Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Yemen is Burning!


Yemen is burning!
But who will save the innocent women and children?


The Yemeni uprising began when over16,000 protesters took to the steets of Sana'a on January 27 and continued in the following month in Aden in the February 3 "Day of Rage" led by Tawakel Karman. The protesters confronted the police and pro-government supporters. They wanted President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign or be toppled. And the mass defections from the military and government offices have worsened the fate of President Saleh. They rejected his pleas that he would not run for reelection in 2013 and that he would not pass power to his son. Then in the "Friday of Anger" on February 18, there were widespread demonstrations in Taiz, Sana'a and Aden and continued on the "Friday of No Return" on 11 March, 2011 and civil war looms as over 350 people have been killed and President Saleh was wounded in rocket attacks on his presidential compound Friday.


The so called Arab Spring is more of a political revolution of indignation as the masses in the Middle East are fed up with their political rulers who have failed to reform and transform their societies since they have become implicated in the terrorist attacks of al-Qa'ida and other Islamic terrorist groups rubbishing and tarnishing the reputation of Arabs. Islamic terrorism has given Arabs a bad name and majority of them are innocent of these crimes and would prefer to live better, healthier, safer and wealthier lives without the stigma and trauma of Islamic terrorism. That is why they have revolted against their totalitarian leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen with echoes in the rest of the Arab world as the masses unite in their common resolution screaming الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام‎, meaning "The people want to bring down the regime".


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima



Monday, May 30, 2011

FOCUS LIBYA: G8, Gaddafi has to go



30 May 2011 13:32 Africa/Lagos


FOCUS LIBYA: G8, Gaddafi has to go

ROME, May 30, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The violence in Libya and Syria needs to stop but the “Arab Spring” must be helped, starting with support for economic and social development. The G8 Summit in Deauville, the first since the rebellions broke out in North Africa, shone the spotlight on the upheaval on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. It also set up an ad hoc fund to support the region (and more in general the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region).


“Today we launched the ‘Deauville Partnership' with the people of the region, based on our common goals for the future, in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Egypt and Tunisia, the two countries that originated the movement, and of the Secretary General of the Arab League”, reads the declaration on the Arab Spring. “We stand ready to extend this long term global Partnership to all countries of the region engaging in a transition towards free, democratic and tolerant societies (‘Partnership Countries'), beginning with Egypt and Tunisia, in association with countries wishing to support transition in the region”.


According to the Final Declaration, “this Partnership is based on two pillars: a political process to support the democratic transition and foster governance reforms, notably the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the institutions needed to ensure transparency and accountable government; and an economic framework for sustainable and inclusive growth”.


The funds will be delivered through the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks and will be linked to support for development and to the reform effort.


The G8 also calls for the immediate cessation of the use of force against civilians by the Libyan regime forces and a political solution that reflects the will of the Libyan people. It states that Gaddafi and the Libyan government have lost all legitimacy and that the Libyan leader must go. It calls on the Syrian leadership to stop using force and intimidation against the Syrian people and to engage in dialogue and fundamental reforms in response to the legitimate expression of the demands of the Syrian people.


The G8 leaders also appeal for an urgent solution in the Middle East. “We are convinced that the historic changes throughout the region make the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through negotiations more important, not less. We urge both parties to engage without delay in substantive talks with a view to concluding a framework agreement on all final status issues”.


Source: Italy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs



Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time

30 May 2011















Friday, May 6, 2011

UNITY Calls for Release of Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz


Dorothy Parvaz


6 May 2011 14:00 Africa/Lagos

UNITY Calls for Release of Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz

PR Newswire

MCLEAN, Va., May 6, 2011

MCLEAN, Va., May 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UNITY: Journalists of Color is calling on the government of Syria to release Al Jazeera reporter Dorothy Parvaz and allow her to continue her important work in the country.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110506/DC97026 )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110310/DC62460LOGO )

Parvaz, a former reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a 2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, was apparently detained shortly after arriving in Damascus on Friday to cover anti-government protests in the country. Al Jazeera has been told by Syrian officials that they're holding Parvaz. She is a citizen of the United States, Canada and Iran. She joined Al Jazeera in 2010.

UNITY joins the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and other media organizations in urging President Bashar al-Assad to immediately free Ms. Parvaz, and to cease efforts to hinder the work of the international media.

UNITY believes that a free press is one of the pillars of a democracy and it is our hope that Syria will adhere to the principles that guarantee the free flow of information and ideas.

About UNITY: Journalists of Color




UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation's diversity. UNITY is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association together with an outreach to more than 8,000 journalists of color. In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY supports research and advocacy initiatives that promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit www.unityjournalists.org, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.

Media Contact:

Onica N. Makwakwa, Executive Director

UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.

Tel: (703) 854-3585

executive@unityjournalists.org

SOURCE UNITY: Journalists of Color

Web Site: http://www.unityjournalists.org/



Tuesday, March 1, 2011

International Family Film Festival Set for Raleigh Studios




Nigeria and other countries are going to participate in the 16th edition of the International Family Film Festival taking place at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood from March 16-20, 2011. The details are in the following press release from the organizers.


28 Feb 2011 15:00 Africa/Lagos


International Family Film Festival Set for Raleigh Studios on March 16-20
16th edition to feature Screenings, Panels & Awards
Opening Press Conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 16

PR Newswire

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 28, 2011

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It's the film festival with a global reach and a family heart.

The 16th International Family Film Festival - unspooling over 85 family-friendly films from around the world - is set for March 16-20 at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. This year's festival includes 33 feature-length films, opening with Cafe, a Philadelphia-based drama with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Amish Grace, a biographical drama with Kimberly Williams (We Are Marshall), plus high-profile shorts such as Chapman University's Without Wings, starring Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit).

A large Chinese film delegation will be on hand to support local entries, and Chinese actress Ruoming Huar of the Mongolian-language film Horizon, is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 19. Other filmmakers are traveling to the festival to support film projects from as far as Australia, Syria, Nigeria and Alaska. A half-dozen student filmmakers from Sydney will be on hand to cheer on Almost 100, a short about life-threatening teenage challenges. Another entry, a feature-length survival drama entitled 48 Below! - employed many residents of Sterling, Alaska, to assist in its production, and a local contingent will travel to the fest.

Last year's IFFF drew 5,000-plus film fans and industry professionals. The festival market generally produces several film-distribution deals, and many screenplays from its screenwriting readings have secured option deals following the Screenwriter's Showcase being held this year on Sunday, March 20th. A film produced from a 2010 IFFF screenplay winner, First Dog, has been accepted into the film competition this year.

The festival wraps Sunday, March 20th with a full awards ceremony that is both uplifting and entertaining. Annually IFFF recognizes outstanding achievement in multiple feature and short-film categories, acting and screenwriting. The fest also screens the finalists of the "Movies With A Message" contest (www.messagemovies.org) sponsored by Happy House - Good Choices, a non-profit that encourages youth to make inspirational movies with their families.

TICKETS:

$250 all-festival pass (includes all films and panels)


$40 all-day pass (includes all films)


$25 opening-night film and reception


$15 individual panels


$10 film tickets, $8 for IFFF members or group rate of 10 or more


For schedule and tickets visit www.iffilmfest.org or call 818-230-2572 or 661-257-3131.

SOURCE International Family Film Festival

CONTACT: Carl DiOrio, IFFF publicist, +1-310-415-9003, carldiorio@gmail.com

Web Site: http://www.iffilmfest.org


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28 Feb 2011
15:00 International Family Film Festival Set for Raleigh Studios on March 16-20
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