Global News and Analysis

Source: Venezuela Analysis

Following Colombian accusations before the Organisation of American States (OAS) yesterday that Venezuela is “protecting” its guerrillas, Chavez announced that Venezuela would break off diplomatic relations with Colombia and withdraw its ambassador. Venezuelan institutions and international social organisations have expressed their support for Venezuela, while the U.S has supported Colombia’s proposal to the OAS.

President Hugo Chavez and various other government leaders have justified the move as defending Venezuela’s “dignity” in the face of “constant aggressions and false accusations” by Colombia against Venezuela. read more

Source: IPS News

(IPS) – Hoping for better opportunities than they can find at home, many families from Kyrgyzstan travel to find work. Neighbouring Kazakhstan has the strongest economy in Central Asia, and tobacco farms attract workers fleeing Kyrgyzstan’s high unemployment.

Upon arriving at their new employers’ farms, however, many find hardship and exploitation instead of the advantages they’d hoped for, as a new report by Human Rights Watch reveals.

Kyrgyz workers travel to Kazakhstan for the nine-month growing and harvesting season, often with their children in tow. Those interviewed by Human Rights Watch reported that they performed difficult physical labour far more hours per day than permitted under Kazakhstan’s labour laws, and received very little rest, often not getting time off for weekends or holidays. read more

Source: Tom Dispatch

To frustrated Americans who have begun boycotting BP: Welcome to the club.  It’s great not to be the only member any more!

Does boycotting BP really make sense?  Perhaps not.  After all, many BP filling stations are actually owned by local people, not the corporation itself.  Besides, when you’re filling up at a Shell or ExxonMobil station, it’s hard to feel much sense of moral triumph. Nonetheless, I reserve my right to drive by BP stations. I started doing it long before this year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. read more

Source: Venezuela Analysis

Argentina made history yesterday morning after a vociferously debated proposal permitting same sex marriage passed the country’s Senate by a vote of 33-27.

The country now has the honor of claiming that it is Latin America’s first to end the institutionally discriminatory practice of prohibiting gay marriage.  It is a measure that should be applauded by all those who are opposed to inequality and oppression based on sexual orientation.

Of course, the new law did not pass easily as opponents of the proposal were well organized and well funded.  Leading the opposition were, predictably, the conservative elements of the Catholic Church whose influence in Argentina and Latin America continues to be enormous.  But the fact that such a measure could pass in a country where 91% of the population considers itself to be catholic is an inspiration for Latin America and the rest of the world. read more

Source: Fault Lines, Al Jazeera

Six months after the earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people, the dust is starting to settle over Port-au-Prince. As it does, the deep wounds that fracture this country are re-emerging, more gaping than even before.

One-and-a-half million people remain displaced, many living under tents and tarps. Rubble removal is slow, and rebuilding has yet to begin.

The UN and NGOs are as omnipresent as the rubble – but the chasm between Haiti’s poor majority and the foreign organisations that say they are here to help seems as wide as ever. read more

Source: Foreign Policy in Focus

Cafés are full in Athens, and droves of tourists still visit the Parthenon and go island-hopping in the fabled Aegean. But beneath the summery surface, there is confusion, anger, and despair as this country plunges into its worst economic crisis in decades.

The global media has presented Greece, tiny Greece, as the epicenter of the second stage of the global financial crisis, much as it portrayed Wall Street as ground zero of the first stage.

Yet there is an interesting difference in the narratives surrounding these two episodes.
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