Region

Shareholder meetings can be routine, unless you are Bank of America, in which case it may be declared an “extraordinary event”. That is what the city of Charlotte, North Carolina called the bank’s shareholder meeting this week. Bank of America is currently the second largest bank in the US (after JP Morgan Chase), claiming more than $2tn in assets.

1) Cautious, incremental movement toward political reconciliation and reform spearheaded by the Syrian government and closely monitored by Kofi Annan’s UN mission, Moscow, Tehran and Beijing.

2) Dangerous escalation of violence and militarization that will increasingly include foreign jihadists and is likely spill over into the broader Middle East.

While Japan is to nationalize Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), the Indian central government is paying off Tamil Nadu State big-wigs for co-operation to reopen Kudankulam nuclear plant. In Europe the 15M movement is gathering forces while the Greek citizenry rethink the bailout. Such undercurrents indicate a groundswell of hitherto unrecognised forces at work – the human factor!

The possession and potential use of nuclear weapons by others is what currently justifies nuclear arsenals. Mahatma Gandhi counselled non-violent resistance to nuclear bombardment Tarak Barkawi wrote this article for Al Jazeera and we took permission to reproduce the first three paragraphs then link back to main article…

I was questioned under caution! Not in a gloomy cellar, without blinding projectors like in the movies, without Shin Bet ( Israel Security Agency ) interrogators who shouted and caressed alternately.

The questioning was conducted by officials from the Interior Ministry’s Construction Inspection Unit, in Jerusalem.

The indefinite hunger strike has been going on since May 1 against the Koodankulam nuclear power project (KKNPP). By May 5, 25 men had been on the fast since May 1 and 302 women and 10 more men joined the strike on May 4. More and more women are eager to join the indefinite hunger strike but the organisers are not able to accommodate them.

The Annual General Meeting of Abolition 2000 Global Network for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons unanimously adopted a statement: “Welcoming the Shut-Down of All of Japan’s Nuclear Reactors. The news that the last of country’s 54 nuclear reactors went offline for maintenance also sparked celebrations among Japan’s anti-nuclear protesters.

Reaching Critical Will, a branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, report daily from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty prepcom. In this report, the last one of the first week, the issues of progress and taking responsibility are tackled. “The most important thing is that non-nuclear weapon states actively take the reins.”

No other image embodies better the mood of the moment: Munch’s “The Scream” becomes another example of economic violence and the dehumanisation of this system’s values by selling for a record $119.9 million. Meanwhile, as the Spring/Occupy/Indignados movement prepares for a Global Spring to move from despair to action, we are given a clear choice to open the future.

Joint Statement Humanitarian Dimensions of Nuclear Disarmament, 16 Countries – First Session of Preparatory Committee for 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Austria, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Holy See, Egypt, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland.