Asia

“For centuries, Uzbekistan was famed as a hub of trade and rich cultural exchange on the Silk Road connecting China to Western Europe. More recently, however, the Central Asian country has come to be known for something far darker: torture,”‘ says Human Rights Watch report “No One Left to Witness” on Uzbekistan’s record of rights abuses.

Speaking of the ‘network’, the model and the tool need to be distinguished. As a tool, the network has limitations (such as accessibility); as a model, it can inspire a reconceptualization of the politics in which and whereby information passes from any node to any node, without having to be filtered through the ‘middlemen’.

Fifteen years under house arrest has been used by Daw Suu to develop a spiritual way of life that is the core of her being. As others have observed, this is why she always talks of a ‘revolution of the spirit’. Her insistence on non-violence and non-confrontation, compassion and equality are not mere adjuncts to her political stance, they are part of her spiritual path.

Delhi Alliance for Safe Food represents a wide cross-section of people, including consumers, farmers, traders, civil society, trade union activists, scientists and academics, all from Delhi. This group held a press conference on GM foods at Gandhi Peace Foundation to address concerns on the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill 2011.

In this moment of history, and as a political party inspired by the current of Universalist Humanism, we find it necessary to analyse the present situation in order to develop proposals for action in the present global context. [Surely, this is a useful reference for others, Editor.] Statement from the International Humanist Party.

By simply disgorging the information received from the Tokyo the local Japanese Consulate is playing a role is this disinformation exercise and leading the people and the world to believe all is on the mend but the reality is that the calamity is escalating everyday. In this connection, a protest group chanted that the Consul-General should not disinform Hong Kong people.

New York – “There is a long way to go before the rights of Afghan women are fully protected,” says a UN report, noting that the government has not yet succeeded in applying a two-year-old landmark law to the vast majority of cases of violence against women.

Have a good Christmas, stop executions in Japan says Claudio Giusti, international campaigner against the death penalty as he launches a new campain.

Bali – UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon challenged the Asia and Pacific region “to assume global leadership on issues of international concern, including climate change, sustainable development, access to food and energy, human rights and the empowerment of women.”

The ‘India Against Corruption – Hong Kong’ volunteer group gathered together 13 November, 2011, to better understand the success story of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and to get to know how this organisation eradicated corruption in the territory, as a guide to how India can do the same as corruption has plagued India for decades.