The US announced plans to lift the travel ban on senior leaders from Myanmar, and ease sanctions on American investment in the country, on Wednesday. The United States Agency for International Development office will be reopened, paving the way to increased foreign assistance, and the first American ambassador to the country since 1990 will be named. The announcement came only days after elections brought Aung San Suu Kyi and her party into office after years of rule by military junta. Commenting on recent developments, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said, “The results of the April 1...
A senior Iranian commander with the Revolutionary Guards, Massoud Jazayeri, warned that if Washington took the first step to attack Iran in an attempt to slow its nuclear program, the United States would not be safe against retaliation, reported an Iranian daily newspaper. The newspaper quoted Massoud Jazayeri as saying , "In the face of any attack, we will have a crushing response. In that case, we will not only act in the boundaries of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, no place in America will be safe from our attacks." "America, the Zionists and reactionary Arabs should pay attention...
The 1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill has voiced concern over the Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled to take place in just on April 22nd, calling on the sport to think carefully before going ahead. With just 3 weeks to go until the race, the British driver urged F1 leaders to “tread carefully” and said , " It would be a bad state of affairs, and bad for Formula One, to be seen to be enforcing martial law in order to hold the race. That is not what this sport should be about. Looking at it today you'd have to say that [the race] could be creating more problems than it's solving." The BBC has also reported that some teams and sponsors have private expressed reservations about travelling to the country, with some expecting a cancellation at the last minute. Hill spoke up against going to Bahrain last year, as Formula pulled out due to ongoing protests and allegations of human rights abuses by the Bahraini government, saying, " Formula One cannot put its head in the sand concerning the Bahrain Grand Prix, because it is a very volatile situation out there." After visiting the country in February Hill stated he felt there were “sincere efforts to resolve the difficulties”, but has recently come out and said, "Things are different now. The protests have not abated and may even have become more determined and calculated. It is a worrying state of affairs. " When reminded of his lucrative Sky commentary contract Hill replied, " Some things are more important than contracts. The view I gave after returning from the visit last year was based on my understanding of several factors; the substantial economic significance of the GP for Bahrain; that the report on the April riots condemned the actions of the police and security forces, and that both sides were to take part in meaningful dialogue to resolve the problems peacefully. Under those conditions one could imagine the GP being a great fillip for a Bahrain on the road to recovery.” " However, with under three weeks to go, conditions do not seem to have improved, judging by the reports in our European newspapers, social media and on Al Jazeera TV. The recent meeting to garner support for the race as a unifying event was troubling insofar as it tried to represent the rioting in Bahrain as the result of bad press reporting and as a 'youth' issue.
Arab nations and the US pledged to assist the Syrian rebels on Sunday, agreeing to send $100 million in financial assistance and communications equipment respectively. Communications equipment, classes as non-military aid, is hoped to help the rebels to organise and evade Syria's military regime, and compliments a decision by other countries, such as UK , to increase aid. Addressing delegates at a conference held Sunday, US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton said , “ The world must judge Assad by what he does, not by what he says, ” “ And we cannot sit back and wait any longer .” States...
The Assad regime has agreed to withdraw its troops and heavy weapons from densely populated areas by the 10th April announced the United Nations-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan. Meanwhile the United States, Britain, France, Germany and other countries remained cynical over whether President Assad will keep his word. The U.S. Ambassador, Susan Rice, said, “ Past experience would lead us to be sceptical and to worry that over the next several days , that rather than a diminution of the violence we might yet again see an escalation of the violence. We certainly hope that is not so." “So the United...
Japan’s defense minister, Naoki Tanaka, announced on Friday that the country's missile unit will intercept a North Korean rocket if it were to cross into Japan’s territory. The announcement came as North Korea prepares to launch a satellite into orbit at the middle of next month. Many countries including the United States claim that North Korea is testing its long-range missile capabilities through this satellite launch, which would violate international agreements. Concerns have also been raised that Japanese lives are in danger if there is a failed launch, leading to Japan deploying...
Rwanda’s Justice minister Tharcisse Karugarama has welcomed a decision by a French court to extradite Claude Muhayimana, a Rwandan with French-Rwandan dual citizenship. Muhayimana is accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and crimes against humanity. It is a remarkable gesture for France to have taken a step as the very first time a French court to agree that a genocide suspect should be extradited to Rwanda to face charges in a country a suspect allegedly committed the crimes, said Karugarama at a press conference in Kigali. France has previously extradited Rwandan genocide...
Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, is due to visit India on Friday - the first visit by a Pakistani president since 2005. Althought the visit is said to be a private pilgrimage to the shrine of Sufu saint in Ajmer, Rajasthan, President Zardari will have lunch with India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. The visit is being seen as a sign of improving relations between the two countries.
Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has won a seat in parliament after winning a by-election in Kawhmu, her party said on Sunday. Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy contested 44 out of 45 seats up for grabs in Burma’s 664-seat parliament. Official results are not due until later this week. Aung San Suu Kyi said in a statement: "It is natural that the NLD members and their supporters are joyous at this point. "However, it is necessary to avoid manners and actions that will make the other parties and members upset. It is very important that NLD members take special care that the...
United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of being behind the systematic torture of children and the killing of civilians. Speaking to the BBC, Ms Pillay said Assad could stop the killings immediately if he issued an order and that he would face justice for the crimes committed by the Syrian forces. Asked by the BBC in an interview if he bore command responsibility for the abuses, Ms Pillay said: "That is the legal situation. Factually there is enough evidence pointing to the fact that many of these acts are committed by the security...