Ireland activists groups planing to buy ship for new Gaza aid flotilla

Pro-Palestinian groups in Ireland launched a fundraising drive Monday to buy a ship for a second attempt to breach Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza.The Irish Ship to Gaza campaign aims to send between 30 and 50 Irish people, including public figures, journalists and activists, to join a flotilla taking aid to people in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.”Preparations are well under way internationally for the Second Freedom Flotilla, which is being assembled by the same groups that organized the Freedom Flotilla in late May,” organizers said in a statement.Between 10 and 15 ships are expected to take part, cargo ships as well as passenger vessels.

Israeli commandos killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists in a melee after they boarded a vessel in the previous flotilla, which also included Irish activists. Israel and the United Nations are holding separate investigations into the incident.In response to Western criticism, including from its biggest ally the United States, Israel has since eased a land blockade of Gaza where 1.5 million Palestinians live, allowing some civilian goods through, while continuing to enforce its naval embargo of the coastal territory.

Israeli leaders have said their troops, on boarding the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, opened fire in self-defense after being set upon by activists wielding cudgels and knives.Turkey, once Israel’s close strategic ally, called the bloodshed Israeli “state terrorism,” withdrew its ambassador from Israel and canceled joint military exercises.(Reuters)

The attack on Hutu Rwandan Genocide Could Considered

Johannesburg – A draft report from the UN reveal that if the army of Rwanda and its Congolese rebel groups who become allies, considered to have been a massacre of Hutu refugees in Congo Tribe.Events that took place during the 1990s can be regarded as an act of Genocide.Hearing this accusation, the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame threatened to withdraw their forces joined in the UN peacekeeping forces if such allegations are issued.

Approximately one million ethnic Hutus, including residents who survived the events of the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 to flee to Congo. But the country’s military continues to hunt them down and slaughtered thousands of them in refugee camps built the United Nations. Thus the Associated Press reported on Friday (27/08/2010).Draft report released by UN Human Rights Council states, systematic attacks that took place at the same time spreading out may be causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Hutus.They were killed by various military units deployed by the Rwanda.(AP)

UNITED STATES admits human rights shortcomings in UN report

WASHINGTON The Obama administration has told the United Nations that America’s human rights record is less than perfect but stressed that the U.S. political system has built-in safeguards that promote improvements.In its first-ever report to the U.N. Human Rights Council on conditions in the United States, the State Department said Monday that some Americans, notably minorities, are still victims of discrimination. Despite success in reforming such inequities as slavery and the denial of women’s right to vote, the department said, considerable progress is still needed.”Although we have made great strides, work remains to meet our goal of ensuring equality before the law for all,” it said.

The report noted that although the U.S. now has an African-American president and that women and Hispanics have won greater social and economic success, large segments of American society suffer from unfair policies and practices.High unemployment rates, hate crime, poverty, poor housing, lack of access to health care and discriminatory hiring practices are among the challenges the report identified as affecting blacks, Latinos, Muslims, South Asians, Native Americans and gays and lesbians in the United States.

The report, which drew on meetings that U.S. officials held with various groups around the country since January, also cited concerns from civil rights activists and citizens related to immigration and racial profiling by law enforcement agencies.The 29-page report was submitted to the Human Rights Council on Friday but was not published until Monday. Members of the council, which the United States joined only last year, are required to submit reviews of their rights records. The report was the first “Universal Periodic Review” produced by the U.S.

In one of his first moves to reach out to the international community, President Barack Obama decided that the U.S. should run for a seat on the council. The Bush administration had shunned the panel for years over its alleged disproportionate criticism of Israel and membership that includes repressive regimes.The report’s findings were cautiously welcomed by human rights activists but will likely draw fire from conservatives who opposed joining the council. They said the U.S. should not be judged by countries with poor human rights records.

The administration sought to rebuff such criticism in the report, saying its participation in the review was not an acknowledgment “of commonality with states that systematically abuse human rights.” It also said the report did not reflect “doubt in the ability of the American political system to deliver progress for its citizens.”At the same time, it said that the U.S. welcomed “observations and recommendations” from council members “that can help us on that road to a more perfect union.”

The American Civil Liberties Union praised the administration for engaging with the council but said the report neglected to address key areas where the U.S. has not met its human rights obligations. Those areas include inhumane prison conditions, racial disparities in death penalty cases, and abuses in the immigration detention system.”It is time for the U.S. to match its human rights rhetoric with concrete domestic policies and actions and create a human rights culture and infrastructure that promote American values of equality and justice for all,” said Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s human rights program.(AP)

Rebels killed three personnel of UN peacekeepers from India

Kinshasa  Rebels killed three personnel of UN peacekeepers from India at their camp in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the military said India and the Congo, Wednesday.Besides seven Indian soldiers wounded in attack in Kirumba, the Indian military and local officials accused carried out by the Mai-Mai, a Congolese militia.

“At approximately 1:50 pm local time , under a dark situation, unity Operating Base in Kirumba approached by five civilians,” said the Indian military in a statement.”They asked for assistance in the post, while they’re bericara with guards on duty at the time, a group of about 50-60 pmberontak – possibly from the Mai-mai rebel groups – attacking the base, out of the woods,” the statement said.

The attack lasted about five minutes. Rebels had fled into the woods, in the midst of darkness.”In that incident, three Indian army personnel were killed and seven others injured.General Vainqueur Mayala, commander of military region VIII of the Democratic Republic of Congo says the attack motive is unclear.

“They did not use firearms, but machetes and knives, and they killed three Indian soldiers and three others were seriously wounded,” said the general was told AFP by telephone from Kinshasa.The victims were all serving in the Organization for the Stability in the Democratic Republic of the United Nations (MONUSCO).

MONUSCO is one of institutions and their heightened security so I do not see how the attackers entered the camp were using machetes, “he said and added that he” can not understand “why the attack was carried out.Kirumba located about 140km north of Goma, capital of Nord-Kivu province.

Indian troops shot dead a Nord-Kivu in May this year, and another was killed in a firefight in the province in 2005.Leaders of the city, told the AFP Egide Karafifi that the attackers wore civilian clothes and sang songs Mai-Mai.MONUSCO spokesman, Madodje Maounoubai not be immediately reached to confirm the attack.The mission, which was previously identified natural French acronym MONUC its presence in Congo since the end of 1999 and its new mandate to consolidate peace barlangsung until June 30 next year.(AFP)

United Nations give warning of second wave of Pakistani flood deaths

Pakistan  The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $459 million in aid for flood-hit Pakistan, warning of a second wave of death among sick, hungry survivors unless help arrived quickly.Roiling floods triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rain have scoured Pakistan’s Indus river basin, killing more than 1,600 people, forcing 2 million from their homes and disrupting the lives of about 14 million people, or 8 percent of the population.President Asif Ali Zardari, whose government has come in for harsh criticism for its perceived sluggish response to the disaster, defended a decision to travel abroad as the floods began, saying he helped focus international attention on the plight of the victims.The floods, the worst in the region in 80 years, have raised fears for the prospects of the nuclear-armed U.S. ally already battling a deadly Islamist militancy.U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday the U.S. military was tripling the number of helicopters in Pakistan to 19 from six and sending in a landing platform to be used off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city.

Washington, which had already committed $55 million to Pakistani flood relief efforts, also announced it was contributing a further $16.2 million to the U.N. refugee agency and International Red Cross for emergency assistance to flood victims.Aid agencies have complained of a lackluster donor response to the crisis, while a U.N. spokesman said help was needed soon.”If we do not respond soon enough to the urgent needs of the population, if we do not provide life-saving assistance as soon as is necessary, there may be a second wave of death caused by diseases and food shortages,” said U.N. humanitarian operations the spokesman Maurizio Giuliano.Hundreds of roads and bridges have been destroyed from northern mountains to the plains of the southern province of Sindh, where the waters have not yet crested, meaning the situation could get worse.

Countless villages and farms have been inundated, crops destroyed and livestock lost. In some places, families are huddled on tiny patches of water-logged land with their animals surrounded by an inland sea.On the outskirts of the city of Sukkur, in Sindh, hundreds of people waited for food supplies at a tent camp.”I can’t find my 12-year-old son. I’ve been to my village with soldiers on a boat but there was no sign of him,” said farmer Mohammad Hassan.”I’m so worried. I don’t know what to do. Should I take care of my family here or go and look for my son?” Hassan, a father of 10, told Reuters before rushing into a throng jostling around a truck that arrived with rations of cooked rice.

ECONOMIC DAMAGE

The International Monetary Fund has warned of major economic harm and the Finance Ministry said the country would miss this year’s 4.5 percent gross domestic product growth target, although it was not clear by how much.Pakistani stocks ended 0.17 percent down at 9,875.68 as the economic costs of the disaster rattled investors. the market has lost 5.37 percent since the floods began.The United Nations says the disaster is the biggest the country has faced and it would cost billions of dollars to rehabilitate the victims and rebuild ruined infrastructure.Giuliano said he was optimistic aid would arrive and $150 million had already been pledged. The U.N. World Food Program needs $150 million to feed 6 million people for three months.Zardari defended his decision to travel to France and Britain at the end of last month.

“Some have criticized my decision, saying it represented aloofness, but I felt that I had to choose substance over symbolism,” he said in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal.The British government had pledged $24 million in aid, following his meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, the Pakistani leader said.

Pakistan’s military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 63-year history, has taken the lead in relief efforts, reinforcing the faith many Pakistanis have in their armed forces and highlighting the comparative ineffectiveness of civilian governments.Analysts say the armed forces would not try to take power as they have vowed to shun politics and are busy fighting militants.U.S. military helicopters have been airlifting survivors in an effort that may win Washington some supporters in Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment runs high.

“Let’s not talk about politics. We were trapped here and they came to evacuate us,” said Abdul Rehman, 37, rescued by a U.S. helicopter after being stranded with a new-born baby and wife.”They’re doing good. Let’s appreciate them.”The United States needs a stable Pakistan to help it end a nine-year war by the Taliban in Afghanistan.(Reuters)

Netanyahu Give Testimony In Assault in the Ship

Jerusalem  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to testify Monday on his version of events that led to deadly attacks against aid ships Gaza purposes. Testimony prime minister will be delivered in front of an Israeli commission investigating the deadly attack in late May that. Netanyahu became the first of three high officials who will give sworn testimony this week about the incident, which the Israeli navy commandos stormed the six vessels that help to break through the blockade against the Gaza Strip, which killed nine Turkish activists and injuring dozens of other passengers.

May 31 operation that sparked a diplomatic crisis and global calls for an investigation.Investigative panel that will hear sworn testimony from high-level decision makers involved in the commando raid, including the Prime Minister of Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, in a series of public hearings that began on 9 August.

However, the committee’s mandate would be limited to the study of international legal issues, and they will not investigate the decision-making process that led to the deadly operation.Public hearings will be held in a hall in Jerusalem.Israeli officials said the panel will listen to Barracks sworn testimony on Tuesday and Ashkenazi in the next day. Israeli commandos raided ships in the fleet assistance to the Gaza Strip on 31 May. Nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activist killed in the attack on one ship.

Israel-Turkey relations plunged to its lowest level since the two countries reached a strategic partnership in the 1990s due to the incident.Turkey summoned its ambassador from Tel Aviv and canceled three planned military exercises after the raid. Turkey also twice rejected the Israeli request for military aircraft using the airspace.

Severe violence in the pre-dawn raid Monday (31 / 5) by Israeli troops occurred on the boat Turkey, Mavi Marmara, who led the fleet of aid to Gaza.Israel argued that the passenger-passenger ship was attacked the troops, but the organizers claimed that the fleet of the Israeli troops started shooting as soon as they landed.

After the attack, Egypt, who reached peace with Israel in 1979, it opened the Rafah border to allow aid convoys into Gaza – widely seen as an effort to counter critics of the Egyptian role in the blockade.Cairo, in coordination with Israel, allowing only limited in its border crossing since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Under increasing pressure, Israel then launched an investigation along with two international observers for the attack. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon encourages a separate investigation into the UN with the participation of Israel and Turkey.

Israel also relax the blockade of Gaza by allowing the majority of civilian goods into the coastal territory.Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal regions, blockaded by Israel and Egypt after Hamas to power nearly three years ago.

Group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June of 2007 after defeating Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a deadly battle for a few days.Since then, these poor coastal blockader by Israel. Any Palestinian entity into two separate areas – the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and West Bank under Abbas government. European Union, Israel and the U.S. enter into the Hamas terrorist organization list.( AFP)

Japan marked the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the United States on Hiroshima

Hiroshima Japan marked the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the United States on Hiroshima, on Friday, with the United States was represented at the ceremony for the first time.Peace bell was rung at 8:15 pm local time, when atomic bombs were dropped by B-29 war plane Enola Gay on August 6, 1945, and tens of thousands of survivors are now elderly, children and the authorities do under one minute silence hot summer sun, as quoted from Reuters.

“Clearly, the urgency of the elimination of nuclear weapons will penetrate our global conscience,” Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said in a speech which was followed by the release of white pigeons.Hiroshima bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy”, which issued a mixture of very fast air waves caused by aircraft, heat rays and radiation, killing thousands of people instantly.

In late 1945, the death toll has risen to around 140,000 people from roughly 350 000 residents of the city. Thousands more people died due to illness and injuries later.Three days after the Hiroshima attack, on August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki in southern Japan. Japan’s surrender six days later, ending the military aggression that has brought the country into World War II.

U.S., involved in disputes with Japan because of the relocation of a U.S. air base on the island of Okinawa in southern Japan, sent a representative to the ceremony for the first time, reflecting the encouragement of President Barack Obama on cleansing the world of nuclear weapons.”We want the nuclear disarmament and if the U.S. take the lead, other countries might follow his steps,” says Tomiko Matsumoto, people who survived the atomic bomb who is now 78 years old.

“First I hate them (United States), but the hatred (against USA) was gone. Now I want to see a peaceful world.”Obama, who received the Nobel peace prize last year in part because his vision of a nuclear free world, has signed a strategic arms treaty with Russia, April, involving former enemies in the Cold War was to reduce nuclear  with about 30 percent. “We see the new leadership of a very powerful country,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-mon at the ceremony. “We must maintain momentum.”

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that Japan, the only country ever to suffer nuclear attack, will lead other countries to realize a world without nuclear weapons.Japan have adopted their own prohibitions against the possession, production and letting nuclear weapons into the country, as part of post-war constitution which loves peace. Democrats in power, the military alert to the possibility of an increase in its giant neighbor China, has planned a review of its defense at the end of this year.(AFP)

Mavi Marmara pull out of Israel

Haifa, Israel  Turkish passenger ship that became the center of deadly violence during the raid against the Israeli navy ships aim assistance Gaza Strip Israel pulled out of port, on Thursday, an AFP correspondent said.Mavi Marmara taken out from the port of Haifa by a large Turkish tugboat sent to bring back the ship.Two other ships were also detained by the navy during the attack on May 31 would also be withdrawn from the port of Ashdod, southern Israel, on Thursday, the defense ministry said.

Repatriation of the ships were made after a decision taken by the political leaders after a request from Ankara, the ministry said in a statement.”Three Turkish tugs will arrive in Israel today. The crew they will receive three ships moored in Israel along with personal equipment on top of existing ships,” the ministry said, without explaining when the transfer is made. The ships were part of a fleet of six ships which attempted to penetrate the Israeli naval blockade against the Gaza Strip on 31 May. Unclear whether the other three ships were still in Israeli ports.The ship is also believed to aid Rachel Corrie, was arrested at an Israeli port, but the legal steps taken to set him free.Israel became the international spotlight after deadly attacks against aid ships.

Israeli commandos raided ships in the fleet assistance to the Gaza Strip on May 31, which killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists in the attack on one ship.Israel-Turkey relations plunged to its lowest level since the two countries reached a strategic partnership in the 1990s due to the incident.

Turkey summoned its ambassador from Tel Aviv and canceled three planned military exercises after the raid. Turkey also twice rejected the Israeli request for military aircraft using the airspace.Severe violence in the pre-dawn raid Monday (31 / 5) by Israeli troops occurred on the boat Turkey, Mavi Marmara, who led the fleet of aid to Gaza.Israel argued that the passenger-passenger ship was attacked the troops, but the organizers claimed that the fleet of the Israeli troops started shooting as soon as they landed.

After the attack, Egypt, who reached peace with Israel in 1979, it opened the Rafah border to allow aid convoys into Gaza – widely seen as an effort to counter critics of the Egyptian role in the blockade.Cairo, in coordination with Israel, allowing only limited in its border crossing since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Under increasing pressure, Israel then launched an investigation along with two international observers for the attack. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon encourages a separate investigation into the UN with the participation of Israel and Turkey.Israel also relax the blockade of Gaza by allowing the majority of civilian goods into the coastal territory. Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal regions, blockaded by Israel and Egypt after Hamas to power nearly three years ago.

Group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June of 2007 after defeating Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a deadly battle for a few days.Since then, these poor coastal dibloklade by Israel. Any Palestinian entity into two separate areas – the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and West Bank under Abbas government.The AFP report, the European Union, Israel and the U.S. enter into the Hamas terrorist organization list.(AFP)

U.N. Security Council extended the stay of peacekeepers in Sudan's western Darfur region by another year on Friday

The U.N. Security Council extended the stay of peacekeepers in Sudan’s western Darfur region by another year on Friday, telling the force to focus primarily on protecting civilians and aid deliveries.The 15-nation council unanimously approved the extension in a resolution that also condemned a recent upsurge of violence in Darfur and called on Khartoum to stop hindering the work of the joint African Union/U.N. peacekeeping force, or UNAMID.

The force, which currently stands at some 21,700 troops and police, has been struggling for three years with the Darfur crisis, which erupted when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of neglect.The government responded by mobilizing mostly Arab militias accused of a campaign of rape, murder and looting which created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. U.N. officials say up to 300,000 have died, while Khartoum says 10,000.

Extending UNAMID’s mandate until July 31, 2011, the Security Council called on it to give priority to protection of civilians and ensuring “safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access” to an estimated 2 million refugees.It instructed U.N. officials in Sudan to develop a “comprehensive strategy” to achieve those targets.

Western diplomats said the force should put those goals ahead of reconstruction projects or a direct role in attempts to negotiate a political settlement, which they said UNAMID had been straying into and which Sudan’s government favored.Peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebels are going on in Qatar, but have made little progress in the absence of the two main rebel groups.

PERMANENT CEASEFIRE SOUGHT

The renewal of UNAMID’s mandate came as violence has risen in Darfur, a region the size of France. Eight people were reported killed and dozens injured this week at fighting in refugee camps between supporters and opponents of peace talks.UNAMID reported earlier this month that 221 people had died in tribal fighting and other violence in Darfur in June after nearly 600 deaths in May. UNAMID itself has lost 27 troops and police since it first deployed.The Security Council called on all parties to the conflict in Darfur to immediately end the violence and commit themselves to a “sustained and permanent ceasefire.”

The council was to discuss the violence in closed-door consultations later on Friday, diplomats said.The council also urged all parties to let UNAMID do its work and called on Khartoum to carry out promises to the United Nations on flight and equipment clearances and remove all obstacles to the use of the force’s aircraft.

In a report this month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accused both Khartoum and rebel groups of restricting access to areas where there had been fighting. Sudan’s U.N. Ambassador Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem said his government had placed “no restrictions whatsoever” on UNAMID.Aid group Oxfam agreed with the Security Council that UNAMID should focus on security and stay out of reconstruction. “Mixing the work of blue helmets (peacekeepers) with aid groups will confuse Darfuris,” El Fateh Osman, Oxfam’s country director in Sudan, said in a statement.

Separately, U.N. Under-Secretary-General Susana Malcorra told reporters that the United Nations was preparing to expand its presence in semi-autonomous South Sudan to help prepare for next year’s referendum on possible secession for the South.She said U.N. personnel would also help with training of local security forces and monitoring for the referendum.(Reuters)

The number of young people infected with HIV in Africa is falling in 16 of the 25 countries hardest hit by the virus

LONDON, The number of young people infected with HIV in Africa is falling in 16 of the 25 countries hardest hit by the virus, according to a new report by a U.N. agency.The number of young people infected with HIV dropped by at least 25 percent in a dozen countries, the U.N. AIDS report said. In Kenya, the infection rate among people aged 15 to 24 fell from about 14 percent in 2000 to 5.4 percent in urban areas.The drop in HIV rates coincided with a change in sexual behavior, like having fewer sexual partners or increased condom used, UNAIDS said. But the agency could not say the drop was because of recent U.N. policies, which have mainly focused on buying AIDS drugs rather than preventing infections.Some experts said new focus on prevention was too little, too late.

“Thanks to the U.N.’s strategic blunder, many more people are now infected than would have otherwise been the case had they focused on prevention much earlier,” said Philip Stevens, a health policy expert at International Policy Network.The UNAIDS data were based on population surveys and mathematical modeling, and come with a significant margin of error.

“Young people have shown that they can be change agents in the (AIDS) prevention revolution,” UNAIDS wrote in its report.The research provides further evidence the AIDS outbreak peaked more than a decade ago and that the disease is on the decline. In a report last year, the agency said the number of people infected with HIV had remained unchanged – at about 33 million – for the last two years.

UNAIDS also called for more money to combat the epidemic. In 2008, the world spent more than $15 billion on AIDS, with about half of that coming from the United States. In its report, UNAIDS said that “what’s been good for the AIDS response has been good for global health in general.”But a study published last month found there was little correlation between U.S. money spent on AIDS and improvements in other health areas across Africa.UNAIDS called for countries to invest more in their own HIV programs. It noted South Africa and Nigeria, two of Africa’s wealthiest countries, receive the most money from international donors.

Stevens said that while some recent AIDS investments – like putting more people on drugs – have clearly saved lives, it has also distorted health spending. Despite only causing 4 percent of deaths, AIDS gets about 20 cents of every public health dollar.”The same amount of money that we spend on AIDS could save many, many more lives more cheaply by vaccinating children or distributing cheap treatments for diarrhea,” he said.”Aid agencies have a responsibility to ensure they save the most lives possible with the amount of money they have available,” he said. “Spending the lion’s share on HIV clearly does not do that.”(AP)