Overseas news archive

28.02.2005 The Malaysian government has resorted to bounty-hunting vigilante groups to "capture" undocumented migrant workers. Civil society groups in Malaysia are appalled.

28.02.2005 The British Company, Premier Oil, was forced to pull its operations out of Burma in light of the human rights record of the regime. Now campaigners turn their attention to the oil giant, TOTAL, whose engagement on the Yadana gas project is enabled by the French government veto of EU sanctions.

28.02.2005 California has a tradition of setting tough emissions targets for vehicles sold in the state. Car manufacturers would much prefer that regulations be decided by the Federal government which is soft on the environment. In US fashion, the courts will decide.

25.02.2005 A personal account by Times correspondent Jan Raath of his escape from Zimbabwe after a series of threatening visits from Mugabe's henchmen. After working in the country for 30 years, he had no time even to say goodbye to his cat.
From: Reporters Without Borders

24.02.2005 "Democracy is not a potato that you can plant from one kitchen garden to another" says Russia's foreign minister, angry at European grumbles about President Putin's authoritarian ways. Activists are nevertheless pressing President Bush to raise the matter at today's summit.

24.02.2005 A new report says that the settlement in southern Sudan and the surrender of a high-ranking member of the Lord's Resistance Army combine to create the best opportunity for peace in Uganda since the conflict began 18 years ago.
From: International Crisis Group

23.02.2005 There is heated debate in Mexico amongst scientists and the general public as to whether the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops will contaminate local maize varieties. But this has not prevented the government from passing a new law to permit the planting of GM seeds.

22.02.2005 Although international condemnation of the King Gyanendra's suspension of democracy in Nepal is universal, many people inside the country are conscious that the elected government had many failings. Is it possible that the King will win popular support?

22.02.2005 As European leaders seek to cool the passions of George Bush on Iran, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, says that inspections in Iran have produced no recent evidence of development of nuclear weapons. He recommends that the US should join in the European strategy of diplomatic engagement.

22.02.2005 A new report makes constructive suggestions for reform of Tunisia's regime of media censorship and harassment. As the credibility of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) looks increasingly shaky, the Summit PrepCom currently under way in Geneva cannot put off the issue any longer.
From: International Federation of Journalists

21.02.2005 Germany and the US have suspended funding of anti-corruption programmes in Kenya following the resignation of John Githongo, the government official responsible for Governance and Ethics and a highly respected figure. This joint statement by leading civil society organisations in Kenya calls for an end to their participation in discredited government reform programmes.
From: Transparency International

21.02.2005 As President Bush meets European leaders this week, the European Union has announced a major aid package to support the creation of a Palestinian state.

18.02.2005 Iraqi journalists are setting aside their differences to bring pressure on the new government to introduce reforms to underwrite an independent media and provide greater protection against the threat of violence.
From: International Federation of Journalists

18.02.2005 The reconstruction of tsunami damage in Aceh will create massive demand for timber. But Indonesia has a dismal record for control of its illegal logging industry. What is the solution?

18.02.2005 The Kyoto treaty is often criticised for exempting China from its requirements. To general surprise, China does appear to be introducing some new regulations; and there are even signs of emergence of local environmental NGOs.

18.02.2005 Having sided with the US in blocking Gordon Brown's aid and debt relief plans, Canada now appears to be engaged in an attempt to obtain UN approval to test genetically engineered "terminator" seeds which cannot reproduce themselves.

17.02.2005 On the request of the Security Council, Kofi Annan is to investigate the circumstances of the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. The UN already has to tread a sensitive path in light of existing resolutions urging withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

16.02.2005 Thaksin Shinawatra, prime minister of Thailand, won an overwhelming victory in the recent general election. Will he direct his dominant political strength to arrest the worrying decline in basic freedoms and rights enjoyed by the Thai people?

16.02.2005 African environmental and human rights groups say that the Treaty on the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) is flawed in every key respect. Instead of protecting the rainforests of the Congo Basin, it permits unsustainable logging, ignores the rights of local people, and fails to meet standards of good governance.

15.02.2005 Illegal logging is on the move again in Cambodia. International donors led by the World Bank, and including the UK Department for International Development, have allowed the Cambodian government to lift a transportation ban that has been in force since 2002.