Sunday, Feb 01st
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International Glance
Air to air missiles, missile radar alert systems, fuel tanks for fighter bombers and gas masks were dispatched from Israel apparently destined for Peru but were then transported on to Argentina, it claims.
As the British Task Force sent to reclaim the islands after the 1982 Argentine invasion of the Falklands began to get the upper hand, Argentina's ruling military junta was left with few choices from which to source replacements for equipment lost in war.
Democracy-building campaigns undertaken by U.S. agencies in authoritarian Arab states helped nurture the nascent uprisings in those countries, official say.
A selection of American groups, given limited funding and led by organizers trained in campaigning through social media, played a larger part in the pro-Democracy movements of the Arab Spring than military and anti-terrorism campaigns, receiving billions of dollars, The New York Times reported Friday.
The three co-authors of the damning United Nations report on the 2008-2009 Gaza war rejected on Thursday an op-ed by the fourth member and chairman Richard Goldstone in which he retracted key conclusions of the report – in particular saying that Israel had not intentionally targeted civilians during the war.
In an article in the British daily The Guardian, the three members – the Pakistani human rights lawyer Hina Jilani; Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at the London School of Economics; and former Irish peace-keeper Desmond Travers maintained that the conclusions of the report remain valid despite Goldstone's shift and subsequent calls to retract the report in the UN.
Since Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant began leaking radiation after last month's earthquake and tsunami, those watching with consternation have included the Mirarr Aboriginal people of Australia's Northern Territory, who are determined to limit uranium mining on their land despite the promise of vast riches.
The Mirarr are the traditional owners of land where uranium has been mined for more than 30 years and exported all over the world. Tepco, which operates the Fukushima plant, is a long-standing customer of Ranger, the principal mine.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is ready to run an independent state but will struggle to make further institutional progress due to the restrictions of the Israeli occupation, the UN has said.
Tuesday's report followed equally upbeat assessments of the PA's nation-building achievements released over the past week by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The postive statements come ahead of a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday of aid donor countries which will review Salam Fayyad's, the Palestinian prime minister, drive to construct the framework of a state by mid-2011.
Few would argue that the United Nations Security Council, which has long been dominated by five powers including the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom and Russia, would not benefit from some degree of democratic reform.
Indeed, it can hardly be said that the United Nations, which was originally set up in 1945, truly reflects a more diverse 21st century world. Though ten other nations besides the big five currently serve on the council, they only stay for two years and are relegated to inferior "non-permanent" member status.
High occurrence of cancer has been detected in Israel's elite naval commando unit, apparently due to the waste disposal by Israeli firms in Kishon River.
The river, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea in the northern city of Haifa, has been used for training the unit, known as Shayetet 13.
Carmel Olefins Ltd., Israel's sole manufacturer of petrochemical products used in the plastics industry, as well as other firms have been accused of directing their waste into the river, which is notorious for being the most polluted stream in Israel.
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