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Sandbox Item five on UN Envoy Kofi Annan’s 6-point plan for Syria: “Ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them.” At a delicate moment in the hard-fought Syrian conflict that could potentially destabilize the entire ME, the UN believes getting more journalists into Syria is one of the six most urgent actions.

Media has a role to play in this rise in disproportionately emotional coverage of news and should wake up and cease from inflaming a non-existent fire. In reality, there is no conflict between India and China; no need to point weapons at each other. Arms sales current and potential and other’s outside agencies agendas are fueling negative feelings for their own gain.

By Megan Martin*

Wielding mobile phones and computers, the young activists across the Middle East have altered the way the world approaches popular mobilization, social networks and Internet freedom.

The Internet can be a transformational force for societies and individuals, allowing for organization on a mass scale and the free flow of information.

Even Medusa had another side. The much reviled gorgon was often present on capitals and freezes of ancient Greece temples to protect them from harm. As Syria heats up threatening to be the trigger for an all out conflict in the Middle East the complexity of the forces at play demands a careful analysis, difficult as it may be because of the vociferous propaganda from all sides.

Dear Friends, I write to let you know that I have decided not to attend the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates on 23rd-25th April, 2012, in Chicago, USA – writes Mairead Maguire of Peace People, Northern Ireland, rejecting the US State Department, NATO and the Chicago Agenda. “I do not agree with many of the policies of the US State Department.”

Provisional results from 16 April 2012 elections gave former armed forces chief 60 per cent of the ballots counted. Thus, Taur Matan Ruak looks set to replace Jose Ramos-Horta as East Timor’s president. Provisional results give runoff election rival Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres only a slim chance of winning the largely ceremonial post for his Fretilin Party.

On the anniversary of the nation’s founder’s birth, Kim Jong-un gave his first public speech since taking office. Thousands of military and civilians attended the ceremony in Pyongyang to mark the country’s centenary. This was the North Korean’s new leader first major public speech and he called for a push to “final victory”.

Dr Volker Jung, President, Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, welcomes the co-operation between his church and the Green Crescent organisation and says that it is part of Evangelical understanding of the Christian faith that Protestants should be open to others. Pressenza retells his Internet posted story – copyright © Qantara.de 2012.

A senior UN official has strongly condemned the reported acts of sexual violence committed against Malian women and girls amid renewed fighting. Allegations include “abductions, public rapes and subjecting women and girls to acts of sexual violence in front of family members”.

Geneva-The world, in particular rich industrialized countries, is apparently unwilling to save the lives of 15 million human beings affected by the drought and conflict-related crisis in the Sahel region, with about 1.5 million are children who face the prospect of severe acute malnutrition.