Scientists uncover new ocean threat from plastic

The Independent
By Stecve Connor, science editor
 
Scientists have identified a new source of chemical pollution released by the huge amounts of plastic rubbish found floating in the oceans of the world. A study has found that as plastics break down in the sea they release potentially toxic substances not found in nature and which could affect [...]

Water for All’ Concerns Raised

August 17, 2009
Worldwatch Institute, United Nations Children’s Fund, OneWorld US, OneWorld UK, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, ONE Campaign, Water Advocates, WaterAid, WWF

 WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (
OneWorld.net) – World leaders meeting this week are being urged to ensure that the rich/poor and urban/rural divides don’t determine who has access to clean water [...]

KENYA: Missionary Institute, Organizations Back Priest

ROME, June 24, 2009 ( CISA) -The Superior General of the Comboni, Fr Teresino Serra, issued a statement expressing support for Fr Renato Kizito, an Italian Comboni missionary being accused of sexually abusing children in Kenya, where he has served for over 20 years.

Guilty As Charged? Oil Giant Shell Settles in Human Rights Case

 
 
 

AFJNLast week, Royal Dutch Shell agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle with the plaintiffs in a case charging Shell with severe human rights abuses in collusion with the Nigerian military. The case was born rought by members of the Ogoni tribe, most notably the son of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmental activist and writer who [...]

Nigerian-bishop asks warring parties to end violence, embrace dialogue

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNS) — Bishop Gabriel Dunia of Auchi, Nigeria has asked warring parties in the Niger Delta to put aside their weapons and allow peace to return to the region. The bishop’s June 9 appeal came on the heels of a report that Nigerian soldiers had uncovered two graves containing the bodies of 12 [...]

President Barack Obama has announced $73m (£44m) in aid for Zimbabwe

Video – President Obama meets Morgan Tsvangirai in Washington
The US president was speaking at the White House in Washington, where he met the visiting Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Goodbye, GM

Common Dreams
by Michael Moore
 I write this on the morning of the end of the once-mighty General Motors. By high noon, the President of the United States will have made it official: General Motors, as we know it, has been totaled. As I sit here in GM’s birthplace, Flint, Michigan, I am surrounded by friends and [...]

British supermarkets accused over destruction of Amazon rainforest

The  Guardian
Video David Adam in Maraba
A three-year survey by Greenpeace shows that western demand for beef and leather and an increase in cattle ranching is leading to intensified deforestation in the Amazon Link to this video  

Revolutionary Haitian Priest, Gerard Jean-Juste, Presente!

Common Dreams
by Bill Quigley
Though Haitian priest Father Gerard Jean-Juste died May 27, 2009, at age 62, in Miami from a stroke and breathing problems, he remains present to millions. Justice-loving people world-wide mourn his death and celebrate his life. Pere Jean-Juste worked uncompromisingly for justice for Haitians and the poor, both in Haiti and in [...]

Kenyan Catholic bishops say country’s political leaders must step up

NAIROBI, Kenya ([  ]CNS) — Kenya’s Catholic bishops said the country’s political leaders have ignored the needs of Kenyans and pursued their own selfish interests.
“Goods and wealth which rightfully belong to the people are being arrogantly misappropriated,” members of the Kenya Episcopal Conference said in a statement released April 27 following their general meeting in [...]