Region

The Kansai-Bangladesh Project (KBP) works to create sustainable programmes with local people in Bangladesh. It is run by Sachiko Matsunaga-Jack with the support of David Jack, who has a similar organisation,Fieldwork. The couple have been active in Bangladesh for many years now and have concentrated on indigenous groups support and encouragement, plus environmental affairs.

Letter delivered to the UN, Endorsed by experts in the nuclear field: Hiroaki Koide; Mitsuhei Murata; Akio Matsumura; Robert Alvarez; Masashi Goto (credentials below). Signing organizations: 72 Japanese organizations as of 30 April 2012. Signatories of the letter to the UN – Shut Tomari, Hokkaido and Green Action, Kyoto.

Plans to install surface-to-air missiles on the rooftops of buildings within 2 miles of London’s Olympic Stadium with 10 troops to operate them have been met with anger and disbelief by the buildings’ dwellers. The city prepares for a £1 billion full blown police and military alert to respond to possible terrorist attacks. Some pensioners refusing to pay the London-wide levy

Labor and immigrant groups were joined by Occupy demonstrators nationwide on Tuesday in May Day rallies for economic injustice and humane immigration reform. In New York City, a long day of separate actions converged in a rally at Union Square and then a march down to Wall Street, where the Occupy movement began last year.

The Green Path of Hope is the name of the movement inspired by Iran’s Mir Hossein Mousavi that took effect after the heavy-handed crackdown organised by the Ahmadinejad government against the Iranian people after the disputed 2009 presidential election. The Coordinating Council of the Green Path of Hope issued the following statement: [Pressenza emphasis of final paragraph]

Twenty-four hunger strikers from villages of the Tirunelveli District are on indefinite hunger striker and from 4th May, 2012 onwards, local women have proposed that they too will join the fast – following the scheduled talks with the Tamil Nadu Government 3rd May. They will demand the closure of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) permanently.

Many may feel satisfied to see the most ruthless media mogul of our times apologising for illegal activities such as hacking into private conversations, not just of the rich and famous, but also of murder victims’ relatives, just to sell more papers. He is not apologising, however, for the manipulation of the people to favour this or that politician, nor are the politicians.

Labor and progressive groups are preparing for a national slate of protests on Tuesday in what’s expected to be one of the largest May Day turnouts since the immigrant rights marches of 2006 and 2007. Occupy Wall Street is seeking a turnout of tens of thousands under the slogan of “General Strike. No Work. No Shopping. Occupy Everywhere.”

Once again states parties, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations are meeting in Vienna to start another review cycle of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Unlike in 2007, however, we are returning to this first preparatory committee with a final document and an action plan adopted by consensus from the last Review Conference.

There is a lot of noise coming out of different quarters about the “imminent collapse” of the UN observer mission in Syria. “Dead on arrival,” says one American commentator. “Failure to uphold truce,” accused the White House and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, pointing fingers at the Syrian government. (See Al Akhbar website, link below)