors involved such acquisitions.

With the crash of Lehman Brothers in 2008, great European banks like Barclays Bank already for support in Qatari funds in order to preserve its preponderance over the impending crisis. It is not new for anyone that Qatar is one of the richest countries in the Middle East and in the world, thanks mostly to the petrodollars. However, we see how they also stand out by its spotless economic strategy. Most of Qatar’s power relies in the fortunes of great businesses groups and in the Royal family. However, in contrast to the rest of the world, they have not seem to notice the big downfall in which all great corporations have been involved.  European and American banks, at first reluctant to the idea of joining forces with the Middle East, have found a way out of the bankrupt in countries like Qatar. And this is not only involving banking, but also other fields of business like sports, franchising and R&D. We could even say that Europe is redirecting its alliances in the long run and adapting to the new world status. But then again, we will see what the future brings and what the US has to say about all this.

New York Times

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/qatar-bets-on-hobbled-european-banks/?scp=2&sq=qatar&st=cse

Gilad Shalit: Israel and Palestinians welcome deal

The long confinement of Gilad Shalit is coming to an end after the deal signed by Israel and Hamas. This Israeli soldier, kidnapped in 2006 by the Palestinian terrorists, will be freed in the next days after years of negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to free 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in two stages, 450 before the release of Shalit and 577 after. The deal has created a big controversy in Israel. The entire country is happy for the release of one of its best known faces and see the deal as something necessary, but many of them see the deal as a surrender to the terrorists and argue that the government has brought Israel to its knees.

When a group of terrorist blackmails a whole country by kidnapping one of their citizens, public opinion reacts in most of cases in favor of the agreement following their feelings, but more things should be taken into account, such as what will happen with the released prisoners and the ability of the terrorists to repeat the blackmail. One close example is the case of Miguel Angel Blanco, a basque politician assassinated by ETA in 1997 after been kidnapped for 48 hours, when the Spanish government of José María Aznar rejected to gave in to the assassins. Spanish society and even the relatives of Blanco understood the position of Aznar and supported him against ETA. On the contrary, we will be able to see in the next days people like Naser Yataima —killer of 30 civilians in an attack to the Hotel Park in Netanya— or Musab Hashlemon —author of the attack to a bus in Beersheva that killed 16 people— walking freely in the streets of Palestina.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15273206

Five people arrested in Peru sex slavery raid

Ph: a sex worker sits in a brothel in Mazuco, Madre de Dios, Peru. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

At least five people have been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking in police raids at Puerto Maldonado, in the south- eastern Peruvian state of Madre de Dios. The raids were on 60 houses of prostitution and involved more than 400 police officers. Local prosecutor Fernando de Santa María says that of the 293 women that have been rescued at least 10 were minors, the youngest of them being a 13 year old girl.

The region of Madre de Dios is known for its illegal gold mining, which has attracted thousands of fortune-seekers in recent years. According to Save the Children more than 1,100 underage girls are being used as sexual slaves in the illegal mining camps of Madre de Dios.

My opinion: From my point of view, Peru's government is to blame for this situation. The fact that this is happening shows that they are not keeping and eye on the exploitation of gold mines, which always results not only in the exploitation of people- as this piece of news shows- but also in a lack of respect for the environment (in this case, for example, the rain forest is being destroyed and contaminated by the mercury used in processing the gold--to the point that some fear ecological disaster). More effort and resources should therefore be put by the state in order to ensure that the law is upheld in Madre de Dios.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15165339

Aid crisis in Kenya

Two Spanish aid workers for Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) at the Kanya’s Dadaad refugee camps have been recently attacked and abducted by an armed group. Although al-Shabad denies its participation in the events, authorities do not know if the group was from al-Shabab, a pirate gang or any other armed group. But it is suspected that the victims are in the instable Somalia which makes the rescue operation much more difficult. Abductions are successively happening and now, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has decided to reduce their aid operation in the refugee camp until the security of the area will increase. For example, there have not been any aid workers travelling to the border to pick up new refugees. This has several negative impacts on the region. If the Dadaab refugee camp was a city, it would be considered the third biggest city of the country. And, the famine and political situation in Somalia requires more help for asylum-seekers.

I didn’t want to talk once again about Kenya, even less about abductions in the country. However, this time the issue has gone too far. Not only it is having serious consequences on Kenya’s tourist economy (mostly in the areas next to the Somali border), but also it has negatively affected the international aid sector. Somali refugees need help that they barely find in Kenyan refugee camps. But now that the aid workers also are kidnapped, they fear working in those camps and the prestigious UNHCR has decided to slow down their aid operation in the Dadaad’s refugee camp, a very important camp in the area. The unknown armed groups causing these troubles are extremely hard to stop and aid workers can’t continue to risk their lives like this, but refugees still need lots of help. What can be done?

Source: BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15304384

UN rapporteur raps Turkish judiciary and human rights

The UN has sent to Turkey a special reporter, Gabriela Knaul, to see if recent judicial reforms are being implemented. She points several constraints that currently take place in Turkey in terms of the judiciary and human rights. The UN expert is concerned at restrictions to the right to defense and on freedom of expression that are not in line with international standards. According to the official, there are obstacles that remain to achieve a truly independent judiciary. Knaul will make a report on her findings and reveal it in 2012.

This Week Turkey is being analyzed by the UN and the EU. Each organization will conduct by their own an analysis of Turkey’s rights. As we read in the expert’s statements contained in this article, the situation regarding the judiciary and freedom of expression is still poor. The imprisonment of journalists last spring is a clear example of this. So we should not expect a great improvement in the valuation made by the rapporteur. In contrast, Turkey's rights record seems to be quite hopeless. The analysis will reflect the situation in Turkey and will be a clear reason of why Turkey is far from entering the EU. The recommendations Knaul will make on their analysis to Turkey should be used as a mirror to look in. Therefore, the country should take the necessary decisions to improve its democratic standards. In my opinion one of the most important changes that have to be done is a change in government, changing the president, Abdullah Gül, which just affirms that Turkey is in its most historical democratic period. Right now, Turkey is failing in terms of global democratic values and therefore it is not moving toward Democracy; as I have said, the country needs to take more important steps to solve this problem.

Source: Hurriyet daily news

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=un-rapporteur-raps-turkish-judiciary-and-human-rights-2011-10-14

Afghanistan Favors India and Denigrates Pakistan

The 4th of October 2011 the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan had a meeting in New Delhi, India. The President of Afghanistan signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership with India, which Pakistan sees as its principal adversary. This agreement paves the way for India to train and equip Afghan security forces to fill the gaps as NATO troops leave in the years ahead. Pakistan and India, nuclear-armed neighbors, have long suspected each other’s motives in Afghanistan.
However, it is interesting that this agreement takes place in this specific moment, when the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is especially hostile. The neighbor of both countries is suspected of helping the Taliban in their territories and not cooperating with the Afghan government in their capture. The recent assassination of the head of the Afghan High Peace Council, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, has led to increased hostility between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as there is suspicion that Pakistan’s spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence is behind the killing. Such accusations have been denied by Pakistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry in a statement doubts of the veracity on “the so-called evidence” tying Pakistan’s spy agency to Mr. Rabbani’s killing. “Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was a great friend of Pakistan and widely respected in this country,” the statement said.


Pakistan is not in a very good situation, being surrounded by “enemies”. Pakistan has been host for many Talibans, which have been in their territory protected. Although the statements say one thing, the facts show otherwise. There is evidence and suspicions that many attacks carried out by Taliban in Afghanistan, were backed by the Pakistani secret service. To improve relations with neighboring countries, especially Afghanistan, Pakistan should have a clearer policy in order to proof any doubt that may appear. Pakistan would have to demonstrate that they are not supporting radical movements and that would lead to a better understanding between the two countries. With the complicated crossroads that they have in that part of the world, governments must be clear in their position in order to end together with terrorism and to achieve standardization in Afghanistan. Neighboring countries should help and stop supporting or hosting radical groups.


Source: The New York Times

Gaddafi 'being tracked by satellite'

Senior official says NTC knows fugitive former Libyan leader's whereabouts in southern desert, as Sirte fighting rages.

The war in Libya seems to coming to an end as government fighters continue their offensive on Sirte’s District 2, last remaining enclave of pro-Gaddafi loyalists. Furthermore, Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) asserted on Thursday that satellites have tracked down Muammar Gaddafi in the southern desert region of the country. After the imminent liberation of Sirte, Gaddafi’s capture will follow, claim government fighters. NTC’s oil minister has promised to investigate suspicious oil contracts during Gaddafi’s regime and to tackle corruption through special committees. However, Amnesty International has reported human rights abuses by the NTC and government fighters, for several groups of bodies have been found ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn Sirte in the last few days, shot with their hands tied up, wrapped in plastic film―presumably civilians who refused to fight. NATO has already started taking steps towards lifting the no-fly zone by signing an agreement with NTC that will open air corridors for civilian flights.

Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/10/201110140613310311.html

___________________________________________________________________________

Libya’s future is surrounded by an atmosphere of profound uncertainty. As the end of the war seems to be materialising, Gaddafi loyalists are still offering strong resistance and the capture of the former dictator remains on hold. The evidence of arbitrary killings of civilians by government fighters is reminiscent of Gaddafi’s oppression of its people when the revolution began in February, and raises questions about how the NTC will manage to build a liberal democracy. After the horrors of Gaddafi’s regime, no one wants Libya turning into a quasi military regime as Egypt seems to be. Besides, the humanitarian situation of civilians in Sirte’s district 2 is critical after a month of siege, and so is the case of the refugee camps all along the Libyan borders. The issue of oil production is of utmost importance―if profits are well managed and corruption is persecuted, it has the potential of lifting Libyans out of the misery brought by months of conflict.

Croatia has to thank Greece, Tunisia, Egypt and the warm weather

A particular combination of factors has been crucial for the increase of tourism in Croatia during the last months: instability in Egypt and Tunisia, Greece's economic situation and the unexpected warm weather thats is enjoying most part of Europe.

Last year, many of the hotels were closed around September 15th , but this year they are still receiving guests and most of them will stay until the end of October.

Although Egypt and Tunisia worked hard to offer low prices to visitors, the political turmoil had a higher impact among tourists. Many of them, above all travellers over 50, decided to look for a more stable destiny, avoiding Greece as well.

These are the guests that are enjoying the warm Croatian autumn.

--------------------------

This article shows how states are highly influenced by the events in the international stage.

Despite the negative impact that the economic crisis, the political turmoil in North Africa and a possible effect of climate change could have, there are some other countries that have to thank these events.

Tourism is one of the most important sources of Croatian economy. More and more people are now discovering this country and interested in visiting its numerous attractions full of beautiful landscapes and history. Apart from all the touristic proposals that the Adriatic country offers to the travellers, Croatian travel agencies and all the sector related to the tourism are also favored by the crisis that is taking place in the area.

In my opinion, I think it is an intelligent idea to take advantage of this situation in order to spread the image of Croatia in the world as an important tourist destination: and they are using it.

They are bringing new airlines to the country; Germanwings has announced the creation of a new direct line Dubrovnik-Hamburg; less cruises but with more guests are arriving to the Croatian coasts, many of its islands are expected to become a new Ibiza, and more and more British are choosing Croatia as their vacation place. Moreover, the new Croatian tourist sector's goal is to attract more visitors from countries like China, Japan or India.

Should the traditional Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy, leaders in tourism, be worried about the Croatian impact in this sector?

Again, international events would have consequences for many other countries.

Greenpeace, you are not welcome in Indonesia.

A swath of Indonesian rainforest already cleared (foreground); Another swath being prepared by burning (background).

Image: Netaholic13, courtesy Flickr

The Indonesian government has denied the right to enter the country to the head of Greenpeace in the UK, John Sauven after having issued a business visa for him several weeks ago. His main purpose for travelling to Indonesia was to denounce the massive deforestation of Indonesian’s rainforest and swamps caused by the excessive exploitation of palm oil producers and companies from the paper industry such as Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

Greenpeace has been promoting a campaign against deforestation in the country for several years. A campaign that has not pleased the government, especially because it has made several multinational corporations such as Adidas, Kraft Foods, Inc., Nestlé, Unilever, Carrefour, Tesco and Mattel start rethinking their relationship with APP. This is not the first time that the government denies the entrance in the country to an activist that threatens to damage the image they want to show to the world, a thing that can have negative effects in Indonesia’s economy.

I think this is a really interesting piece of news because it shows the impact that globalization can have in a country where, in order to maintain foreign investment, the government is allowing practices it should not allow. A government that is turning a deaf ear on companies destroying the environment just to satisfy the demands of the consumer society and a government that is silencing the voices of the people who want to denounce the situation.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/73a23f98-f59e-11e0-824e-00144feab49a.html#axzz1aqAEMihY

Picture from: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=harvesting-palm-oil-and-rainforests