International issues

The United States today suspended their operations at the Manta military base, located on the Ecuadorian coast and is starting a process of definitive withdrawal from the facility it has occupied since 1999. Minister of Defence, Javier Ponce said that this is the start of the end until the installation is physically handed back.

According to the UN World Food Programme the economic crisis is adding four million hungry people per week.

The United States, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Austria and Belgium head the list of the world’s leading exporters of these types of weapons.

Delegations from various countries and international personalities are meeting until the 18th of July to talk about peace and reconciliation.

Although Obama and Medvedev pledged to work for a nuclear weapons free world this spring, they failed to take meaningful steps at their July summit to put the world on the proper path to nuclear abolition.

Pressenza rediscovers an article from the Brazilian religious activist Frei Betto in which he makes a surprising proposal regarding the devolution of occupied territories. For the former consultant and personal friend of Lula and Fidel Castro, the USA should not only withdraw their troops from Iraq, but also return Texas, California and Arizona to Mexico, and Puerto Rico to the Puerto Ricans, in addition to returning the Guantanamo Naval base to the Cubans.

At the G8 meeting in Italy, world leaders pledged $12 billion for a “food security initiative” for the world’s poorest countries. The total committed falls three billion dollars short of the $15 billion promised by President Obama.

With President Barack Obama and other world leaders now talking about building a nuclear-free world, it is time to consider whether that would be a good idea. Six reasons for supporting nuclear abolition are particularly cogent.

Tadatoshi Akiba says he is “furious” with the country´s disregard of international demonstrations against their threat of building a nuclear arsenal. The UN Security Council called for sanctions over the country´s tests voting unanimously for sanctions both on the nuclear tests and the North Korean ballistic missile programmes.

On Friday 3rd of July 2009, Mogho Naaba Baongo, Emperor of the Mossi people (the majority ethnic group in Burkina Faso) endorsed the World March. This endorsement was marked by a special ceremony that took place in the Royal Palace in Ouagadougou, in the presence of the Minister for Promotion of Human Rights, Salamata Sawadogo.