Calls grow for Israel-Hamas truce
Calls are mounting for an end to the Israeli bombardment and lockdown of Gaza and for Israel-Hamas talks to end their armed confrontation. Egypt and other countries were reported to be working behind the scenes for an agreement that would end the violence and also provide some immediate relief for the besieged people of Gaza by reopening its border with Egypt.
Where the AFL-CIO stands on presidential race
SAN DIEGO – As the executive council of the nation’s 10 million member AFL-CIO meets here March 4 – 6 to kick off its biggest ever election drive, the federation is not ready to make an endorsement in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Speak out against Bushs new guest worker rules
The United Farm Workers Union is asking all progressive people to object to the new rules for agricultural guest workers that the Bush administration is pushing.
The NIU killings: making sense of the senseless
DEKALB, Ill. – On the afternoon of Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, Steven Kazmierczak, age 27, emerged from behind the stage of a small lecture hall at Northern Illinois University and opened fire upon the students and their student-teacher.
Cuba signs UN human rights pact
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque announced at a Feb. 28 press conference at UN headquarters in New York that he had just signed two human rights accords originally introduced in the world body in 1976. Opponents of Cuba’s revolutionary government have long criticized Cuba’s reluctance to sign the treaties until now.
Okinawa rape provokes fury at role of U.S. base
What would happen if there was a highly organized group of people in a U.S. state that was responsible for more than 100 crimes per year on average? What if a member of that group was likely responsible for the rape of a 14-year-old junior high school girl?
World Notes: Food aid, Iraqi health care, Agent Orange...
World Food Program Director Josette Sheeran told the BBC last week that without increased monetary support, her agency will soon be rationing food aid.
Fernando Lugo, populist, favored in Paraguay elections
Opinion surveys suggest former Bishop Fernando Lugo will win Paraguay’s presidential elections set for April 20. One poll estimates a 40 percent total for Lugo, 26.6 percent for Colorado Party candidate Blanca Ovelar, and 22.4 percent for General Lino Oviedo, representing his own National Union of Ethical Citizens Party.
Orgy at the Hardrock Cafe
In 'Roughing it' Mark Twain depicts the methods used in his era to mine such 'hardrock' minerals as gold, silver and copper: 'Imagine a stranger staking out a mining claim among the costly shrubbery in your front yard and calmly proceeding to lay waste the ground with pick and shovel and blasting powder.'
A look behind Kenya's power-sharing agreement
Facing the prospect of a new round of mass protests, the Kenyan regime headed by Mwai Kibaki agreed to a power-sharing arrangement negotiated by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
