Pressenza IPA

Washington DC – Christmas has receded. Wishes and gifts have been exchanged, groaning boards have been emptied. Those who associate Christmas not only with “happy holidays” but with their faith have attended church services where prayers were said, sermons were delivered, and some of the most galvanizing choral music composed in the West, would have been heard.

Famous Senegalese singer Youssou N’dour has decided to quit music for politics and to run for next month elections. The musician’s widespread popularity will make him a significant force in Senegalese politics, but his political ambitions are currently unclear.

Since northern African nations gained independence in the late 50s and early 60s, and long before the Arab Spring, the dream of North African unity has existed amongst the peoples of the region. North Africans are naturally united by a shared history, culture and language.

Montevideo – The World Trade Organization (WTO) has failed. In December, the Doha Round is turning ten years old, with nothing to celebrate[i]. Formal negotiations of the Round expired in 2005, without any agreement, and informal negotiations stalled in 2008. Indications in December too were that an agreement to liberalize trade among its 153 member countries was eluding.

The final pull-out of US troops from Iraq marks the end or perhaps just one stage of the end, of the biggest military disaster since Vietnam. Every US-UK goal behind the invasion has been lost, in some cases humiliatingly.

Rome -“They expected that we were all dead, but we are still alive.” Silvano Sarti talks through a bullhorn to the people gathered in Dalmazia square, in Florence.

On January 6th the birth of Silo, spiritual guide, paladin of non-violence, philosopher of the Universal Human Nation, was commemorated. He gave the world a path to comprehend human beings in their truly intentional dimension. He created the tools of a novel evolutionary psychology revealing the human consciousness living in and giving shape to multiple planes of existence.

From 9 to 13th of November 2011 took place in Greece the Forum for Peace and Nonviolence in five different cities: Iraklion, Athens, Thebes, Corfu and Preveza. It provided excellent possibilities both for local activities and national coordination on the field of
nonviolence. It is already evident from various initiatives that came as a result of it.

Somaliland officials are abducting and refouling Oromo, Ogaden and Eritrean asylum seekers. This is against international law as it pertains to refugees. Dr Trevor Trueman has co-ordinated a report on this matter which turns around the incident that took place late December 2011 where twenty refugees from Ethiopia were detained by Somaliland security forces.

“Singing to freedom”, a film about the Syrian uprising, featuring: Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, Amy Goodman, Erica Chenoweth and the Syrian protesters.
This video is about civil resistance in Syria, it presents some of the pragmatic arguments that the powerful force of nonviolent resistance is using successfully in order to bring down dictatorship.