Awaz Apni

Awaz Apni WASHINGTON: Obama-fever swept the globe Tuesday carrying widespread public hopes that the incoming US president would lead the world into a new crisis-free era.In the hours before Barack Obama took the oath of office in Washington, foreign governments and new polls all showed huge support for the Democratic president even though many analysts have warned that expectations for his rule are unrealistic.Pictures of Obama dominated front pages and television news programmes around the world. A Spain's newspaper published a photo of Obama and his wife Michelle above the headline: "The American Dream Comes to Power"Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero said an "Obama effect" could shorten the global recession."We could see a rebound faster than expected, it is a question of confidence because the fundamentals of the global economy are good enough," added the socialist premier.German Chancellor Angela Merkel was looking forward to working close...

Awaz Apni Gaza: The European Union, Israel's largest trade partner in the world, is watching by as Israel tightens its barbaric siege on Gaza, collectively punishing 1.5 million Palestinian civilians, condemning them to devastation, and visiting imminent death upon hundreds of kidney dialysis and heart patients, prematurely born babies, and all others dependent on electric power for their very survival. By freezing fuel and electric power supplies to Gaza, Israel, the occupying power, is essentially guaranteeing that "clean" water -- only by name, as Gaza's water is perhaps the most polluted in the whole region, after decades of Israeli theft and abuse -- will not be pumped out and properly distributed to homes and institutions; hospitals will not be able to function adequately, leading to the eventual death of many, particularly the most vulnerable; whatever factories that are still working despite the siege will now be forced to close, pushing the already extremely ...