All posts tagged: unity

SNP looks to unity candidate after Humza Yousaf quits as first minister | Scottish National party (SNP)

SNP looks to unity candidate after Humza Yousaf quits as first minister | Scottish National party (SNP)

Published by skeptic

Humza Yousaf has quit as Scotland’s first minister to clear the way for a new leader capable of giving the Scottish National party stability after a series of damaging crises. During a dramatic day largely orchestrated by party managers, Yousaf announced he would step down as first minister just as a veteran former leader, John Swinney, quickly emerged as the favourite to succeed him. Swinney, who had served as Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy until she quit in February 2023, confirmed he was “giving very careful consideration” to standing as a unity candidate after coming under intense pressure to do so from senior figures inside the SNP. Various bookmakers said they had stopped taking bets on Swinney being the next first minister. “I’ve been somewhat overwhelmed by the requests that have been made for me to do that, with many, many messages from many colleagues across the party,” Swinney told Sky News. “So I’m giving that issue very active consideration.” In a hastily arranged speech in Edinburgh, Yousaf admitted he had triggered the crisis by unilaterally scrapping …

#MeToo Founder Calls For Unity, Perseverance After Weinstein Conviction Overturned

#MeToo Founder Calls For Unity, Perseverance After Weinstein Conviction Overturned

Published by skeptic

The #MeToo movement’s founder called for unity and perseverance following the surprise overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction by New York’s highest court on Thursday, even as the former movie mogul’s attorney celebrated the ruling as “a great day for America.” “We are devastated to the survivors who are connected to this case, and the survivors who had found some solace and catharsis in the original verdict around Harvey Weinstein,” Tarana Burke, whose global campaign against sexual abuse took off amid the first allegations against Weinstein, said at a press conference following the New York Court of Appeals’ decision. “The legal system has never served survivors in this country,” she said — even if, in the immediate wake of Weinstein’s conviction, survivors of rape and sexual assault hoped that “there was going to be a change.” “This moment feels like we were wrong,” she said. But Burke insisted that the #MeToo movement lives on, despite the ruling. “Ten years ago we could not get a man like Harvey Weinstein into a courtroom,” she said. …

Is political unity in Somalia achievable? | TV Shows

Is political unity in Somalia achievable? | TV Shows

Published by Sam

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called a meeting of regional leaders. Somalia has long been a divided nation. Government leaders in Mogadishu have struggled for decades to assert authority in many parts of the country. The power vacuum has left Somalis with little help as they suffer from drought, famine and insecurity. Now, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called a meeting of regional leaders aiming to confront the challenges. So what are the main obstacles preventing the country from coming together? And can they be overcome? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Abdi Ismail Samatar – Somali senator for Somaliland Afyare Elmi – research professor, City University of Mogadishu Omar Mahmood – senior analyst for Eastern Africa, International Crisis Group Source link

The limits of Iran’s ‘unity of fronts’ strategy

The limits of Iran’s ‘unity of fronts’ strategy

Published by skeptic

After Iran attacked Israel on Saturday, April 13, it’s clear that the “unity of fronts” principle, invoked by Tehran and its allies within the “axis of resistance” to come to the aid of Hamas, has closed like a trap on the Islamic Republic. The limits of this strategy were quickly apparent. Conceived as a “defensive front” for Iranian interests, it didn’t translate into anything other than the opening of diversionary fronts with limited ambitions in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Ignoring the appeals of Hamas, which has unwillingly embroiled its allies in its devastating attack on Israel on October 7, Iran has refused to engage in a full-scale confrontation with Israel. The strategy also came up against Israel’s thirst for revenge, challenging all rules of engagement to restore its position post-October 7. Striking ever harder blows against the “axis of resistance” as the war waged on, Israel backed the Iran into a corner by attacking its consulate in Damascus on April 1, at the cost of seven deaths among the Revolutionary Guards, including two generals. …

Ukraine’s Zelensky calls for same ‘unity’ from allies as for Israel

Ukraine’s Zelensky calls for same ‘unity’ from allies as for Israel

Published by Sam

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies on Monday to show the same “unity” toward Ukraine as Israel, which said it repelled an Iranian attack over the weekend with Western support. Issued on: 15/04/2024 – 21:37 1 min Ukraine has in recent months grown increasingly frustrated at delays in Western aid, including air defences it says are urgently needed to repel deadly Russian attacks. In a post on Telegram, Zelensky thanked allies who had responded to Ukraine’s call for more air defences but said “the intensity of Russian attacks requires greater unity.” “By defending Israel, the free world has demonstrated that such unity is not only possible, but also one hundred per cent effective,” he said. “The same is possible in defending Ukraine, which, like Israel, is not a NATO member, from terror,” he continued, calling for “political will” from Ukraine’s allies. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also invoked Western support for Israel in a press conference earlier, in which he called for more support “as soon as possible”. “We see that when allies act as …

In the absence of American unity, we return to trust

In the absence of American unity, we return to trust

Published by skeptic

When was the last time you pulled the elastic bands of a KN-95 mask behind your ears and felt its effect on your lungs as you took your next breath?  Can’t think of it?  Neither can I.  There was a spike in COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the U.S. in early January, causing major hospital chains in some states to reimpose mask mandates on everyone entering, but the increase has subsided.  The latest national statistics for COVID from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have the disease down across the board.  During the third week in March, emergency room visits for COVID were down 21 percent; hospitalizations down 14 percent; and deaths were off 16.7 percent. But I had to look on Google to find those statistics, because the latest COVID stats aren’t in the news you see every day. It’s tempting to say that the disease isn’t a factor in our lives anymore, but with 1.2 million of us dead from COVID, the effects of the disease on families linger.  Children …

In Brazil, Macron and Lula show unity on global issues, despite divergences on Ukraine

In Brazil, Macron and Lula show unity on global issues, despite divergences on Ukraine

Published by skeptic

France’s President Emmanuel Macron arrives at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on March 28, 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday, March 28, displayed their unity on major global issues, while skirting differences on the war in Ukraine. Macron wrapped up his three-day tour of the Latin American giant with a solemn, but warm, trip to the presidential palace in the modernist capital Brasilia. Read more Subscribers only Macron visits Brazil, showcasing much-improved relations with Lula The French leader paid tribute to “the spirit of resistance” of Lula’s government for “restoring democracy” after a crowd of extreme-right supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seats of power in the city in January 2023. Lula hailed a relationship between the two countries as one that created “a bridge between the global South and the developed world.” While the two men firmly reset the frosty ties of the Bolsonaro years, they retain deep differences over the war in Ukraine, a subject which only …

Macron and Lula show unity on global issues despite differences on Ukraine

Macron and Lula show unity on global issues despite differences on Ukraine

Published by Sam

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday displayed their unity on major global issues, while skirting differences on the war in Ukraine. Issued on: 29/03/2024 – 02:19 3 min Macron wrapped up his three-day tour of the Latin American giant with a solemn, but warm, trip to the presidential palace in the modernist capital Brasilia. The French leader paid tribute to “the spirit of resistance” of Lula’s government for “restoring democracy” after a crowd of extreme-right supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seats of power in the city in January 2023. Lula hailed a relationship between the two countries as one that created “a bridge between the global South and the developed world.” While the two men firmly reset the frosty ties of the Bolsonaro years, they retain deep differences over the war in Ukraine, a subject which only briefly reared its head. While France and the West support Kyiv wholeheartedly, Lula has in the past said that Ukraine and Russia share responsibility over the …

Venezuelan Opposition Names New Candidate in Show of Unity

Venezuelan Opposition Names New Candidate in Show of Unity

Published by Sam

Venezuela’s embattled opposition announced on Friday that it was naming a new candidate to face off against President Nicolas Maduro this summer, giving renewed hope to the country’s push toward democracy. The country’s highest court in January barred the previous candidate, the former lawmaker María Corina Machado, from running, leading many Venezuelans to question how free and fair the election would be. The decision raised questions over whether Ms. Machado’s party, Come Venezuela, would try to insist on her candidacy or coalesce around another candidate. On Friday. leaders of several opposition parties announced that Corina Yoris, a philosophy professor, would run instead in the elections on July 28, a move that analysts saw as a surprising show of unity. “This is huge,” said Laura Dib, who directs the Venezuela program at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization. “It is truly amazing to see the opposition united around a single strategy and showing that they are not backing off.” In October, Mr. Maduro signed an accord with the country’s opposition and agreed …