Free Republic

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's military government is forcing cyclone victims out of refugee camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, U.N. and church officials said Friday. Eight camps set up by the junta for homeless victims in the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogalay were "totally empty" as the clear-out continued, said Teh Tai Ring of UNICEF, speaking at a meeting of U.N. and private aid agency workers discussing water and sanitation issues. "The government is moving people unannounced," he said, adding that authorities were "dumping people in the approximate location of the villages, basically...

African inflation could cause "humanitarian tsunami" Brussels Tue Apr 8, 10:02 AM ETAFP/File Photo: People shop for groceries at a supermarket in the Borrowdale Brooke suburb in Harare. Soaring... BRUSSELS (AFP) - Soaring prices of basic foodstuffs could cause a "humanitarian tsunami" in Africa, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel warned Tuesday. "A world food crisis is emerging, less visible than the oil (price) crisis, but with the potential effect of real economic and humanitarian tsunami in Africa," Michel said in a statement after a meeting with African Union Commission chief Jean Ping. Ping said the soaring prices represented a "major...

Thousands dead in the massacre of the monksLast updated at 01:05am on 1st October 2007 Comments Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma's ruling junta has revealed. The most senior official to defect so far, Hla Win, said: 'Many more people have been killed in recent days than you've heard about. The bodies can be counted in several thousand.' Mr Win, who spoke out as a Swedish diplomat predicted that the revolt has failed, said he fled when he was ordered...

The Fund for Peace recently released its second annual report on countries at risk of devolving into anarchy, civil war, chaos, and collapse. Dubbed the “Failed States Index,” the listing rates more than 140 countries based on 12 key indicators. The first edition of the FSI was released last summer in partnership with Foreign Policy magazine. Although it garnered little fanfare in major U.S. media outlets, Americans should take notice of the countries at the top—or bottom, rather—of the FSI. After all, this is where much of America’s blood and treasure is being spent. The FSI’s 12-part formula for failure...

Bush is on Fox News Channel right now giving a report on Sudan. He declaired that genocide is happening at this time. Taking no questions. Will fill in more.

Outraged human-rights activists rightly say “never again” as they urge action to stop the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. But the world is perfectly content with “again.” It is heartening to see left-wing celebrities like George Clooney, who headlined a Darfur protest in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, publicize the cause. But it would be even better if they realized that, in this context, multilateralism kills.On Darfur, the “international community” offers only bad faith, selfish business deals, absurd political pandering, and moral obtuseness. With any truly nettlesome international issue, it is almost always thus, which is why the...

Complexity of war crimes case against ex-Yugoslav president convinced Iraqi prosecutors to condense Saddam charges THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Three years and eight months into the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, the courtroom still crackles with explosive outbursts. ...The prosecution of Mr. Milosevic and 125 other people by the 12-year-old tribunal is creating a body of law that many legal experts say will serve as a guide for future war crimes tribunals worldwide. Iraqi judges and officials from war crimes tribunals newly established in Africa and the Balkans have consulted court officials recently.

Associated Press Ukrainian PM Blames Russia for Oil Woes 05.14.2005, 12:02 PM Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Saturday accused Russia of suspending oil deliveries to Ukraine, and gas stations throughout this ex-Soviet republic began running out of fuel. "Oil deliveries to Ukraine are being deliberately stopped even though all contracts have been paid for," Tymoshenko said after a Cabinet meeting Saturday. Tymoshenko said that "for five days, no oil was pumped at all, even though we have all the necessary agreements." The allegations are just the latest charges the Ukrainian government has lobbed against Russian oil companies, which supply 80...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Almost 11 million children in developing countries die each year before the age of 5, most of them from causes that are preventable in wealthier countries, the World Bank said in a report released Sunday. The causes include acute respiratory infection, diarrhea, measles and malaria, which together account for 48 percent of child deaths in the developing world, according to the report -called World Development Indicators. "Rapid improvement before 1990 gave hope that mortality rates for infants and children would be cut by two-thirds in the following 25 years," the report said. "But progress slowed almost everywhere...