El premio de la Paz de Westfalia será entregado este año al director y pianista Daniel Barenboim y los jóvenes músicos que forman parte de la Orquesta del Diván de Oriente y Occidente (West-Easten Divan Orchestra). La Orquesta reúne a jóvenes músicos israelíes, palestinos y del mundo árabe y es un modelo de coexistencia étnica y religiosa.

Interesting relationships are developing among the residents of different Chilean cities and neighbourhoods only days after the earthquake that left many families unable to return to their homes. Squares have been turned into camping sites where people can cook together, take a bath and lead a community life that did not exist before.

In the midst of conflict and hate, a new solidarity is born. Israeli citizens confront their own military and defend the rights of their Palestinian fellow countrymen. Two activists relate stories of occupation and non-violent opposition. The organization called Ta’ayush was founded by Israelis and Palestinians in order to end the Israeli occupation

The UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference starts in New York on May 3, 2010. The political juncture has never been as favourable for demanding nuclear disarmament. Vredesactie is calling for the operations of the Kleine Brogel nuclear base to be permanently stopped using non-violent direct action beginning on April 3.

Haiti has suffered a massive blow, an earthquake for which its infrastructure was not prepared, after decades—no, centuries—of military and economic manipulation by foreign governments, most notably the United States and France. Earthquakes alone do not create disasters of the scale now experienced in Haiti. The wealthy nations have for too long exploited Haiti.

This Monday the Bolivian foreign secretary invited representatives from all of the world’s countries and governments to the Climate Change Summit to be held in Cochabamba from April 20 to 22. It is hoped that 11,000 people will take part to encourage the proposal of substantive measures “aimed at improving the well-being of all humankind in harmony with nature”.

Finance ministers from the G7 Industrialized Nations have pledged to forgive some $1.2 billion in debt owed by Haiti following last month’s devastating earthquake. Canadian Finance Minister, Mr. Jim Flaherty, made the announcement to the press during a two-day G7 meeting that took place in the Canadian Arctic town of Iqaluit.

Alyn Ware, winner of a 2009 right-livelihood award promotes the Nuclear Weapons Convention and vegetarianism in his acceptance speech, at the award dinner in Sweden. He attacks the weapons industry and calls on individuals to act locally while thinking globally to tackle the threat of nuclear weapons and climate change. “It is a minority who are spoiling it for the rest”.

Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois, College of Law has filed a complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague against U.S. citizens George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice and others for their criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 human beings.

The members of the peace action network, US for OKINAWA, assembled on January 31st to express their concern about the enormous burden that U.S. military bases are placing on Okinawa. Already, U.S. military facilities occupy nearly 20% of Okinawa Island, and even the U.S. and Japanese governments agree that Futenma Air Base should be closed.

The London conference on Afghanistan was a done deal and has been in the works for a long time. The Taliban seem to be resistant to killing, they actually add to their numbers like amoeba and launch attacks ever closer to the hearts of power. So, if military power, the Big Stick, even carried by 44 countries in a coalition does not work, let us try economic power, the carrot.

Victoria Manno is an actor, journalist and pentathlete, among many other interests. Since 2000, she has started the year by performing a challenge for Peace in one of the 6 continents. She joined the organisation World without Wars and began by climbing mount Aconcagua, carrying the World March for Peace and Non Violence flag to the highest point in the Western World.

Over 200 protesters from Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Stop the War Coalition gathered outside the Afghanistan Conference in London's Lancaster House. Campaigners greeted Gordon Brown and the visiting Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers with the clear message that majorities in almost all their countries want their troops brought home.

Over 50 Italian organisations have demanded the immediate release of Muhaned Abu Awwad, a nonviolence activist and the eldest son of the General Manager of the Palestine association ‘Parents Circle – Families Forum’, who was arrested on January 23 by Israeli armed forces. ‘His arrest falls within the framework of a wider repressive mission’, stated Luisa Morgantini.

Honduras is entering a new phase following the swearing-in of a new president and the departure of the now former president Manuel Zelaya. On Wednesday, President Porfirio Lobo was sworn into office. A wealthy landowner, Lobo was elected in a November race boycotted by Zelaya supporters. Zelaya ended his four-month stay in the Brazilian embassy and left Honduras for exile.

The Congolese journalist, Caddy Adzuba, is in Spain to receive the award granted by ‘El Club de las 25’, a women’s journalists’ association, for her work raising awareness of the conflict in her country and how this violence is affecting women in particular. Despite receiving death threats, she is pressing forward with the project ‘A Loudspeaker for Silence’.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai, following his trilateral summit with Turkish president Abdullah Gül and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, confirmed in an announcement to the media that he will ask that the "Taliban names" be removed from the UN sanctions list during the summit on Afghanistan being held this week in London.

In my Reflection of January 14, two days after the catastrophe in Haiti, which destroyed that neighboring sister nation, I wrote: “In the area of healthcare and others the Haitian people has received the cooperation of Cuba, even though this is a small and blockaded country. Approximately 400 doctors and healthcare workers are helping the Haitian people free of charge.

Haiti is preparing for a massive relocation of survivors of last week’s earthquake out of the capital Port-au-Prince. Some 400,000 people will be moved to camps outside the city. The relief effort has now abandoned most efforts to find people trapped beneath the rubble to focus on keeping the survivors alive. The US is now leading the effort to repair Haiti’s main port.

It took less than 24 hours to create the Haiti Solidarity Committee on Jan. 14th. The people of Pernambuco have donated almost 1 ton of supplies to the victims of the earthquake. Military police section of Derby, district of the city of Recife, is the place with the highest number of donations. There are hundreds of bottles of drinking water, staple food, clothing and toys.

Authorities in Haiti say as many as 200.000 have died in last week’s devastating earthquake. Another 1, 5 million and a half people have been left homeless. The death toll continues to rise as relief agencies struggle to distribute food and water to those in need. The World Food Programme said it fed about 100,000 people in Port-au-Prince on Monday.

Doctors Without Borders, international humanitarian organisation delivering medical care and awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1999, is carrying out effective action by assisting and helping voluntarily in the city of Port au Prince, recently devastated by an earthquake. The natural and human disaster stirred compassion in numerous organisations and governments around the world.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate who won the 1990 general election in Burma and who has been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years, has her appeal against her house arrest heard by the Supreme Court in Myanmar. “From a purely legal point of view we should win,” said a member of her legal team.

Around 5am on January 18th 500 police were mobilized with three cranes to suppress protests against work on the new naval base which will be the home base for Aegis destroyers of the U.S. and South Korea naval forces. Protesters have been calling for the base to be shelved, claiming that nearby coral reefs will be destroyed in the process.

Today the Doomsday clock was moved back by 1 minute to 11:54pm today in a press conference of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. In a move to align the environmental and anti-nuclear movements, speakers pointed out the need to tackle climate change as well as implement strategies for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

North Korea has called for talks on a treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War with the US before a resumption of six party talks on its nuclear programme. An armistice ended three years of fighting, but a peace agreement was never concluded and the two sides are still technically at war. Pyongyang says it wants an end to US sanctions before denuclearisation talks resume.

The UN opened the International Year of Biodiversity in Berlin today. The organisers say that human activity is leading to the increasing loss of an ever greater number of plants and animals. Eight years ago, agreements were made at a UN conference in Johannesburg on reducing the loss of biodiversity. It is clear that this year's targets will not be met.

On Saturday, January 2nd a grand finale of the World March for Peace will take place. It will begin at 18 hours (Argentine time), with the testimonies from the international team that did the planetary march. There will be a direct transmission through the internet. The international media that can not be present at the Park will also be able to do internet interviews.

The humanist organisation ‘Convergence of Cultures’ is carrying out an international campaign for solidarity with Aminatau Haidar, the Western Saharan who has been on hunger strike in defence of the rights of her people. The campaign demands that the authorities concerned comply with both UN resolutions and human rights.

On Aug. 27, the SS Oceanic departed Yokohama on its 107 day journey around the world visiting 20 different countries during its global voyage for peace. Among the 500 participants on board are 10 Hibakusha (Atomic Bomb Survivors) from Hiroshima and Nagasaki who have shared testimonies with people around the world. On Dec. 11 the ship returns from the global voyage.

Over the next two weeks, 100 world leaders are expected to attend the UN conference that has been described by some scientists as the most important the world has ever seen. In the opening of Sunday: the mayor of Copenhagen, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon received a delegation of the World March in New York and gave his enthusiastic support to this "noble" effort. Both parties offered to find ways to work together in the task of abolishing nuclear weapons. The March organizers agreed to adopt the Secretary General’s 5-Point Plan as one of its official documents.

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence arrived on the US west coast today, with events in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Red Bluff and San Francisco. In LA a March of over 500 people took to the streets in support of the global initiative passing through 100 countries to send a strong message to President Obama condemning his decision to increase US troop presence in Afghanistan.

The US is waiting for the new Russian-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) draft to be ready by the end of this December, declared State Depart Spokesman, Ian Kelly in a November 24 press conference in Washington, DC. The current START-1 treaty that requires both powers to reduce their nuclear warheads, expired December 5th.

During November 156 new members joined the movement of local authorities demanding the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020. As of December 1st Mayors for Peace counts 3,396 member cities and municipalities in 134 countries and regions. This latest sharp increase of members is an encouragement for Mayors for Peace.

The whereabouts of Iranian journalist Mazdak Ali Nazari continue to be unknown. He disappeared on November the 8th, after security forces entered his house and arrested him. Authorities did not explain the reasons for his detention and the family is worried about the fate he may face. This pacifist was working with the World March for Peace and Nonviolence in Iran.

The International Base Team of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence arrived today in New York and marched with over 1000 people from Brooklyn to Manhattan to celebrate the start of the North American leg of the March. Later, in the evening Dr Bernard Lafayette, civil rights activist and nonviolence educator inspired the audience at the Riverside Church.

As the World March for Peace and Nonviolence is due to arrive in New York on Monday November 30th, it has issued a statement regarding President Obama’s speech on Tuesday at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York which is widely expected to be an announcement of an increase in troop numbers in Afghanistan of anything up to 40,000.

Mazdak Ali Nazari, a journalist and editor of the website Khabar Negaran-Solh (‘Peace Reporters’), was arrested a few days ago at his private home in Iran. His whereabouts and the reasons for his arrest are currently unknown. Before he was detained, Nazari had planned to take part in the World March for Peace and Nonviolence on its way through his country.

Israel is coming under widespread international criticism for its plan to engage in a new round of illegal settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land. Israel says it will build 900 new housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. Palestinian Authority leaders began a renewed effort for endorsement of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.

Japan, the only country to be the target of atom bombs, and the U.S., the only country to drop them, firmly committed themselves to working towards a nuclear weapons free world, when President Barack Obama visited Japan during his first presidential tour of Asia. Both governments reaffirmed their “determination to realize a world free from nuclear weapons”.

In a historical ceremony, a Peace Torch was passed from the Liberian delegation of the World March for Peace and Non Violence, to the delegation of the same World March of Sierra Leone on the Mano River Union Bridge, the border between the two countries, were participants gathered on both sides to allow this important gesture.

IDN-InDepthNews Service - Desperate for “the lack of concrete action on hunger despite all the promises made”, the United Nations has called for a world hunger strike on Nov. 14-15. The call has been launched in Rome by Jacques Diouf, director general of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), on the eve of the Nov 16-18 World Summit on Food Security in Rome.

“Thank you very much. May God bless you all.” These were the words of Benedict XVI as he received the gift delivered to him by the delegation of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, which, having left Wellington in New Zealand on October 2, with numerous legs in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, arrived at Vatican City to be received by the Pope.

Silo, the founder of Universalist Humanism and the inspiration behind the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, addressed the 10th Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. His talk, “The Meaning of Peace and Nonviolence in the Present Moment,” spoke to the possibility of constructing a Universal Human Nation founded upon a culture of active nonviolence.

Numerous volunteer organizers promoting the World March for Peace and Nonviolence arrived in Berlin from throughout Europe and the world to attend the Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. These World March promoters will participate in an international meeting, November 10 from 5 to 11 pm in beautiful Café-Restaurant Kalkscheune, at Johannisstraße 2, the city center of Berlin.

A novel idea favouring children has become a reality now that the Namibian Ministry of the Interior and Immigration has established an office in the maternity wing of Windhoek’s main public hospital. This initiative, supported by UNICEF, is designed to ensure that every child born in the hospital receives a birth certificate.

Today a delegation of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence Balkan team had a meeting with Stjepan Mesić, President of Croatia. During the meeting he was presented with the documents of the World March and asked to read and endorse the Nobel Laureates Charter for a World without Violence. "There's no one more in favour of peace than I am".

As the World March for Peace and Nonviolence reaches Bosnia and Herzegovina on day 8 of its Balkans tour the March was welcomed by Presidency Chairman Željko Komšić and by the city Mayor, Alija Behmen. Accompanying the March at the start of its procession through the 16th century streets around Baščaršija square, Sarajevo, Komšić wished the March all the best.

Prague, November 3, 2009. Thousands of people have gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to participate in the biggest event in the country organized as part of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. It was the last and the biggest event that concluded a three day stay of members of the World March’s Base Team in the Czech Republic.

The World March on day 6 of its tour through the Balkans arrives in Kosovo, coinciding with the arrival of Bill Clinton who is in town to receive the thanks of the Kosovan people. World March organisers and nonviolence activists denounced the wars in the Balkans as being manipulated by outside forces driven by selfish interests rather than the good of the people.

The Czech tradition as well as stars from the Czech music world with their greatest representative, Karel Gott, welcomed the base team from the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. Over three days, an intense program awaits the participants, which program will finish Wednesday with a multicultural Party for Peace at the capital's Venceslao Plaza.

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence is soon to arrive in the Czech Republic. On the occasion, among other things, a conference will be held at the Senate and a Peace Party, of multicultural content, will fill Prague’s largest square. The base team, which Lucie Fialová of the Czech Republic joined for the European stage, will arrive in Prague on November 1.

Invited by the Danish section of the international organisation “Peace Alliance” to a conference on Peace in Copenhagen, representatives of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence acknowledged and supported the creation of a Ministry for Peace such as already exist in Costa Rica, Nepal and the Solomon Islands.

The Pre-parliament of the World’s Religions was held on October 22nd and 23rd in Guadalajara, Mexico with the theme “Hope: Opportunities for Religious and Spiritual Pluralism.” Representatives from all manner of religious denominations exchanged ideas. The World March for Peace and Nonviolence was present on the scene.

War correspondent Hernán Zin, echoing the words of Gervasio Sánchez on receiving the Ortega y Gasset award, in this article condemns the military agreement to be signed by the Governments of Israel and Spain that suggests the implicit support of an occupational army (that of Israel) and a betrayal of leftist ideals by Zapatero’s Government.

Irena Ondrová, mayor of the regional capital Zlín and ex-senator of the parliament of the Czech Republic, expressed her support for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. From the onset, the Mayor felt drawn by the idea of the march, which is why she supported the celebrations of its opening ceremony, which took place the 2nd October in La Paz square, Zlín.

Today in Istanbul, the fifth largest city in the World and the only city to span two continents, an encounter full of meaning took place at the Bosphorus Bridge: the point where Asia meets Europe. In the Historic city and centre of Turkish culture, the World March for Peace and Nonviolence Middle East Team met the South East Europe team to hand over the metaphorical baton.

"During my last two days I was visiting Jeju Island (about 500 miles south of the Korean peninsula) which is recognized by UNESCO as being a place of world class environmental quality and one that hosts many endangered forms of corals. To say it is a jewel would be an understatement", writes the Coordinator of Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space.

The UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke from Germany, proposed holding a football match between Palestinians and Israelis as a way of helping to resolve the long-standing conflict dividing the two peoples. The UN official claims that the sporting event could be held in Ramallah, the Gaza Strip or in Tel Aviv.

On the 3rd and final day in Japan, the World March called on the Government to kick out US bases, a proposal in line with the World March’s demands that foreign troops should withdraw from the territories of other countries. Local organisers welcoming the call described the demand made at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as “unprecedented”.

"Collective action in Kyoto against War, Poverty and Discrimination" was the banner for hundreds of Kyoto activists demonstrating today. Women’s groups, anti US bases organisations, communists, anti-nuclear power organisations and organisations defending article 9 of the Japanese constitution were among those represented together with the World March for Peace and Nonviolence."

1000 candles were lit today spelling out the demand “Nuclear Free Now!” The act was part of an event called NO NUKES 2020 organised by Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation; an organisation established in April 1998 by the City of Hiroshima to promote peace, and to consolidate the city's activities in peace promotion, globalization, and international cooperation.

October 14th: A day dedicated to nonviolence at the Ghandhi Memorial in Chennai: a competition of drawing and painting on the topic “The world I would like,” a photographic exhibition, a press conference to announce the arrival of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence in India and a round table on ways to promote peace in the world.

The call for peaceful and nonviolent election in Basilan, Philippines took on a new face as local and international peace groups and government agencies launched the Zero Violence in 2010 Campaign last October 7 at the Basilan State College Gymnasium, Isabela City, Basilan. The launching coincided with the World March for Peace and Non-violence arrival to The Philippines.

One of the 2009 Right Livelihood Awards, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prizes goes to Alyn Ware, World March for Peace and Nonviolence Coordinator for New Zealand - Aotearoa, for “his effective and creative advocacy and initiatives over two decades to further peace education and to rid the world of nuclear weapons”.

"The Olympic Games symbolize the eradication of nuclear arms and world peace", stated Tadatoshi Akiba, mayor of Hiroshima. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is investigating the potential candidacies for the 2020 Olympic Games of the two Japanese cities that suffered nuclear attacks in 1945 and left approximately 220,000 dead.

Members of the base team marched alongside Bangladeshis in Dhaka. The event was organized within the framework of the University of the Capital by the association “World without Wars” and other members of the humanist movement. To mark the occasion, a press conference was held attended by some twenty journalists and numerous spectators.

In front of the monument dedicated to the great Philippine national hero, pacifist José Rizal, Mayor Alfredo S. Lim declared Manila’s support for peace and non-violence and symbolically offered the keys to the city to Rafael de la Rubia, president of World Without Wars, organizer of the three-month-long march for peace that will circle the world.

Rana Al-Arja and Lubna Bandak from Holy Land Trust and Patricia Arriagada from Chilean organization The Community for Human Development met with Bethlehem Governor Mr. Abed Al Fattah Hamayel in order to invite him to join the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. He wholeheartedly welcomed the idea and confirmed his participation during the March.

North Korea says it is prepared to return to six-party talks on its nuclear programme as long as the US agrees to bilateral meetings first to improve “hostile relations” between the two countries. The US says it wants to restart negotiations to convince North Korea to end its nuclear programme. A planned visit by special US negotiator Stephen Bosworth is expected this month.

In the extraordinary place where the Nile River and the arts converge in Cairo, The World March has once again achieved its objective: more than 150 people came together in the spacious concert hall of El Sawy Cultural Wheel, the cultural epicenter of this cosmopolitan city, to issue a worldwide call for peace and the construction of a culture of non-violence.

As notícias não param de chegar. Desde o primeiro dia de outubro, véspera da partida da equipe base da Marcha Mundial Pela Paz e a Não Violência de Wellington (Nova Zelândia), milhares de pessoas em todo o mundo estão envolvidas em cerimônias oficiais e atividades públicas em comemoração ao início da viagem-paz de 90 dias pelas diversas realidades do mundo.

A crowd of supporters for peace from 5 continents assembled on the 2nd of October in Wellington at the foot of the statue of the Father of the Indian Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, donated by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The multitude came, braving the wind and the cold to support the World March for Peace and Nonviolence.

The Nonviolence Fair, held as a kickoff event for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, took place in Cinemateque Square in Tel Aviv, Israel. The fair was organized by the group Greenpeace and the Humanist Movement, together with the participation of 20 Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in different areas of nonviolence.

Multilateral talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme opened in Geneva on Thursday afternoon. Iranian representatives held discussions with representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - United States, Russia, China, Great Britain and France - along with Germany. This is the first time in three decades that US and Iranian meet.

As of October 1st 2009 Mayors for Peace counts 3,147 member cities and municipalities in 134 countries and regions. During September 43 new members joined the movement of local authorities demanding the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard from Mexico City is one of the new members welcomed during a special ceremony last September 10th.

As members of the base team gathered in Wellington, New Zealand, Pressenza researched the origins of the World March, its objectives, and, among other things,the reasons why the launching point is from New Zealand. The World March begins on October 2nd. More than 300 events are being held this day in different cities world wide.

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence has just accepted ambassadorship of the “Charter for a World without Violence” drafted by 19 Nobel Peace Prize winners. The Moriori people, the original inhabitants of the Chatham Islands and pioneers in peace building, are the first members of the World March to sign on to the charter.

ABI – With a mass celebration on Friday in the Hernando Siles stadium, in which the president Evo Morales, authorities, students, artists, public figures and citizens in general will participate, Bolivia will join the “World March for Peace and Non Violence”, in a ceremony that will be replicated in at least a hundred countries.

On the 29th of September, the Moriori People celebrated the arrival of World March participants. On the island famous for its rainbows, the hosts were happy that the March for Peace, itself symbolised by the colours of the rainbow which has one end on the most eastern point on earth, and the other end in the west in Argentina.

Zelaya has remained in the Brazilian embassy since defiantly returning to Honduras one week ago. Coup leaders have now given Brazil a ten-day deadline to hand over Zelaya or face the embassy’s closure. Brazil has rejected the ultimatum and says Zelaya will stay as long as he needs. On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning the embassy siege.

A number of testimonies of the situation suffered by the Mapuche nation in Chile were put forward at the 12th period of sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and Danielle Mitterrand, who was in Chile in April as part of a mission for the “France Libertés” Association, of which she is president, spoke out on the nation’s behalf.

The Members of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence have completed their first preparation event alongside 250 New Zealanders, among which were several important members of the Maori community. An excellent start for the Base Team! More than 250 people came to greet the International Team of the World March in the heart of Auckland.

The U.S.-drafted resolution called for further efforts to achieve "a world without nuclear weapons.” But critics of the resolution said it failed to include mandatory provisions that would have required nuclear weapons states to take concrete disarmament steps. The resolution also lacked any call on nuclear states to halt production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons.

Last Wednesday, in Rome, Umberto Veronesi and Luisa Morgantini took part in the presentation of the World March for Peace and Non-violence which will reach the Italian capital on November 12th. A delegation will take part in the World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates the previous day in Berlin. Silo has been invited to speak.

After Manuel Zelaya took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras, the de facto government unleashed a strong chain of increasingly violent actions. With tear gas and mustard gas, they leveled homes and offices of social organizations illegally arresting people. Meanwhile demonstrations of people mounted throughout countries in Latin America denouncing the violence.

Through the initiative of the Governor of the State of Miranda, Venezuela, a wood was planted to mark the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. This initiative took place on the 21st of September and children and adults took part in the planting, representing different sectors of society, in a simple and moving action.

After having participated in the Right to Food forum in Mexico, Olivier De Schutter, argued that “taxing food doesn't seem to be a solution for combating the economic crisis”. He also said that “35 percent of the world's children who die each year –equivalent to about 6.5 million – die as a result of malnutrition or related causes.”

Only hours after President´s Obama policy change to abandon the missile defence shield, iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said to NBC News´Ann Curry that Iran has no need for nuclear weapons. Three times in the interview, Curry asked Ahmadinejad if there were conditions that could push Iran to have a bomb, saying that there was no need for such weapons.

Barack Obama has abandoned the controversial Pentagon plan to build a missile defence system in Europe. The plan had long tensed the relations with Russia. It also represents an stategic shift to not threaten Iran but to go to the negotiations table instead. "Europe for Peace" and the Czech Nonviolent activism against the missile defence shield helped to get to this decision.

It is a very important gesture of détente and peace by President Obama and we want to applaud it around the world. We support all efforts of the US President to advance towards global nuclear disarmament. We invite Mr. Obama to support the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, something that has already been done by almost 20 National Presidents and Governments of the World.

It is a very important gesture of détente and peace by President Obama and we want to highlight it and applaud it around the world. We support all efforts of the US President to advance towards global nuclear disarmament. We invite Obama to support the World March, something that has already been done by almost 20 National Presidents and Governments of the World.

Between the 21st and 24th of September, the 2nd International Congress of Communication for Peace took place in at the University of Santo Tomás, Bogota, with the objective of contributing to the construction of peace through communication. 400 communicators from Colombia and other countries of the region took part.

Labour MP Martijn van Dam responded to remarks by US President Barack Obama that the number of nuclear arms in the world should be reduced. Two months ago the president signed an agreement with his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, to work towards nuclear arms reduction. The governing Labour party thinks that the Netherlands can remove its nuclear devices from Dutch soil.

With the upcoming special session of the UN Security Council on September 24 approaching, Abolition 2000 calls on world leaders, “to focus attention and promote tangible steps that would reduce the nuclear weapons danger, and move decisively toward a nuclear-weapon-free-world, based on the UN Secretary General’s five - point plan.”

President Evo Morales visits Madrid in the next few days. Using this state visit, the Evo Welcoming Committee has organised a meeting with the President and thousands of Bolivians, Latin American immigrants and Spaniards, who will show their support for the Andean leader. This event takes place on Sunday 13, at 5pm, at the Cubierta de Leganés.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Israeli plan to build 455 housing units in settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank is unacceptable. The plan approved by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has the opposition of many countries. The proposal contravenes urgent appeals by the White House and the European Union to end construction of new houses in the West Bank.

From August 26 to 28, the XXIst United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues - one of the most important forums for dialogue on nuclear non-proliferation - took place in the Japanese city of Niigata. “The Nuclear-Armed States must lead by example by reducing their nuclear weaponry”, stated Kanat B. Saudabayev, Secretary of State of Kazakstan.

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OEA), José Miguel Insulza, assured that the body would not recognize the electoral process proposed by the de-facto Government of Honduras. He stated that the elections would only be valid if the constitutional president Manual Zelaya were allowed to return.

The ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is in Washington, where he will meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday. Zelaya criticized the Honduran coup regime for blocking his return and going ahead with an election campaign. Zelaya’s meeting with Clinton comes days after a State Department review advised that his ouster be officially declared a “military coup.”

The United Nations General Assembly awarded President Evo Morales a medal and scroll, naming him “Global Defender of Mother Earth". The ceremony took place at the Palacio Quemado, the presidential palace in La Paz. The honor was bestowed after the Bolivian president's tireless efforts before the United Nations defending the environment and natural resources.

Noam Chomsky speaks about the future and predicts difficult situations for China and India. On the other hand he analyzes the appearance of progressiveness in Latin America as very important. For the first time in 500 years, LA is moving towards a degree of independence and a kind of integration and also is beginning to face some of its massive internal problems.

On August 5, Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey lit a Nuclear Abolition Torch from the Peace Flame in Hiroshima in preparation for its being carried around the world on the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. Mayor Harvey was in Japan for the annual assembly of Mayors for Peace – an international movement of 3000 cities calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

US State Department advisers have recommended the removal of former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya to be considered a coup. If the Secretary of State follows the advice, the step could cut off tens of millions of dollars. Foreign ministers agreed not to recognize the result of a presidential election set for November unless Mr Zelaya is first restored to power.

North and South Korea have reached an accord on restarting a reunion programme for families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War. The reunions, which begun in 2000, were shelved amid deteriorating relations since a conservative South Korean government took office in February 2008. The reunions will take place between 26 September and 1 October at a resort in North Korea.

Former President Jimmy Carter and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited the construction sites of the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank and criticized Israel’s settlements in the region. Carter and Tutu are both part of The Elders, an organization of former global leaders trying to pressure Israel and the Palestinians to relaunch peace talks.

The commander of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in the Sudanese region of Darfur, Rodolpho Adada, says the mission has been a success. He says there are no longer any major bloodbaths and the conflict has diminished. Mr Adada does not deny that the region is plagued by instability; however, he says that ordinary bandits are the major cause of the troubles.

Two days from the start of the UNASUR meeting in Buenos Aires, where a regional interest in dealing with the US military presence in Colombia has been announced, President Chavez is preparing to sever relations with Colombia. President Evo Morales has expressed his opposition in a different manner by stating that “we must save Colombia from this intervention”.

The Scottish Minister of Justice, Kenny MacAskill, says Libya failed to keep its word about the return of the Lockerbie bomber last week. MacAskill said Libya had agreed on a modest reception for al-Megrahi, who was released from prison in Scotland because he is suffering from terminal cancer. However, when he arrived at Tripoli airport, he received a hero's welcome.

A delegation of foreign ministers from the Organization of American States is in Honduras this week to seek the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The delegation is hoping to revive a Costa Rica-brokered proposal that would restore Zelaya to office but limit his authority. On Monday, the head of the coup government, Micheletti, reiterated his opposition to the plan.

US military commanders have said that they need more troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. Last week, President Obama defended the expansion of the war, calling it a “war of necessity.” We speak with Harvard professor Stephen Walt, who argues that the President’s “safe haven” argument for expanding the US military presence in Afghanistan should be viewed with skepticism.

Peace proponent Cindy Sheehan calls all peace leaders to come sail with her aboard 'SS Camp Casey' anchored in Martha's Vineyard for a shipboard peace summit from August 27 to 29. Cindy, who is sometimes referred to by the media as “the peace mom” lost her son Casey in the Iraq War when he was killed in action on April 4, 2004.

Honduran civil society organizations have called for a World day of protest on 28 August against the coup d'ètat and the complicity of US intelligence corps with the de facto regime. "We exhort all people committed to democracy and solidarity to join the protest against the dictatorship set up by the Honduran oligarchy", the organizing body said.

UN Special Rapporteurs present proposals to create a World Court to bring to justice multinationals refusing liability for their actions. In the last INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ GLOBAL SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE, an accord was made for the creation of a Tribunal for Environmental Justice trying cases involving companies who depredate Mother Nature.

The Scottish government has again defended its decision to release the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. In the US, the decision has been criticized. Scotland’s spokesperson said that: "Compassionate release is not part of the US justice system but it is part of Scotland's."

Throngs of South Koreans bid farewell to former President Kim Dae-jung. The former president, who died last Tuesday, was 85 years of age. He was interred today, Sunday. Some 24,000 people were present at his burial. The North Korean delegation that attended his funeral visited South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, delivering a message from the President of North Korea.

Children as young as 13 have been recruited, and boys as well as girls are at risk in the department of Vaupés, home to 27 different groups of indigenous people. Forced recruitment affects indigenous groups at risk of extinction. One of the most urgent cases is that of the Pizamira, whose members do not exceed 50 people.

The popular Chilean actor Benjamín Vicuña, one of the Latin American Ambassadors of UNICEF, will create a documentary about Haiti and, before it comes out, he said he looks “to achieve a more solidarious America.” The actor has been invited by the UN with the proposal of filming a documentary that will be exhibited throughout Latin America in September.

Scotland's Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill released the Lockerbie bomber, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. Al-Megrahi is the only man convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. MacAskill made a non reciprocal decision: compassion and mercy for Al-Megrahi although he did not show them to his victims.

A North Korean diplomatic delegation has told New Mexico's state governor Bill Richardson that Pyongyang wants bilateral talks with the United States about its nuclear programme. Pyongyang seems to have adopted a more moderate course recently: Two US journalists were released and North Korea is sending a delegation to the funeral of former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung.

Today is election day in Afghanistan. A new poll shows growing American opposition to the war in Afghanistan. The Washington Post-ABC News survey found 51 percent of Americans view the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting. Just one-quarter of respondents say they support President Obama’s escalation of the Afghan war with at least 17,000 additional troops.

Lack of consensus between the participating countries on procedures related to the working agenda of the UNO Conference on Disarmament continues. The calendar to start the negotiations to prohibit the production of materials essential for the production of nuclear weapons is one of the questions that have led to this impasse.

In a late but important recognition, the government of North Korea announced its intention to participate in Kim Dae-Jung´s funerals. President Kim, was the first South Korean President to actively seek reconciliation with the North. He made enormous progress in the relations with North Korea, which he visited in 2000 and held an historic meeting with its leader Kim Jong-il.

Israel has promised to build no new settlements on the West Bank until the beginning of 2010. The Israeli government says the decision should be seen as a gesture towards the United States. US President Barack Obama reacted positively to the offer, which he described as “a step in the right direction”. He hinted that he now expects a similar gesture from the Palestinians.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ordered Eritrea to pay neighbouring Ethiopia seven million euros in compensation for damage inflicted on each other during the war between 1998 and 2000. The international tribunal said it specified the extra money because Eritrea had begun the conflict. Both countries have agreed to the ruling.

Over one hundred religious, national, community organizations and leaders and academics today called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to “suspend negotiations for expanded U.S. military access or operations in Colombia,” a plan that has generated protest among Latin American countries, including Colombia, the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the hemisphere.

You live in a nice house in a tense neighborhood. Your neighbors haven’t been too pleased with you lately, and you have a terrible roach infestation running havoc in your house. But perhaps there’s hope. A big, strong guy lives near, and is offering help. He has big guns and says he has just the spray to get rid of those pesky roaches if you just let him crash at your place.

Remembering the 64th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb, services in solemn tribute to war victims was conducted at the Soka Gakkai Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the memorial service in Hiroshima, the Soka Gakkai Women's Peace Committee (WPC) held a meeting where hibakusha (bomb survivor) shared their experiences at the end of the Second War.

A delegation from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights has arrived in Honduras to monitor the situation more than a month after the democratically elected Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup. The commission met with local Honduran human rights groups but refused to meet with the government. Luz Patricia Mejia is the head of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

President of South Korea from 1998 to 2003, and the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He has been called the "Nelson Mandela of Asia" for his long-standing opposition to authoritarian rule. When he was President of South Korea, he risked the so called “Sunshine Policy” with North Korea’s Kim Jon-il in 2000, in an attempt to bring peace to the Korean peninsula.

Nonviolent direct action group gets arrested for walking into the home of nuclear-armed Trident submarines in Scotland in a peaceful manifestation and is waiting for possible prosecution as serious crime organizers. They have released the statement that is published below in what they call for the process of disarmament of Trident nuclear weapons to begin.

North Korea's KCNA state press agency says the border has been re-opened for family visits from South Korea. The move is an important gesture at a time of rising tension between the two countries. North Korea has also announced that the whole country is on high alert because of joint military exercises taking place between the United States and South Korea.

Human Rights Watch released a report last week detailing new evidence of possible Israeli war crimes committed during last winter´s operations in Gaza that left over 1400 Palestinians dead. The report says Israeli soldiers unlawfully shot and killed at least 11 Palestinian civilians, including 5 women and 4 children, who were in groups waving white flags.

United States citizen, John William Yettaw, was released and deported by the government Sunday and left the country along with Democrat Senator of the United States Jim Webb who concluded his three-day visit to Myanmar. Yettaw´s visit was the excuse for Aung San Suu Kyi 18 month extension house arrest that does not allow Ms Suu Kyi to run for next year’s elections.

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brought her African visit to a close in Liberia, a country which achieved independence from the USA, in support of the only African woman President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The trip has placed Africa in the spotlight and served to lend support to the International Court of Justice of The Hague, which the USA has still not recognized.

Right in Nagoya international airport, in line to check in for my flight back to Sao Paulo, I hear a strange noise. Meow, meow.… There was a cat, somewhere close by. I tried to find it but could not. It was coming from a couple who spoke Portuguese. They had lots of luggage. The passengers behind them also had lots of luggage.

The self-appointed Inter Action Council, IAC, chaired by German ex-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt had its 27th Annual Meeting in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia 10-13 May, with 20 other former prime ministers and presidents, many right wing social democrats, attending. They issued a Final Communiqué with a Present State of the World. My comments follow.

In the episode of the two journalists freed by North Korea, a dangerous game was played when Bill Clinton genuflected at North Korea´s Kim Jong-il. Myanmar has no foreign enemies that it needs to deter. Instead of being an international pariah the Myanmar´s generals would win a lot of respect if they would become nuclear. There are signs that this could happen.

Since August 12th, 1949, 194 countries have signed the 4th Geneva Convention which regulates civilian protection, prisoners of war, wounded and humanitarian workers during war conflicts. The Geneva Conventions and their additional Protocols are the backbone of the Humanitarian International Right, that determines the limits to war methods and procedures.

North Korea has freed a South Korean factory worker who was arrested in March for insulting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The man was detained at a joint factory site situated just over the border in North Korea. The release of the factory worker is the first goodwill gesture Pyongyang has made to South Korea since conservative President Lee Myung-bak came to power.

Mayors for Peace Conference counted with the presentation of NGO projects and experience regarding nuclear disarmament. Rafael de la Rubia presented the proposals of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence together with members of different Japanese and international NGOs, as well as the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to appeal against being sentenced to another one and a half years of house arrest. Her lawyer says the verdict delivered against her has no basis in law. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his disappointment and said it appears that the junta wants to put Ms Suu Kyi out of running for next year’s elections.

A worldwide campaign for immediate action of the UN Security Council is being promoted after the Junta’s decision yesterday. After thirteen years of detention, Burmese pro democracy hero and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has just been condemned to another 18 months on trumped up charges with the purpose of keeping her out of running for next year’s elections.

Was I dreaming? It looked like I was inside a spacecraft. It was leaving, but something was holding back the launch. Everything started trembling . And, suddenly I woke up. Yes, I realized that I was dreaming and yet something was going wrong. I looked up to the roof and I noticed chandelier swinging overhead. There was noise of plates and objects were shaking and bouncing.

Latin American countries have agreed to hold a summit next month to discuss a deal giving US troops access to Colombian army bases. The agreement was reached at a meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in the Ecuadorian capital Quito where 8 of the 11 members participated. Alvaro Uribe and Alan Garcia from Colombia and Peru were not present.

On August 9, at a widely attended annual commemoration ceremony held to honor the victims of the atomic bombings of 1945, the Mayor of Nagasaki, Tomihisa Taue, issued an invitation urging leaders of all countries currently possessing or developing nuclear weapons to visit Nagasaki, a city which has suffered nuclear destruction.

August 6th in the morning. Finally the great day. It was about to begin but I still had a few minutes. I had trouble finding the press registration. Indications, only in Japanese, misled us, as well as our guide, a young American exchange student. Luckily our host, the Mayor of Hiroshima was arriving. I asked our photographer, Matteo, to try to take a picture.

Speaking in a public forum in Nairobi, Hillary Clinton signaled a potential shift in US opposition to the International Criminal Court. Clinton said she feels “great regret” the US is not a signatory. A number of states, including China, Russia, India and the United States, have not joined the present 108 member states. Chile to be 109th as of September.

In Budapest, a joint delegation from the Humanist Movement, Greenpeace Hungary, and ATTAC Hungary visited the embassies of countries with nuclear weapons. Later that day, 150 people staged a die-in demonstration in front of the Hungarian parliament building, to commemorate the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks.

Rafael de la Rubia exposed the World March proposals during an event gathering some of the main representatives from NGOs for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The conference took place yesterday, August 6, in Hiroshima. The central issue was the role of organizations in the revision of the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of atomic weapons.

Read the complete address "Peace Declaration, 2009" of Tadatoshi Akiba at Hiroshima's bomb ceremony on 6th August. The mayor of Hiroshima and president of the NGO Mayors for Peace declare that “we support President Obama when he said in Prague in April of this year 'the only role for nuclear weapons is to be abolished'.

The spokesman for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, Rafael de la Rubia, accepted Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba’s invitation to participate in the ceremony to remember the bombing of Hiroshima. During the event’s main speech, Akiba emphasized the U.S. president Barack Obama’s efforts towards the abolition of nuclear weapons over the next decade.

Crisis brings out the extremes in Japan’s character. While maintaining its organization and efficiency, the country has begun to increasingly target the legality of foreigners. I will begin this coverage of the comemmorative ceremonies and events surrounding the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, by relating some experiences to set the context for today, August 5, 2009.

The event took place before the flame that has burned since 1945 in memory of those who died, and that will not be extinguished until all nuclear weapons are eliminated. AT the event, representatives of the World March committed to carry the flame of Hiroshima through every country the WM will travel through, demanding the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Two American journalists are on their way back to the United States following their release from imprisonment in North Korea. Euna Lee and Laura Ling of Current TV were freed after a visit by former President Bill Clinton. On Tuesday, Clinton met North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and held what North Korean state media described as “wide ranging” and “exhaustive” talks.

Eduardo Gozalo, Aurora Marquina, Alvaro Orus and a few others reached the meadow at 3400 metres and set up Base camp 1, with the plan to continue the climb towards the peak of Mount Ararat, the mythical site where it is said Noah's Ark came to rest after the Great Flood. They will continue towards Base 2, located at 4500 metres.

Editorial from Hiroshima The economic world crisis, starting in Wall Street last year, exploded in Japan more powerfully than in any other country. A similar explosion occurred when Japan was hit by two nuclear bombs in 1945, dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, immigrants are the first victims of the explosion caused by the present economic crisis.

Former President Bill Clinton has made a surprise visit to North Korea to try to win the release of two jailed US journalists that were be put on trial on charges of illegal entry and hostile acts. The two reporters, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, were detained along the Chinese border on March 17. The reporters work for Al Gore’s Current TV.

A group of high-ranking Latin American diplomats are planning to head to Honduras to pressure the coup-installed leaders to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The trip is being organized by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and the Organization of American States. On Monday, Cesar Caceres, a spokesperson for the coup government, rejected calls for Zelaya’s return.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has begun a seven-nation, eleven-day trip to Africa. Her trip begins in Kenya, where she is expected to meet with Somalia’s President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Somalia at present is at war, since January 2009 when the southern half of the country fell into the hands of radical Islamist rebels.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog’s board has approved an almost €25 million increase in the agency’s 2010 budget. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will receive over €318 million in its regular budget next year, with the biggest funding boost going to work in nuclear security and safety, technical cooperation, nuclear power and nuclear applications.

A torch to be lit from the Hiroshima Flame on August 5 will be carried on a march around the world to promote the abolition of nuclear weapons – ending up at the United Nations in May 2010 for a major inter-governmental conference on nuclear non-proliferation. It will remain alight until all nuclear weapons are eliminated.

The abrahamic Occident expanded three times: islam 622-1492 from Iberia to the Philippines; christianity from 1492 on all five continents; and judaism from 1948 in the Middle East. They left and leave behind enormous clashes of civilizations in their wake, many extinguished. South America is building on an incredible rich history and wisdom like Bolivia's Morales is now doing.

Before travelling to attend ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I dwelled on what would be the priorities for pacifists today. To find answers, I asked myself what would be the most brutal violence against human beings? The image of the detonation of a nuclear bomb over a population living in any city around the world.

Jornalista brasileiro Alexandre Sammogini é convidado especial da prefeitura de Hiroshima para homenagem às vítimas da bomba atômica. Dia 5 de agosto o jornalista lançará oficialmente a agência de notícias Pressenza direto da prefeitura de Hiroshima, que preparou para este dia uma cerimônia simbólica para reforçar a importância da Marcha Mundial pela Paz no momento atual.

In his address to the UN-sponsored International Media Seminar on Peace in Middle East, held July 27 to July 28, with coverage by Pressenza, the UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon encouraged “creativity and engagement of the media and of the international community” in promoting conflict resolution between Palestine and Israel.

The Obama administration’s special envoy to Sudan is calling for a major shift in U.S. policy towards the Sudanese government. In May 2007, the Bush administration imposed economic and other sanctions against Sudan, because of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. In the Darfur conflict, due to violence and disease, UN estimates 400.000 people killed and 2 millions displaced.

Confirming the May’s announcements, British forces will end the 3,700 troops withdrawal from Iraq by the end of July, this Friday, ending their more than six years as an occupying force. Iraqi lawmakers blocked a vote on an agreement that would have allowed 100 British troops to remain in Iraq beyond the Friday deadline.

With the slogan “United for global consciousness in defense of peace”, the Community for Human Development, World Without Wars, the Humanist Center of Studies, and the support of the Defense of the People, held an official presentation Tuesday, July 21 of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence with more than 100 countries participating, now including Panama.

The Obama administration took major steps this week toward helping several major US defense contractors sell sophisticated US arms and nuclear technology to India. Increased US-India nuclear cooperation is stoking fears the US is escalating India’s arms race with Pakistan. Both states are declared nuclear states endangering the regional situation.

India presented on Sunday the first of five nuclear powered submarines that it plans to produce, with its energy source being an 85 megawatt nuclear reactor which can generate a speed of 44 kilometres per hours underwater. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh called it an “historic milestone in the country's defence preparedness.”

Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya, drew attention to the injustice of military spending when the money could be better spent on eradicating poverty and disease.

The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household confirmed that the Pope will receive members of the Peace March in a general audience on the coming 11th of November. The members of the base team who start in New Zealand on the 2nd of October will have travelled through Oceania, Asia and Europe before presenting their proposals for nuclear disarmament and nonviolence before the Vatican.

Organisers of the World March in Ghana today highlighted the issue of the Treaty of Pelindaba to the Deputy Speaker of parliament who promised to investigate and see what could be done to ratify it as soon as possible.

Global Majority will organize its third international “Promoting Peace through dialogue” seminar in Jerusalem. Field study trips, Palestine and Israel in an international seminar on negotiation and mediation through dialogue.

During the 91st anniversary of the former South African president activists around the world pledge 67 minutes of community service and non-discrimination events. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and the 46664 campaign will promote tomorrow, on July 18th, the Mandela Day Celebration in New York. One of the objectives is to institute an official worldwide activist day.

Participants asked the World March team to denounce the intention of the Japanese government to modify the Japanese Constitution that renounces the right to go to war.

The United States today suspended their operations at the Manta military base, located on the Ecuadorian coast and is starting a process of definitive withdrawal from the facility it has occupied since 1999. Minister of Defence, Javier Ponce said that this is the start of the end until the installation is physically handed back.

According to the UN World Food Programme the economic crisis is adding four million hungry people per week.

The United States, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Austria and Belgium head the list of the world’s leading exporters of these types of weapons.

Delegations from various countries and international personalities are meeting until the 18th of July to talk about peace and reconciliation.

Although Obama and Medvedev pledged to work for a nuclear weapons free world this spring, they failed to take meaningful steps at their July summit to put the world on the proper path to nuclear abolition.

Pressenza rediscovers an article from the Brazilian religious activist Frei Betto in which he makes a surprising proposal regarding the devolution of occupied territories. For the former consultant and personal friend of Lula and Fidel Castro, the USA should not only withdraw their troops from Iraq, but also return Texas, California and Arizona to Mexico, and Puerto Rico to the Puerto Ricans, in addition to returning the Guantanamo Naval base to the Cubans.

At the G8 meeting in Italy, world leaders pledged $12 billion for a “food security initiative” for the world’s poorest countries. The total committed falls three billion dollars short of the $15 billion promised by President Obama.

With President Barack Obama and other world leaders now talking about building a nuclear-free world, it is time to consider whether that would be a good idea. Six reasons for supporting nuclear abolition are particularly cogent.

Tadatoshi Akiba says he is “furious” with the country´s disregard of international demonstrations against their threat of building a nuclear arsenal. The UN Security Council called for sanctions over the country´s tests voting unanimously for sanctions both on the nuclear tests and the North Korean ballistic missile programmes.

On Friday 3rd of July 2009, Mogho Naaba Baongo, Emperor of the Mossi people (the majority ethnic group in Burkina Faso) endorsed the World March. This endorsement was marked by a special ceremony that took place in the Royal Palace in Ouagadougou, in the presence of the Minister for Promotion of Human Rights, Salamata Sawadogo.

156 people have died and more than 800 have been injured in the worst wave of ethnic violence in many decades in China during strong clashes between the Han and Uigur ethnic groups. A curfew was declared today in the Xinjiang region from 9pm until 8am to “avoid more chaos”.

Last July 2nd, the Brazilian President sanctioned a new law which benefits an estimated 50,000 foreigners living illegally in the country. During the signing of the new law, President Lula criticized the anti-immigration policy adopted by richer countries which restrain immigrants' rights. "All we want is for Brazilians living abroad to be treated in the same way we treat immigrants here in Brazil", said Lula.

The human rights organisation condemned actions by the Israeli army and Hamas as war crimes, while refuting claims by Israel that it had acted according to international law during its attacks on the Gaza Strip.

North Korea made a new challenge today launching two short range SCUD missiles, from their east coast into the Sea of Japan, according to information from the local news agency, Yonhap.

Both missiles, with a range of around 500 km, seem to have been launched around 8 am local time (23:00 GMT) from a military base close to the coastal city of Wonsan located in the south east of North Korea.

The launch was made two days after the regime fired another four short-range missiles, also from the East coast into the Sea of Japan to coincide with US Independence Day on the 4th of July.

Whether in the Korean peninsula, in unstable Pakistan, or in the volatile Middle East, the risk of military or terrorist nuclear attacks is escalating daily. Yet one of the most real chances to rid the world of nuclear weapons is happening and will be won or lost far from the headlines.

Next week in Moscow, Presidents Medvedev and Obama could make history by agreeing to reduce their nuclear arsenals and set the world´s course towards a nuclear-free world. A group of highly influential figures called Global Zero has presented a four-step plan to achieve that goal and, though it seems incredible, they are successfully persuading the nuclear powers that the world is more secure without nukes.

Yesterday,Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.

A boat carrying twenty-one human rights workers and kits to help families who have lost their homes in Gaza departed yesterday from Cyprus.

US forces have completed a withdrawal from major Iraqi cities and towns on today’s deadline to hand formal control to the Iraqi military. Iraq has declared a national holiday to mark the pullout, and celebrations have been underway nationwide. Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, called the pullback a victory for national sovereignty.

In North Korea, more than 100,000 people attended a government rally Thursday denouncing the United States. Government speakers promised “a fire shower of nuclear retaliation” in the event of US or South Korean military action.

Amid the clutter of calls for a revamped response to the Iranian presidential elections, Shirin Ebadi defends the constitutional right to public protest and appeals for protection, not violence.

Hunger Strike at the Rafah Gate by 4 representatives of the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border (IMORB) demanding an end to the siege of Gaza which has lasted for more than two years. 1.5 million Gazans need to get food and medicines, as well as rebuild their homes after Israeli military strikes that have left the Gaza Strip decimated.

During meeting with Rafael de la Rubia, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, the president of the General Assembly, says that there is 100 per cent agreement with the goals of the World March

United States envoy George Mitchell called Tuesday for a "prompt resumption" of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, saying regional support for President Barack Obama has boosted peace prospects.

"We all share an obligation to help create the conditions for the prompt resumption and the early conclusion of negotiations," the special Middle East envoy said.

Mitchell, speaking at his first press conference in Washington since his appointment in January, gave no time-frame but hoped his preliminary discussions aimed at reviving the negotiations would conclude in a matter of weeks.

The Brazilian President, in an official visit yesterday to Kazakhstan, advocated for international disarmament initiatives, including nuclear weapons.

Adopted by the UN in 1996, the treaty can only come into force when 44 specific countries who at the time of negotiations had nuclear technology have ratified it. China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States have yet to do so although during the US election campaign Obama said, "As president, I will reach out to the Senate to secure the ratification of the CTBT at the earliest practical date."

Former President Jimmy Carter has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of setting up new obstacles to peace with the Palestinians. On Sunday, Netanyahu said for the first time he could accept a two-state solution, but only if the new Palestinian state had no army and no control of its airspace and borders. Jimmy Carter spoke during a stop in Jerusalem.

Chomsky continues writing for Pressenza in an article in which he reflects on the direction of US policy in the Middle East.

The month of June has brought sad news, as three members of the global movement against gun violence were on the Air France flight that went missing on 1 June while flying from Brazil to France.

A new administration and the same old war, and expansion of the war in Afghanistan. We cannot afford these wars, said Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

In Peru, lawmakers have temporarily suspended two land-use laws that led to an indigenous uprising and dozens of deaths in the ensuing police crackdown.

UN Security Council members have agreed on a new round of sanctions in response to North Korea’s recent nuclear test and missile launches. The new measures include asking countries to inspect North Korean vessels carrying suspicious cargo and requiring them to deny the vessels fuel. The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, praised the agreement.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined Obama at Saturday's ceremony held under bright skies—a stark contrast to the winds and rain that marked D-Day.

Tabaré Vazquez is the fifth Latin-American President to promote the campaign of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, following his peers in Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina.

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Dr Saeb Erakat today welcomed President Obama’s Cairo speech, and applauded his strong commitment to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

According to Senate sources in Bogota, today Congress endorsed the World March.

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously condemned North Korea for carrying out an underground nuclear test Monday.

North Korea has staged a "successful" underground nuclear test, the state-run KCNA agency reports.

The international community has expressed indignation and concern over North Korea's latest nuclear test. Even its traditional allies China and Russia condemned Monday's test in unusually strong terms.

In a 50 minute audience, today at 5pm, the President of Ecuador, economist Rafael Correa, spoke with much joy and fraternity to Rafael de la Rubia and Tomas Hirsch, to express his resolute commitment to the World March for Peace and Nonviolence.

A joint American-Russian commission has concluded the proposed US missile defense system in Eastern Europe would be ineffective against the types of Iranian missiles it would purportedly aim to stop.

Russia and the United States started a two day round of negotiations to solidify a new agreement replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

With the death of Tamil Tiger leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran (54) and the military defeat of the LTTE, a bitter end of a violent path has come to the nearly 3 million Sri Lanka´s tamils.

In the midst of a heavy offensive from the army against Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), hundreds of civilians die in the last days and many thousands are still trapped.

In an important gesture, Evo Morales met today in the Government Palace in La Paz with the Latin American coordinator of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, Tomas Hirsch, to express his endorsement of the initiative.

The United Nations is estimating at least 360,000 people have fled heavy fighting in northwest Pakistan, causing the largest displacement crisis in Pakistan’s history.

In Sri Lanka, at least 430 civilians, including 100 children, have died after the Sri Lanka military shelled a civilian area under the control of the Tamil Tigers. But the actual death toll may be far higher.

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, welcomed on Wednesday, Rafael de la Rubia, spokesperson for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence in a meeting focused on the upcoming OAS General Assembly , June 2-3 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

International spokesperson Rafael de la Rubia gathers support for the World March from Delegates and NGOs at the inaugural presentation of the march to the United Nations

A delegation of the World March for Peace at the United Nations joins NGO pressure for nuclear disarmament at NPT PrepCom

Democracy Now! - The New York Times reports senior US officials are increasingly concerned about new vulnerabilities for Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, including the potential for militants to snatch a weapon in transport.

One improved in April 2009, according to the new issue of the International Crisis Group’s monthly bulletin CrisisWatch.

Under the slogan “The future is on its way” hundreds of young people took part in a demonstration in the town center of Buenos Aires to support the Worldwide March for Peace and Non Violence.

The co-chair of Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases to spend 45 days in prison

Lawyer and human rights activist, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, was in Montreal at the Millennium summit on April 16 with others major players and key figures from government organizations, civil society, and leading international humanitarian organizations to raise awareness on the importance on sustainable development and the eradication of poverty. At the Summit, Dr. Ebadi proposed an International Convention to eradicate poverty.

Manuel Elkin, Scientist and discoverer of a new vaccine to cure Malaria, will participate this Wednesday in the second lecture of Ethics, Humanism and Science Dialogues in Donostia, where he will discuss: “The Social Commitment Of Science: The Malaria Vaccine As An Example.”

President Obama's decision to release the "torture memos" was a victory for transparency; but his decision not to prosecute the agents who committed torture is wrong, and betrays his own calls for accountability and moral renewal.

Today in the city of Bogota, Colombia, an agreement was reached to exchange information between our agency and Morris Productions, directed by the renowned journalist Hollman Morris.

Cristina Fernández has endorsed the initiative of the organisation World without Wars and is calling on people to work for a world without violence in which the banners of justice, liberty and dialogue are upheld.

Actress and UNICEF ambassador Mia Farrow was a guest speaker at the recent Millenium Summit in Montreal. She spoke about the crisis in Darfur, a region she has visited 11 times since 2004.

Pressenza speaks with Henk-Jan Brinkman - by Anne Farrell

They will hold protests around the country to show their opposition to funding war

It will boycott nuclear disarmament talks

The problems between India and Pakistan are not problems of common people, but problems of those who are deciding for all.

The diplomat Hicham Hamdan (left) has endorsed the World March for Peace and Nonviolence and committed himself to forward this proposal to all his counterparts from Arab countries.

We are starting to see signals from different sectors about the urgency for nuclear disarmament, the first of the objectives of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner recently confirmed her support for the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, an initiative of the Humanist Movement. She also said she would be pleased to welcome the marchers when they pass through her country.

President Obama is back in the United States after stopping in Turkey and Iraq following his European trip.

Obama was also asked about his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict, where he has yet to make any change from the US support of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

“Let us honor our past by reaching for a better future”, proclaimed Unites States President Barack Obama, vowing to a new era without nuclear weapons.

Peace sign sit-in

Obama's visit was the occasion to continue Czechs protests against US military base (see Video)

"Let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is not and will never be at war with Islam.”

On April 4, in honor of Dr. King and his visionary 'Beyond Vietnam' speech in 1967, 10,000 people marched on Wall Street to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to demand a larger investment in the needs of our communities. Labor, veterans, students, immigrant rights groups, military families, faith-based people, women's groups, and community groups joined for a lively, vibrant march.

While President Obama spoke in Prague, over 1,000 protesters gathered nearby to condemn US plans to build a missile shield system in the Czech Republic and Poland.

Rejected USA request to send more combat troops to Afghanistan

The destructive force of nuclear weapons in the world today is hundreds of millions of times more powerful than that of the atom bomb dropped in Hiroshima in 1945. President Barack Obama’s proposal to reduce atomic warhead arsenals by 80 percent has given rise to the hope of eradicating the threat of nuclear proliferation

‘Although the (nuclear) threat has been greatly diminished since the end of the Cold War, it continues to be the greatest threat against humanity’, declared Obama.

An increased military occupation of Afghanistan will lead to a rise in civilian deaths.

Protest against the financial bailout and the ongoing US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan

More than 300 of the world's top physicians have called on US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to "end the nuclear weapons era once and for all."

The World March aims to generate consciousness of the dangerous global situation in which we are living, a situation marked by the heightened probability of nuclear conflict, a renewed arms race, and the violent military occupation of foreign territories. It's a proposal for an unprecedented mobilization, advanced by the Humanist Movement through one of its organizations, World Without Wars

President Obama: “I believe [what] we’ve begun today is a very constructive dialog that will allow us to work on issues of mutual interest, like the reduction of nuclear weapons and the strengthening of our nonproliferation treaties"

Democracy Now! - The Obama administration is set to open talks today on a new arms control deal with Russia

The Obama administration prefers to avoid using the term ‘Long War’ or ‘Global War on Terror.’

Forty one nations contribute with troops to conform the presence of 56.000 OTAN forces in Afghanistan. The occupation is already eight years old and in many countries of the OTAN it incites less support with every day that goes by.

Paraguayan humanists, with their breasts and rear ends covered only with paint, held a manifestation to attract attention on the subject of violence.

Rafael de la Rubia obtains support from a sector of the government, the media and universities during his visit to the Central American country

PRESSENZA(New York) "We are invisible." That was the message of over 100 protesters at the European Parliament in Brussels on February 18.

The Czech Republic and Poland: US Trojan Horses to divide Europe?

In spite of the obstacles that need to be overcome, new possibilities for nuclear disarmament are appearing on the horizon.

As President-Elect Obama takes office this week, he faces a long list of enormous challenges. Nuclear disarmament is far from the top of the agenda. It should be number 1.

Arrested for refusing to serve in the Israeli army, high-school students launch a worldwide campaign.