English
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 09:31
Weapons have become a part of the daily lives of Tripoli’s residents, as their possession is no longer limited to the armed groups. The trade in arms is now seeing residents buy their own guns, pistols and even hand grenades.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 11:37
With U.N. chemical weapons inspectors trapped just k away from the site of what could be one of the worst gas attacks in decades, doctors frantically collected samples they hoped could prove an alleged massacre in the outskirts of Damascus.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 12:13
The countries of the Sahel face a complex series of interconnected and ever-evolving challenges. The crisis in Mali, and security vacuum following the Libyan revolution, exacerbated the Sahel's longstanding political, economic and humanitarian vulnerabilities. Instability in Mali and increased arms flows from Libya into the region, collided with a humanitarian crisis brought on by drough and poor harvests in a region already burdened by chronic poverty and food insecurity.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 12:30
Last week, along with Acting Assistant Secretary Don Yamamoto, I attended a conference in Brussels where 80 nations came together to pledge support for Mali as it seeks a pathway back to democracy, peace and prosperity. President Traore of Mali began the meeting by thanking the international community for its help and expressing his gratitude for the fact that, in the north of Mali, people are no longer having their hands and feet cut off by terrorists, women are no longer being raped, and Islam is no longer being defamed as a tool of terrorists. In his speech, he emphasized that, "we must learn our lessons from bad governance and realize that the collapse of this house of cards endangered our people as well as the entire region." He commended all of us "to address the root causes of this crisis, with good governance as the first priority."
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 12:40
Post-Meles Ethiopia presents the United States with a significant opportunity to encourage Ethiopia to improve its human rights record, liberalize its economy, and provide increased space for opposition parties and civil society organizations. Post-Meles Ethiopia also presents a significant challenge since Ethiopia plays an important role in advancing regional integration and mitigating regional conflict in Somalia and Sudan. Our partnership with Ethiopia balances these interests by focusing on democracy, governance and human rights; economic growth and development; and regional peace and security.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 12:54
The death last year of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi marked the end of an era in Ethiopia. Fully half of the population has never known another leader or another style of governance, and his passing brought with it both hope and trepidation for the country's future. Ten months later, the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) remains firmly in control of all organs of government. This includes the Parliament, which selected a new Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, and Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, during an extraordinary session on September 21, 2012, marking Ethiopia's first peaceful political transition in modern history. It is significant that neither Hailemariam nor Demeke is a member of the TPLF (Tigray People's Liberation Front), which led Ethiopia since the 1991 overthrow of the Mengistu communist regime, nor are they members of the Orthodox Church, unlike all their predecessors.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 13:12
Thousands of anti-military and Islamist protesters took to the streets in Cairo and around the country today, displaying their defiance of a government crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 13:16
Hundreds of people in the Gaza Strip protested on Friday against Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, in marches organized by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 13:20
U.S. and allied intelligence agencies' have made a preliminary assessment that chemical weapons were used by Syrian forces in an attack near Damascus this week, likely with high-level approval from the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Friday, August 23, 2013 - 13:31
The president of Congress Nuri Abu Sahmain has handed over to the Defence Minister, Abdullah Al-Thini, unspecified powers as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to enable him to deal with the current security crisis.