US and Britain Calls for YEMEN CEASEFIRE

Pentagon bombings and ground assault cannot halt resistance to wider Middle East war A new proposal for the cessation of hostilities in Yemen was announced on October 16 amid an escalation in United States bombing operations against the most impoverished nation in the Middle East. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and United Nations envoy to Yemen, Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania, issued the call during a break from discussions in London centered on the current situation in Syria. Kerry told the international press that “We are not calling for this in a vacuum. There have been communications to both the Houthi through various intermediaries as well as to [Yemeni] President [Mansour] Hadi, respectful of his position, but this is the time to implement a cease-fire unconditionally and to move to the negotiating table. We cannot emphasize enough today the urgency of ending the violence in Yemen, of providing for an opportunity for a political settlement, which is the only way it will be ultimately resolved.” (Al Manar, Oct. 17)

SADC Holds Summit Surrounded by Regional Challenges

Swaziland takes chair of sub-continental organization as several states face drought and instability A regional summit of the heads-of-state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was held in late August in Mbabane, Swaziland. This…