Article Archive for September 2011
Celebration and trepidation in Libya
The rapid rebel takeover has left Libya’s capital teetering, with young men firing antiaircraft weapons into the air and gunmen at checkpoints hustling anyone they regard as mildly suspicious into overcrowded detention centers. Some people are beginning to worry about an unflattering comparison: Baghdad.
Indiafest fundraiser kick-off will see $2.5m Community Centre project begin
Indiafest—a three-day festival of Indian music, dance, expos of Indian custom, tradition and crafts kicked off on August 12 ending on the eve of India’s Independence Day on August 14. The event was hosted at the Halifax Forum.
Refugee Camp in the Heart of Halifax – September 15—18
This fall 2011, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is bringing The Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City exhibit to Eastern Canada on a four-city tour. The exhibit in Halifax runs from September 15 to 18 at the Garrison Grounds (Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada) and will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
‘Has God forsaken Africa’ and other films to screen from August to October
NGOs and their partners screened the film “Has God forsaken Africa” on August 16 at the Canadian Museum of Immigration, Pier 21, 1055 Marginal Road. This was a fundraising event and the proceeds are going to support the people of Somalia as they cope with a famine says Soulafa Al-Abbasi, the Coordinator, Capacity Building at ISIS (Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services).
US-China ties key to global economic stability – Biden
It was a busy and productive day in Beijing, mid August, for Vice President Biden – one that began and ended at the Great Hall of the People. An elaborate welcome ceremony in the Northern Hall served as the official kickoff to Vice President Biden’s visit to China. Bilateral meetings with Vice President Xi and National People’s Congress Chair Wu Bangguo followed in the Eastern and Fujian Rooms.
Almost 2000 Libyan, Tunisian refugees arrive on Italian island
People are continuing to flee Libya and Tunisia for a variety of reasons, the United Nations refugee agency reported late August, noting that almost 2,000 people arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa that weekend from the two North African nations.
Fears are mounting of a cholera epidemic in Mogadishu
Fears are mounting that a cholera epidemic could spread rapidly among the hundreds of thousands of people living in often unsanitary conditions in Mogadishu after fleeing drought, famine and insecurity. “The number of cases is two or even three times (the scale) of last year so we can say that we have an epidemic of cholera going on,” said Michel Yao, public health adviser at the World Health Organization (WHO).
Many Cubans living abroad can’t go back
Tampa teenager Melissa Gonzalez wanted to visit her ailing grandfather in Cuba. But her travel agency told her that the Cuban government had turned down her request for an entry permit, without explanation. No doubt, said her father, Jorge Luis Gonzalez Tanquero, she was turned down because he is a former political prisoner who spent seven years in prison and has continued to blast the Cuban government since his arrival in South Florida in February.
Can the winds shift again and kick-start Mideast peace?
Nobody expected a quick happy ending, but the depths to which the Middle East peace process has fallen, and the degree to which American influence has collapsed, are nothing short of astounding. Just three years ago, a deal between Israelis and Palestinians seemed tantalizingly close. Today, political realities have transformed the landscape and the one mediator that had the ability to influence the outcome of talks, the United States, looks virtually powerless.
