EU protesters confront water cannons for Bush visit

Demonstrators in Brussels, Belgium march against US President George W. Bush's visit to the EU, Feb. 20-23.

Photo courtesy Indymedia

Compiled by Eamon Martin

Mar. 2 (AGR)-- This past week, the temporary presence of George W. Bush in Belgium and Germany provoked several thousand European citizens to demonstrate against the US president. Braving unprecedented security measures and chilly temperatures, citizens from all walks of life made it clear that Bush was not welcome.

Brussels, Belgium’s capital, saw three straight days of demonstrations of up to 5000 people which began upon Bush’s arrival on Feb. 20. That day, protesters organized by the Stop Bush umbrella group -- which included some 80 pacifist, human rights and environmental organizations -- marched, chanting “Bush killer”. The protests drew peace and anti-corporate globalization activists who criticized Bush for the war in Iraq and for abandoning efforts to fight global warming.

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Student in ‘rendition’ case returns to US for trial

By William Fisher

Feb. 25 (IPS)— Even as defense attorneys were filing court papers charging that the US government was hiding behind secret evidence, and demanding their client’s release from a Saudi Arabian prison, Ahmed Abu Ali was being whisked back to the United States and charged with conspiring to kill President George W. Bush.

The 23-year-old US citizen, who had been detained in Saudi Arabia for 20 months as a suspected terrorist, was charged with plotting to assassinate Bush and with supporting the al-Qaida terrorist network.

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World Bank may fund Israeli checkpoints

By Emad Mekay

Washington, DC, Feb. 24 (IPS)-- The World Bank, an international development institution that says it has no political agenda, may be preparing to fund Israeli security checkpoints around a controversial separation wall under construction on occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel is not eligible for World Bank lending because of its high per capita income, but Palestinians are.

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EPA sued for backroom deals with pesticide makers

By J.R. Pegg

Washongton, DC, Feb. 21(ENS)-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is illegally negotiating and brokering regulatory agreements with pesticide manufacturers that are friendly to the industry, according a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The suit targets private deals the agency allegedly made over the regulation of atrazine, a widely used weed killer, and the highly toxic insecticide dichlorvos (DDVP).

"The EPA’s secret, backroom deals with pesticide makers are clearly against the law, and they are a threat to our health," said Aaron Colangelo, an attorney with NRDC.

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