Top stories from DAWNS Digest
Obama Addresses the USA on Syria Strike
There was not too much unexpected in the speech. The president reiterated arguments for intervention that he’d made over the past several days, namely that the strikes would be limited in scope and only carried ou deter Assad from using chemical weapons again. He did address the fast-pace events at the Security Council and he strongly indicated his preference for a UN mediated solution that would put Syria’s chemical stockpile under international control. As the Huffington Post splash headline puts it “Peace Gets a Chance” (HuffPo http://huff.to/1ef5Wif)
Iran to Engage in Nuke Talks at UN Summit This Month
The new president is showing his moderate stripes. “Iranian president Hassan Rohani said his government plans to restart nuclear talks with world powers in New York, where he will attend the United Nations General Assembly this month. The ‘serious talks’ should help lead to a ‘win-win’ final outcome in the dispute over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, Rohani said in an interview on Iranian state-run television yesterday. The negotiations will involve the International Atomic Energy Agency and the so-called P5+1 group, made up of the five permanent UN Security Council members in addition to Germany, he said.” (Bloomberg http://bloom.bg/13IQ0Ox)
Survey Reveals About One Quarter of Men in Asia-Pacific Admit to Rape
From a new UN Report “The study is based on anonymous interviews with more than 10,000 men aged between 18 and 49-years-old in Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea…Around the region, 11 per cent of respondents reported having raped a woman who was not their partner and nearly a quarter – 24 per cent – when their partner was included.” (ABC-Australia http://bit.ly/13IRwjy)