News updates

A fascinating scandal has erupted in Washington over the use of mercenaries (‘private contractors’ in US terminology) that is exposing the dark underbelly of America’s foreign wars. It has been that the Pentagon and other US intelligence agencies secretly fielded mercenaries in Afghanistan, Pakistan (aka “Af-Pak”), and Iraq to assassinate tribal militants. US law forbids murder or using mercenaries. But, …

Police stations in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, have opened special units to take down statements in the country’s main minority language, Tamil. So far, Sinhala has been the language overwhelmingly predominant in the police force. Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans had to rely on a friend to translate their complaints into Sinhala. The move has been hailed as a small but vital …

Tony Blair’s secret links to Gulf oil giants were revealed today as fresh details emerged of his “carte blanche” support for George Bush’s Iraq war The former prime minister has been in the pay of the Kuwaiti government and a South Korean oil firm for up to 18 months, a parliamentary watchdog has revealed. But the Advisory Committee on Business …

In spite of the fact that the United States faces no enemy anywhere in the world capable of opposing it on a battlefield, the Defense budget for 2011 will go up 7.1 percent from current levels.  A lot of the new spending will be on drones, America’s latest contribution to western civilization, capable of surveilling large areas on the ground …

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has accused the US of playing a “double game” in Afghanistan, following talks in the country with his counterpart Hamid Karzai. The accusation, made in the capital Kabul on Wednesday, was the same as that made against Iran by Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, on a trip to Afghanistan this week. Asked at a news …

March 11, 2010 “Information Clearing House” — The unceasing building of settlements on Palestinian land underscores the need for Palestinians to take a more definite action regarding their future and their rightful desire to have their own state. They should declare statehood. While condemning Israel’s decision to build more settlements in east Jerusalem as a move that could “inflame” tensions, …