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Well-known freelance journalist and blogger Ismail “Hilath” Rasheed was stabbed in the neck near his Malé home today and was rushed in a critical condition to the city’s ADK hospital where he underwent an operation and was then placed in an intensive care unit.

I wrote an article that I helped reconstruct demolished Palestinian homes out of civil disobedience. After the article by Melanie Lidman in The Jerusalem Post on April 30, stating that the Interior Ministry was accusing me of illegally constructing Palestinian homes demolished by the municipality, I wrote an op-ed that appeared on May 8.

Thousands of people have attended the candle-light vigil in Victoria Park to commemorate those who died during the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square 23 years ago. Organisers said more than 180,000 people were there, although police put the figure at 85,000. brought to our attention by Pete Spurrier, (from RTHK report).

When it becomes clear to everyone that the all-powerful economists have little to offer other than more cuts, more austerity measures, more insults (“go pay your taxes” or “you’re poor because you are lazy”), then people realise it’s up to them, and real human creativity takes over. That’s how a crisis becomes an opportunity.

The EU continues to be unable to solve its crises. The risk of a default of Greece on repayment of its debt in the next 3 months, or of the country leaving the Euro has increased considerably

Hopes that the situation would calm down after the second rescues package for Greece in March 2012, combined with a non-payment of part of the debt to banks have proved illusory

In run-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, the Government of Brazil is organizing, with support of the UN, Sustainable Development Dialogues – a forum for civil society – in Riocentro from June 16 to 19.
In the 4 days top representatives from civil society, private sector, NGOs, scientific community, etc.. will convene at the venue of the Rio+20 Conference

On May 25th at around 11:30 a lawsuit was submitted to the Superior Court by the FEUQ and the FECQ to enable students to receive instruction from the institutions they attend, or the special law, deemed null and void immediately. This action is a temporary measure to avoid irreperable damages while the case is brought through the standard legal venues.

The economy in the euro zone, formed by the 17 countries linked to the euro, registered a unemployment level of 11 percent of the active population according tolocal sources today.
The Statistics office Eurostat, said that the level is similar to the one reported last month, although it represents 1.1 percent more than the one in the same period of 2011.

Faced with a crisis surrounding the uproar against the Quebec Government, started by the planned hike in tuition fees, the government has chosen to take the most cowardly and irresponsible route possible: it chose to push through a special law to to take away the rights of all citizens–not just students–to demonstrate.

India had more than one message for China prior to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s 3 day visit to Myanmar, the world’s newest darling of democracy being wooed with ardour by the two Asian giants and the US
From New Delhi went the un-subtle message that prime minister’s visit was actuated by the neighbourly intent of peace and prosperity; and, not by any expansionist design.