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Arrests in Zimbabwe for Seeing Videos
JOHANNESBURG — Dozens of students, trade unionists and political activists who gathered to watch Al Jazeera and BBC news reports on the uprisings that brought down autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to oust President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
James Sabau, a spokesman for the police force, which is part of the security services controlled by Mr. Mugabe’s party, was quoted in Monday’s state-controlled newspaper as saying that the 46 people in custody were accused of participating in an illegal political meeting where they watched videos “as a way of motivating them to subvert a constitutionally elected government.”
The evidence seized by the police included a Read more…
Earth Likely “Unrecognizable” by 2050 Say Experts
In 2011 the Earth’s population will reach 7 billion. The United Nations (UN) reports that the total number of people will climb to 9 billion in 2050, peak at 9.5 billion, stabilize temporarily, and then decline. Despite the confidence with which these projections are presented, in an American Association for the Advancement of Science press briefing and presentation today the Population Council’s John Bongaarts presents evidence that the actual Read more…
China Prevents Release of U.N. Report on North Korea
China has advised other nations on the U.N. Security Council that it intends to prevent the release of a U.N. document that charges North Korea with flouting international sanctions placed on its nuclear activities, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 16).
The Security Council committee that monitors implementation of U.N. sanctions on the Stalinist state received the report at the end of January from the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea. Western diplomats said Beijing advised it would not allow the report to be forwarded to the broader Security Council for dissemination. The decision was perplexing to some as a Chinese expert was involved in drafting the report.
As one of five permanent Security Council members, China has veto authority over decisions made by the body. As the sanctions committee must have total agreement on all actions, Beijing can also block the Read more…
In sharp reversal, U.S. agrees to rebuke Israel in Security Council
Posted By Colum Lynch
The U.S. informed Arab governments Tuesday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity,” a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the settlements illegal.
But the Palestinians rejected the American offer following a meeting late Wednesday of Arab representatives and said it is planning to press for a vote on its resolution on Friday, according to officials familiar with the issue. The decision to reject the American offer raised the prospect that the Obama administration will cast its first ever veto in the U.N. Security Council.
Still, the U.S. offer signaled a renewed willingness to seek a way out of the current impasse, even if it requires breaking with Israel and joining others in the council in sending a strong message to its key ally to stop its construction of new settlements. U.S. officials were not available for comment, but two Security Council diplomats confirmed the proposal.
The Palestinian delegation, along with Lebanon, the Security Council’s only Arab member state, asked the council’s president late Wednesday to Read more…
New North Korean Space Launch Site Appears Completed
Steve Herman
Photo: GeoEye and Globalsecurity.org
Image taken from the Ikonos satellite, January 10, 2011
New satellite imagery seen by VOA News shows North Korea has completed a launch tower at its second missile launch facility, in the country’s northwest. Intelligence analysts in the United States and South Korea are keeping a close eye on the facility, near Tongchang-dong.
The site is seen as a critical element in Pyongyang’s quest to build a missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon across the Pacific.
The satellite pictures were taken during the past month. Most significantly, the photographs reveal Read more…
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