Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC (the national trade union centre representing six million British workers) has written to the British Foreign office and Baroness Cathy Ashton, High Representative of the European Commission calling for Britain to support the normalisation of relations between Britian and Cuba when the European Common Position is reviewed on Monday 25 October 2010. (more…)
Venezuelan opposition leader, Diego Arria, denies 2002 coup & dismisses credibility of the UN
During an interview with Stephen Sackur in Hardtalk, Venezuelan opposition leader Diego Arria said that he does not believe in figures provided by the United Nations Organization, regarding social progress in Venezuela.
During his recent visit to the UK, Diego Arria has made a number of bizarre claims. He even told a meeting at the House of Commons that the events of April 2002 when the military temporarily overthrew President Chavez “was not a coup”. With his failure to acknowledge a military coup and now his dismissal of UN data, it is clear that it is Arria himself who is not a credible or impartial commentator on the current situation in Venezuela. (more…)
Nicaragua, the Millennium Development Goals and ALBA
In 2000 the UN announced a declaration outlining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015. These included goals and action plans to be implemented through global partnerships to eradicate extreme poverty, achieve universal primary education, eliminate gender inequalities, combat HIV/AIDS and malaria, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health care and achieve environmental sustainability. Ten years on a UN summit was held 20 – 22 September to review progress and agree strategies and an action plan for the next five years.
Paul Oquist Kelley, Secretary of National Policy for the Nicaraguan Presidency, represented the Nicaraguan government at the Summit. In his speech, Oquist gave details of the achievements in poverty reduction and wealth redistribution in Nicaragua since the Sandinista government took office in 2007 (more…)