Halabja Group Launches ‘Summer of Peace’
Photo by Qayssar Rewlay By Osamah Golpy, June 30, 2015, published in Rudaw HALABJA, Halabja province – A new peace organization in Halabja is overcoming linguistic differences to promote tolerance and cultural exchange between local residents and the refugee communities that have flooded the area. The NWE, or “New” [...]
The Latest: US, Cuba to Open Embassies to Restore Ties
By the Associated Press, July 1, 2015, published in ABC News The United States and Cuba have agreed to open embassies in their capital cities, a major step in restoring ties after more than 50 years of hostilities. The latest developments (all times local): ——— 10:13 a.m. The Cuban government says Havana [...]
Egypt: Women defy protest ban to call for release of political prisoners
Robert Mackey, NY Times, June 22, 2015 Dozens of Egyptian women on Sunday defied a nationwide ban on unsanctioned street protests, rallying for an hour outside the presidential palace in Cairo to demand the release of political prisoners. The demonstration, staged where 23 opposition activists were arrested a year ago [...]
Nobel Peace Prize winner Óscar Arias address in São Paulo, Brazil
“We are not only dreamers, as our opponents often like to say. We are simply pragmatists who have our priorities straight.” At the Rotary Convention in São Paulo, Brazil, Nobel Peace Prize winner Óscar Arias reminded the gathering that in the words of founder Paul Harris, "The most virtuous war [...]
Concerning Peace and Development of Humanity
By Yang Jiechi, June 22, 2015, published in Foreign Policy. The seventh round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) will be held in Washington, D.C., between June 23 and 24. The mechanism of the S&ED was first established in 2009. Over the last six years, especially since 2013 [...]
Mali Tuareg peace deal raises hopes but faces challenges
By Michel Arseneault, June 22, 2015, published in Radio France Internationale. Activists and analysts in Mali hope that a landmark deal between the government and a Tuareg-led rebel coalition will bring stability to the north, the cradle of several Tuareg uprisings since the 1960s. But there is only cautious optimism [...]