Issue: 2499-2500

July - August 2008

Archives

By Milan Rai, Emily Johns

Articles

By Andrea D'Cruz

President Bush wants the Iraqi government to seal a “status of forces”agreement cementing the US military presence in Iraq without seeking the approval of the Iraqi parliament, unsurprising given that a majority of members of the Iraqi par

By Milan Rai

When US president George W. Bush said on 15 June that Iran had “rejected this generous offer out of hand”, you could assume that (a) the offer was not generous and (b) Iran had not rejected it.

By David Polden

After a vigorous campaign to defend him, Nottingham University staff member and peace activist Hicham Yezza was freed from detention on 15 June and the threat of deportation lifted.

By Andrea D'Cruz

Young Czech activists Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar, who started a hunger strike on 13 May in protest against a US-Czech agreement siting a “Star Wars” base in their country, suspended their action on 2 June after three weeks on strike and in d

By David Polden

On 6 June, after an 18-week trial, the operator of a website criticising animal testing company Sequani, was found guilty under section 145 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA), “interfering with the contractual relat

By Genny Bove

We don’t usually mark Memorial Day in Britain. Previously known as Decoration Day, the last Monday in May is a US holiday which originally remembered American men and women who have died in military service in the American Civil War.

By Kelvin Mason

On Saturday 21 June, a toddler in a child-seat and twenty cyclists from the Welsh Youth Forum on Sustainable Development, Gwerin Y Coed (Woodcraft Folk) and Grwp Beic Aberystwyth completed the 157 miles from Machynlleth to Cardiff to publicise the

On 13 June, 29 Climate Camp activists wearing boiler suits saying “leave it in the ground” blockaded a coal train heading into the Drax power station in Yorkshire. During the 16-hour occupation, they shovelled around 30 tons of coal out of the train, onto the tracks. PN interviewed a London-based participant.

By Jane Tallents

Faslane 365 – the year-long blockade of the Faslane nuclear weapons base finished on 1 Oct last year.

By Mark Chapman

On 7 May, I represented myself at Helensburgh District Court, facing a charge of “breach of the peace” at the Faslane 365 Big Blockade, 1 October 2007.

By Aisha Maniar

On 24 July 2008, Binyam Mohamed will be 30 years old. Unlike most other people aged 30, on that day, Binyam will have spent one out of every five years of his life in illegal American detention.

By Andrea D'Cruz

On 28 May king Gyanendra became the last king of Nepal, bringing an end to the 239-year-old-monarchy. He was peacefully deposed as Nepal became a federal republic, following the recent election of the Maoists to government.

By Andrea D'Cruz

Following months of talks, Hamas and Israel finally agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, which came into effect at dawn on 19 June.

By Emily Freeman

During the Big Blockade of Faslane on 1 October 2007, Emily Freeman was arrested. Charged with breach of the peace, she was finally brought to trial in Helensburgh on 18 May 2008.

By Sarah Young

Sarah Young reports on the Peace Chain Around Faslane