As Japan’s government gets set to expand a nuclear evacuation area, the mayor of a city inside the radioactive zone speaks about his fears.
Back From the Brink: A City in Ruins Looks to the Future
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Asia & Pacific
Impact of Fukushima Continues to Inch up to Chernobyl Levels
Like Chernobyl, the economic effects of Fukushima will ricochet around the world.
World Bank Horning Its Way Into UN Fund for Helping Poor Nations Deal With Climate Change
More than 90 international environment, development, human rights, and anti-debt organizations from around the world want the World Bank excluded from Green Climate Fund for helping poor nations address climate change.
Letter from Maguindanao
Outside the old municipal hall of Datu Piang, in the conflict-torn province of Maguindanao in southern Philippines, Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Arevalo stood on the riverbank and pointed to the marshland and hills. There, he said, was the Muslim rebels’ stronghold. In late October, the monsoon rains had swollen the river, cutting off Datu Piang’s bridge from the road on the other side. A marshy field with a lone hut, banana shrubs, and a derelict mosque lay directly across from where Arevalo stood briefing journalists on developments on the Philippine Army’s battle with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. “This is lawlessness,” he said.
How to Break the Deadlock With North Korea
Intervention in Libya, which forfeited its nuclear weapons, has made North Korea more convinced than ever that it needs to hold on to its own nukes.
Why Burma’s Ethnic Minorities Become Refugees to Thailand
The ongoing oppression of Burma’s ethnic minorities, many of whom become refugees to Thailand, is overshadowed by disasters such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Darfur.
Postcard from…Tohoku
Within a week of the massive March 11 earthquake off the coast of Tohoku, Peace Boat’s advanced relief squad had navigated the region’s broken roads and set up base in the devastated city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture. From here they’ve been coordinating rotating teams of between 50 and 100 Japanese and international volunteers to assist the local community – primarily by cooking hot meals, distributing supplies, and clearing the tons of mud swept in by the 10-foot tsunami.
For $700 Million Mugabe Lets China Write Its Own Rules
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has let China write its own rules despite his demand that all foreign-owned mining ventures sell majority holdings to black Zimbabweans.
Bring War Dollars Home by Closing Down Bases
On the eighth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.S. fighter planes took off to start yet another military action — this time, in Libya. A recent Gallup poll found that only 47 percent of Americans approved of military action in Libya, the lowest level of support for military intervention in 40 years. At the same time, U.S. President Barack Obama has sent Congress a budget that includes $1.2 trillion dollars for military and security expenditures. Clearly, Americans are weary of war, especially during an economic crisis that has threatened jobs, health plans, and pensions most families need to survive.
Imagine Disarmament and Nonproliferation Talks That Reward the State With More Nukes
Severing the ties that bind disarmament and nonproliferation is not only bad policy, it’s an offense against common sense.