Obama meets Israeli prime minister

By Ioana Botea

For the first time, Barack Obama presented a timeframe for pursuing a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis. At the end of his meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the American president said on Monday 18 May, that by "the end of the year", he will reassess his strategy in light of the progress achieved so far.

In response to a question, Mr. Obama delivered the most detailed timetable of his intentions regarding Iran to date. After the presidential elections of June 12, he said, "we hope that dialogue will begin, first through a P5 +1 (the permanent members of Security Council plus Germany) process, and potentially through direct talks between the United States and Iran."

Israeli Prime Minister demanded a deadline, preferably in the fall, but Mr. Obama said that Washington will not add any artificial deadline. “We will not create a situation where the talks become excuses for inaction while Iran develops a nuclear weapon," he said. If negotiations start soon, "we should know before the end of the year if they are going in the right direction."

The talks, including a thirty-minute one-on-one, lasted an hour longer than planned, which caused Mr. Obama to postpone the appointment scheduled for the next NASA Administrator. Held in the Oval Office, the informal press conference reflected the desire to discuss differences amiably. On Iran, for example, Mr. Obama assured his visitor that he did not rule out "a number of measures, including much harsher sanctions." Mr. Netanyahu interpreted his declaration as a reaffirmation that "all options are on the table," coded language suggesting military action.

On the connection between Iran and the Palestinian problem, Mr. Netanyahu tried to make sure that the two men had a perfect identity of views, while Mr. Obama, contrary to his visitor, did not agree that the Iran issue should be the priority. Nevertheless, Mr. Obama reiterated his position on "two-state solution." He recalled that the commitments made by previous governments should be honored, but he also declared that forced colonization must be “stopped” – a term George W. Bush would never have used.

Mr. Netanyahu strongly emphasized the necessity of creating "two states". He reiterated his demand that the Palestinians recognize the Jewish state of Israel. "We do not want to govern the Palestinians," he assured. Every single concession has been to support the idea of "widening the circle of peace to include other (parts of) the Arab world."

After the interview, the National Security Adviser, James Jones, was immediately dispatched to pursue talks with his Israeli counterpart, Uzi Arad. According to ABC, Barack Obama asked that the Israelis make a statement before the speech he is giving in Cairo on June 4.

"The moment of truth is not yet ripe," said Robert Malley, a former negotiator for Bill Clinton who was rejected by the circle of informal advisers to Mr. Obama for having met with Hamas elements. According to Malley, there is no need to attach great importance to the fact that "two-state solution" was not made by Mr. Netanyahu. "He can not use it for domestic political reasons,” he said. “His predecessor (Ehud Olmert) was in favor and we still had two wars and the continuation of colonization," he declared on PBS .

Civil War Ceases in Sri Lanka

By Alyssa Landers

The Sri Lankan government declared today that a civil war lasting for nearly three decades is finally put to rest, announcing the defeat of minority rebel group, the Tamil Tigers. Even the rebels, who had been forced onto a mere sliver of land near the coast, agreed that the war has reached “its bitter end.”

Despite the general consensus that the war is over, there is no such consistency on the number of casualties. While the Tigers contend that almost 3,000 were killed in the past day of conflict leading up to the war’s end, the government maintains that no civilians were harmed. Aid groups abroad estimate that at least 7,000 people have died in 2009 alone.

Since the end of a 2002 moratorium on fighting in the region the violence has increased exponentially in recent years, with both sides accusing each other of taking civilians as hostages. And because the Sri Lankan government bars all independent media, any objective information remains impossible to obtain. Currently, an estimated 120,000 Sri Lankan civilians have been pushed into makeshift refugee camps in the hot, dry region of Vavundiya.

While the war seems to be over, there is no guarantee that Sri Lankans have seen the end of the fighting. With impressive guerrilla military tactics—suicide bombing—coupled with a fierce dedication to the cause of Tamil independence within Sri Lanka, the Tigers do not appear to be giving up altogether. The global war on terror has hindered their ability to procure funding and maintain a certain cohesiveness; yet even though they remain a minority, the Tigers remain a substantial presence in the region.

Now the major challenge for the current president, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, is to adequately incorporate the Tamil minority voice into the majority Sinhalese government. This will be no easy task considering that civil war has been raging for decades with no end in sight.

Democratic Coalition Sweeps Congressional Elections in India

By Michael Burgevin

The democratic coalition led by the Indian National Congress cruised into victory yesterday during India’s parliamentary elections, catapulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh into his second term in office during the world’s largest democratic elections. India’s 714 million eligible voters sent a strong message of party trust says Manmohan Singh, the country’s first full-term Prime Minister to be reelected in over 40 years. “The people of India have spoken with great clarity. They've expressed their support for Congress's visionary leadership. We have given this country a strong, stable government at a time when the world is danger. Today, we stand as one nation.”

Having won 260 of the 541 lower house seats, Singh will need to recruit only 12 allies outside his party in order to obtain a parliamentary majority. The news comes as a hard blow to the opposing Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP won only 160 seats, far below most expectations. “[We] accept the mandate of the people of India with all humility,” announced senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. “Something certainly did go wrong.” The communist coalition suffered an even greater loss, losing many seats and its position as a Congress Party ally.

A driving force behind the Congress Party’s triumph was Rahul Ghandi, son of party leader Sonia Ghandi. Rahul was influential in winning over the youth vote, flying 54,000 miles and addressing 120 rallies around the country during the campaign. “My job as I see it now is changing the politics of the country through the youngsters,” Gandhi, 38, told reporters amid victory celebrations. “We need organization of young people. That’s what we’re going to build in the next 3 to 5 years.” Singh has publically asked Rahul to sit on his cabinet. Ghandi has not yet responded to the offer.

Singh’s reelection comes as welcome news to President Obama, who is expected to rely upon Indian support in the fight against rising militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "By successfully completing the largest exercise of popular voting in the world, the elections have strengthened India’s vibrant democracy and upheld the values of freedom and pluralism that make India an example for us all," said Press Secretary Robert Gates in a statement yesterday. Gates went on to stress the importance of maintaining a strong relationship between the U.S. and India, and congratulated the Prime Minister in his reelection.

Burmese Democratic Leader Convicted

By Michael Burgevin

Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted yesterday for violating the conditions of her house arrest in a political move that could tighten the military junta’s control over dissidence ahead of next year’s elections. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrest took place after an American traveler swam across a lake and broke into her residence. The man, Mr. John William Yettaw of Falcon, Montana, was supposedly attempting to meet her to discuss a psychology paper he was writing on forgiveness. Police took Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and two of her companions into custody for allegedly hosting an individual not approved by the government, which violates the stipulations of her house arrest. She could receive up to five years’ imprisonment.

Many political analysts have stated that the sentence is both unfair and politically motivated. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 13 of the last 20 years under house arrest, would have been free at the end of this month. “The Burmese regime is clearly intent on finding any pretext, no matter how tenuous, to extend her unlawful detention,” said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier on Tuesday. U Soe Aung, a representative for the Bangkok-based Forum for Democracy in Burma, agreed with the Prime Minister. “It is ridiculously obvious that they are trying to put her away from any involvement in the upcoming election.”

The government of Myanmar has tightened national security in the run-up to the country’s first open elections in almost three decades, scheduled to take place next year. During the last national elections in 1990, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory. However, the results were rejected by the military regime, which has controlled the country since 1962. Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has continued to spearhead the democratic movement while imprisoned in her home. In 1991, she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Myanmar.

Many foreign organizations and governments have called on the junta to stop harassing Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the arrest, stating that “We oppose the regime’s efforts to use this incident as a pretext to place further restrictions on her, and therefore we call on the Burmese authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally.” Senior General Than Shwe has not yet made any official responce.

Rising Pakistani Conflict creates Humanitarian Crisis

By Michael Burgevin

Officials announced that over 200 Taliban militants were killed yesterday in the Northwestern Pakistani region of Swat after the government launched a military offensive against the fundamentalist organization early last week. The Taliban already controls much of Northwestern Pakistan including the Buner Valley, located just 60 miles away from the capitol city of Islamabad. The Pakistani government believes that an estimated 4,000 militants are currently stationed in Swat. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani announced on May 7 that the military would begin an “all-out assault” to defeat the rebels.

The intensified fighting came just after the Pakistani government relaxed a military curfew for a second time this week, giving civilians time to flee the region. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over half a million citizens have already fled the region or are attempting to leave. The influx of refugees has created a state of humanitarian emergency in southern Pakistan. A number of accounts indicate that many civilians have been unable to leave the region due to fighting. The Taliban is allegedly using residents as human shields.

Many civilians have already been killed. Riaz Kahn, a 36-year-old school teacher, and his family have not been able to escape Mingora, Swat’s central town. They have taken shelter in the hospital. Shrapnel wounds cover their bodies, and two of the daughters have already been killed. “We buried our daughters on Thursday when the army relaxed the curfew,” Kahn told the Associated Press. “We reached the hospital only with great difficulty.”

In his visit to the United States last week, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari attempted to assure Capital Hill that his government is capable of suppressing the Taliban forces. The United States has annually donated over one billion dollars to the Pakistani military since 2001. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke announced to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that President Zardari has the support of the White House. However, many senior administrators have been reluctant to continue granting aid a foreign government they believe to be incompetent and corrupt.

Many are calling for opposition leader and former Primer Minister Nawaz Sharif to join President Zardari, his rival, in a unified front against the Taliban. As of this time, Sharif, who was exiled after the 1999 coup, has shown no willingness to side with Zardari.

Sri Lankan Death Toll Skyrockets

By Alyssa Landers

Almost 400 Sri Lankan civilians were reported dead—in addition to over 1,000 injured—as the result of a military bombing that took place yesterday. The government denies any affiliation with the bombing of the supposed “safety zone.” The minority rebel group, the Tamil Tigers, claim that the really number of injured approaches 2,000.

Yet it is impossible to verify who did what in this raging civil war, as journalists are not allowed into the actual war zone and the only sources of information are the government, and pro-Tiger resources.

After almost 30 years of civil war raging between the Sri Lankan government and the militant Tamil group, civilians have been forced to migrate to government-established refugee camps under impossible circumstances. As of now, the government has succeeded in pushing the guerillas onto a small strip of land along the northern coast, accusing the Tigers of “causing a humanitarian disaster.”

Whether or not this accusation rings true, the Tigers have been fighting for an independent homeland within Sri Lankan borders since the early 1980s, when the minority Tamil group was condemned by the government.

But the test of government efficacy will be how it deals with the growing IDP (internally displaced persons) population. It is estimated that close to 100,000 civilians have recently fled the guerrilla-controlled area for refugee camps in the Vavinuya region, with many traveling far distances. The government and the Tigers continually accuse one other of holding civilians “hostage.”

Refugees fleeing the rebel area have trudged through miles of dangerous swampland, with many arriving at government operated checkpoints by boat. And with this large an influx, there is no doubt among aid agencies that the result will be disaster. The government has vowed to protect all incoming refugees but in the extreme heat of the camps there is little hope of finding adequate resources for so many people.

Currently, agencies like Oxfam and Habitat for Humanity are working to build shelters (which now consist of makeshift tents made of tarpaulin and plastic) and provide potable drinking water, of which there is a severe lack in the dry, hot region in the north.

With little access to either civilian testimony or other reliable sources of information, one significant difficulty in putting an end to the bloody and long-standing civil war remains how to assess the current situation objectively. For now, the situation continues to be most deadly for civilians, caught in a raging battle between a militant government and a staunchly opposed rebel group.

The H1N1 epidemic in Mexico

By Ioana Botea

The epidemic of influenza A (H1N1) receded in Mexico after having perturbed the daily lives of 106 million people for over two weeks. Like all crises, it tested the solidarity of the people and the ability of authorities, and revealed the flaws of the system. It also left a fundamental question unanswered: why has the same infectious agent, now affecting twenty-six countries, caused more hospitalizations and deaths in Mexico than anywhere else? So far, the H1N1 caused 56 deaths in Mexico, as opposed to 3 in the United States (including a Mexican child treated in Texas), 1 in Canada, and none in Europe.

A thorough investigation is necessary to determine whether the high incidence of deaths was caused by biological reasons, as suggested by the scientist Antonio Lazcano, an evolution of life specialist. According to Lazcano, the new virus is more inclined than others to rapid changes, and it is very aggressive in its initial outbreak before weakening as its genetic message is transmitted.

Another explanation, perhaps equally important, is social. Mexico has undoubtedly reached a first world status. In terms of purchasing power parity it has overtaken Spain, and according to IMF’s 2008 chart, it is now the 11th largest economy in the world. Nevertheless, it retains in many respects the features of a third world country, where the poor have little access to information and health care.

Additional interpretations varied from divine warnings to conspiracy theories. When the Mexican government declared the health emergency on April 23, fervent followers of the Catholic Church formed a procession to the cathedral of Mexico City for the first time since the last plague. According to conservatives, the new disease is a sign of divine wrath two years after the law legalizing abortion was passed.

Conversely, the extreme left propagated rumors that influenza A (H1N1) was the product of manipulation of pharmaceutical companies, or even an accident in their laboratories, revealing plans for a “bacteriologic war” plotted, of course, by the United States.

Scientists, including the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a bastion of the Left, have defended the "medical rationality," and cooperated with President Felipe Calderon. Mr. Calderon has consulted with several former ministers of health, including Juan Ramon de la Fuente, chief of the UNAM until 2007, and Julio Frenk, director of the Harvard Medical School, who believes that the plan of epidemiological alert has worked rather well.

The current incumbent, Jose Angel Cordova, however, has difficulties verifying the information collected from states in the country, which explains the confusion between the deaths due to influenza A and those caused by other types of 'respiratory infections. The viruses have caused 14 575 deaths in Mexico in 2007 – too many, even if reduced to half from 1985.

For the scientific community, the new flu episode has highlighted the dependence on foreign assistance in both study for the virus and analysis of samples in the manufacture of vaccines. Mexico will take years to recover production capacity, due the agreement signed in March with Sanofi. It also pays the price of constant erosion over the past decade, since the budget allocated for research is 0.33% of GDP, by comparison to 4% in the United States.

Although the vast majority of the population has good hygiene practices despite the lack of water, sanitary precautions imposed on the reopening of schools became puzzling for more than 26 000 primary and secondary schools that do not have running water. But the crisis has particularly revealed the two-tier health care – even three-tier, if you consider that indigenous people are still using herbs and Temazcal, a sort of sauna, to treat themselves. It is in the big cities that access to health services is most unequal. While the wealthy are entitled to five-star clinics under their private health insurances, the average Mexican spends long hours in hospital waiting rooms or must resort to expeditious consultations offered by some pharmacy chains. Self-medication is also widespread, especially among women who do not have time to go see a doctor. This may explain why two thirds of patients who succumbed to influenza A are women, mostly young and previously healthy.