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In spite of some legal setbacks the London Occupy movement continues to develop, mature and diversify in order to face the challenge of becoming a credible force for nonviolent change – political, economic, existential and spiritual – in a violent and dehumanising system. We reproduce here its latest newsletter as an update.

International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of students including the students of the University of Dhaka were killed by the Pakistani police in Dhaka during Bengali Language Movement protests.

While rights groups stress that the brutal crackdown on protesters in Syria and other Middle East and North Africa countries underlines the absence of a global regulation on the trade of conventional arms, a number of states –including U.S., China, and Russia– are rejecting the Inclusion of strong human rights safeguards in an international Arms Trade Treaty.

The bridge over the Rio Rosselot that connects La Junta with the rest of Northern Patagonia, Chile, has been closed by La Juntan’s in solidarity with the “Tu Problem Es Mi Problema” Aysen Civil Movement. A report and the protestors set of demands is brought to Pressenza from participant local resident and “Earthwalker” Paul Coleman.

The state system at its worst: trading insults and threats, sanctions, readiness to use extreme violence, forward deployment of US troops in Israel as hostages to guarantee US involvement, disregard for common people and the effects of warfare in the Middle East and the world.

With 60 percent of the world’s population, Asia has one of the largest concentrations globally of aging persons, creating a host of potential challenges, experts [warn](http://www.irinnews.org/printreport.aspx?reportid=94856). Over 65 percent of Asia’s elderly population will be women.

Our democracy has not taken even first step in the direction of people-oriented politics. Gandhiji rightly pointed out in the discussion on home rule that without people-oriented politics we would be simply replacing the British with the Indian rulers. Gandhiji could not be more correct. On re-seeing the film ‘Gandhi’ – a reassessment.

Terrible images are circulating through the world’s media, chronicling the desperate plight of the Greek people as they try to stand up to their government and stop the destruction of their society. Kostas Klokas, who wrote for us back in September in graphic terms about a modern-day Greek tragedy and his hope for nonviolent struggle, updates his story.

The UN General Assembly strongly condemned the continued “widespread and systematic” human rights violations by the Syrian authorities and demanded that the Government immediately cease all violence and protect its people.

The present powers calling the shots in Israel want a Jewish State saying the Palestinians can live there freely. Given the state of affairs in Israel vis a vis the Palestinians which has Israel as an apartheid state, that claim does not generate any good vibrations. Here we have the other side’s offering of a secular Palestinian State.