Overseas news archive

22.09.2006 Richard Branson pledged Thursday to invest all the profits from his lucrative transport companies (Virgin air and rail) over the next 10 years into a division of his company developing alternative energy approaches to fight global warming.
From: Treehugger blog

22.09.2006 Two former warring rivals have set aside their differences to work through the political system to promote a common vision of peace and development.
From: Minority Rights Group International

22.09.2006 SAN FRANCISCO, Sep 22 (OneWorld) - The number of people making asylum claims in the United States, Japan, Australia, and Europe continues to decline, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reported this week, but that doesn't mean fewer people are fleeing their homes as refugees.

22.09.2006 Amnesty International has warned the international community not to become complacent now that the African Union has proposed and Sudan has accepted an extension of the current peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

22.09.2006 Around 60 Dalits have been hurt by Hindu protesters after trying to break centuries of taboo and discrimination and worship in a temple where they have long been refused entry.

21.09.2006 Gill Hicks was the last person pulled from her train after London's train bombings last July. She has a message for everybody on the International Day of Peace.
From: Peace Direct

21.09.2006 The U.S. president must demand a stronger commitment to women's rights and democratic rule from his Pakistani counterpart Friday, say international aid and human rights groups.

21.09.2006 A Canadian inquiry has cleared Maher Arar of any and all wrongdoing. Arar is a Canadian citizen who was captured in New York and sent to the Middle East to be tortured in secret prisons over a period of 13 months.

21.09.2006 Developing countries that invest in better education, health care, and job training for their record numbers of young people between the ages of 12 and 24 could produce surging economic growth and sharply reduced poverty, according to a new World Bank report.

20.09.2006 A delegation of Israeli, Palestinian and international women leaders have achieved historic agreement on principles for Middle East peace and are urging international support at the United Nations Wednesday.
From: United Nations Development Fund for Women

20.09.2006 An innovative new financing plan to make AIDS medications cheaper and more readily available--partially funded through a tax on airline travel--has been welcomed by campaigners who are also warning that the new plan could detract from existing programs and pledges.
From: ActionAid International

20.09.2006 Human rights campaigners are calling on the United Nations Security Council to "turn words into action, and pass a binding resolution requiring change in Burma."

20.09.2006 On the International Day of Peace a global network of women peace builders involving 1000 Nobel Peace nominees is re-dedicating itself to the cause of a just peace.
From: PeaceWomen Across the Globe

20.09.2006 An additional $1 billion--a negligible fraction of what's spent on agricultural subsidies and military expenditures each year--could save an additional 10 million children under five each year, said world leaders meeting in New York Monday.

20.09.2006 "We know you are a famous and respected man, and that if you speak up for us many people will listen. We just want to go home, and hunt and gather and live in peace like we have always done." Botswana's Busmen people have appealed to the star of a new movie, "The Blood Diamond."

20.09.2006 A training program has helped eight Malaysian women break through the barriers of gender discrimination and disability to find jobs that allow them to work from home.

19.09.2006 Strong economic growth in South Asia is creating "political space" for much-needed policy and institutional reforms to accelerate and sustain growth, and tackle long-standing social and economic problems, according to a World Bank report.
From: India Info Line

19.09.2006 In a decision that has tremendous ramifications both for the country and for the international human rights community, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka declared Friday that neither UN conventions signed by Sri Lanka nor the directives of monitoring bodies are binding on the country.

19.09.2006 The IMF is aiming to "reinvent itself" as an organisation that can tackle global trade imbalances, but critics say the changes it made are largely cosmetic and will not meaningfully increase the voice of less developed countries.

19.09.2006 UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 (OneWorld) - When President George W. Bush makes his way for his speech to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, he will likely be greeted with angry slogans by anti-war protesters.