Overseas news archive

28.01.2005 The Arabic-language satellite TV channel, al-Jazeera, has suffered a year of harassment from governments which do not appreciate criticism. It's not just the US government which is unhappy - Arab countries dominate the picture.
From: Reporters without Borders

26.01.2005 When a local newspaper in Kurdistan published the list of candidates for the Iraq election, some very surprising names were disclosed.

25.01.2005 Should oil-rich Arab states be more generous in their tsunami relief pledges? It's not a straightforward question.

25.01.2005 The rigged October election in the Ukraine was symptomatic of a deeper malaise created by years of poor governance. Amnesty reminds the new President, Viktor Yushchenko, to give priority to cleaning up the country's poor human rights record.

24.01.2005 A new War on Want briefing demonstrates that Israel has breached the human rights conditionality of its bilateral trade agreement with the European Union. It's time for sanctions, says the campaigning group.

24.01.2005 India has rejected international aid for tsunami relief. Reliance on the generosity of Indian people has brought into focus the reputation for corruption in aid distribution.

21.01.2005 OneWorld Volunteer Editor, Misha Kechakmadze, experienced the Rose Revolution in his own country, Georgia. Few people believed that such a transformation could be repeated but, just over a year later, Misha found himself acting as an official election observer in neighbouring Ukraine where Viktor Yushchenko has now been confirmed as the winner.

21.01.2005 OneWorld Volunteer Editor, Misha Kechakmadze, experienced the Rose Revolution in his own country, Georgia. Few people believed that such a transformation could be repeated but, just over a year later, Misha found himself acting as an official election observer in neighbouring Ukraine where Viktor Yushchenko has now been confirmed as the winner.

21.01.2005 The global textile industry is providing an interesting test of the gospel of free trade. Even with 10 years' notice of the 1st January abolition of quotas, dozens of countries, including the US, are not ready for the new world. The problem is China whose prices undercut everyone else.

21.01.2005 Bangladesh is missing out on the booming global market for medicinal plants. The government plans incentives for rural communities to do more to exploit the 500 plants with potential as herbal remedies.

20.01.2005 It's not only the violence of the tsunami that awaits reconstruction. The residue of salt has poisoned the wells and fields of Sri Lanka, handicapping efforts to rebuild rural communities.

20.01.2005 The conflict between Maoist insurgents and government forces in Nepal has slipped off the radar of the international community. Amnesty says that the UN Commission on Human Rights should dedicate resources to put an end to the illegal killings on both sides.

19.01.2005 Arab leaders are encouraging Iraqis to vote in the forthcoming election, possibly more out of concern about escalating violence than anticipation of the likely outcome.

19.01.2005 The charity, Tearfund, is scathing about the draft international agreement for disaster management under consideration this week at the Kobe conference. The draft fails to comprehend the increasing scale of risk, nor the vulnerability of poor communities.

19.01.2005 A trial in Madrid could represent a breakthrough in longstanding efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of genocide during the Argentinian military dictatorship of the 1980s.

18.01.2005 A trial for genocide in Spain is set to establish vital precedents in bringing to justice perpetrators of the Argentinian "dirty war" of the 1980s military dictatorship.

18.01.2005 Chinese traditional medicine is increasingly popular in the UK. But indigenous communities in China whose knowledge is its foundation receive little benefit. The Chinese government is reviewing the position on intellectual property rights.

18.01.2005 "The government creates many problems for those of us who act"; the prophetic words of Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel laureate, in a recent interview with Amnesty International on the subject of reinterpreting Shari'a law to recognise women's rights. The news this weekend is that she has been summoned without explanation to appear before the hardline Revolutionary Court in Iran.
From: Amnesty International

17.01.2005 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued a major report on the tsunani disaster and its impact on the number of people who will be left destitute. But the report seems anxious to focus on the "surge of economic activity" that reconstruction brings and even suggests that "the overall impact could well end up being somewhat positive".
From: Asian Development Bank

14.01.2005 Vietnam's tiger economy does not trickle down to freedom of espression. Websites daring to suggest price fixing or perks for government employees incur the displeasure of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
From: Reporters Without Borders