• At least 25 people were killed in Syria on Saturdayin clashes between…

• On Friday, heads of state from across Latin America and the Caribbean flew into Venezuela for the inaugural meeting of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States or CELAC. The group is designed to counter US influence and improve regional ties.
• On Friday, the ruling party in Guyana…

• A massive strike saw the closure of shops all around India on Thursday, in protest of a new policy to allow big-box retailers into the country.  On Sunday, a landmine attack reportedly by Maoist rebels in eastern…

• Former President of Cote d’Ivoire Laurent Gbabgo was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court on Wednesday amid fears that “victor’s justice” could stoke further tensions in the fragile “reconciliation” process. The ICC is…

• The Global Campaign for Aid Transparency released its 2011 Pilot Aid Transparency Index that highlights the shortcomings of international aid in an effort to make it more transparent.
• Friday marked the International Day for the…

• On Wednesday, President Saleh of Yemen signed an agreement to end his 33 year rule in exchange for immunity from prosecution from Saudi Arabia, officially handing over power to his Vice President al-Hadi; a move the UN Security Council welcomed. On Thursday, thousands took to the streets in the…

• The UN regional economic body, ECLAC, announced on Wednesday that poverty in Latin America is at its lowest level in 20 years. Among the countries that saw the largest drops in poverty are Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Columbia, with poverty increasing only in Honduras and Mexico.
• On Wednesday,…

• Security officials in India reportedly killed senior Maoist commander, Molajula Koteswar Rao on Thursday, the latest in a series of senior leaders of the movement to be killed.  More than 100,000 security personnel have been deployed to the remote areas of centre and eastern India to fight…

As someone who has been there multiple days, I can attest to the powerful and peaceful nature of basically all the people present at Zucotti Square- the proper name of the of the "Occupy Wall Street" location.

The important note to point out to my fellow professionals is my primary job (aside of being a mediator) is as a member of the NYPD.  I am a detective in…

I just read a paper by Rotary Peace Scholar Duncan Autry that paralleled the ideas I present in my latest book Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflicts. What we concluded from entirely different approaches is that the traditional means of achieving peace is doomed to fail. This is especially true if applied to Libya. Libya has a choice, and the wrong choice will lead to disintegration of its…

Transparent Mediation: Giving Away Our Strategies

Alan E. Gross- When mediators act as trainers, they often offer classes designed to improve conflict management and to convert disputes into…

• EU leaders agreed on Friday to tighten migration safeguards, in a controversial response to an influx of migrants fleeing North Africa's upheaval. The refugee crisis sparked a debate over the extent that EU governments should share the responsibility for immigrants arriving elsewhere in the bloc.
• Poland…

Soliya, a non-profit organization using a custom-made web-conferencing application to facilitate dialogue between students from diverse backgrounds across the globe, is now recruiting skilled volunteers to facilitate its Connect Program for Spring 2012 semester.

As always our volunteer facilitation position includes a free-of-charge online facilitation and conflict resolution training. If you are interested in facilitating during the Spring 2012 Connect Program, you…

• A court in Oman sentenced 55 people to prison on Tuesday for taking part in protests demanding jobs. The accused were found guilty of offences including robbery, unlawful gathering, and vanalising government departments. The protests happened between March and May.
• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon…

Special thanks to Michael Southcott for his submissions.

• President Hugo Chavez of Venezuelaspent nearly two weeks  recovering from surgery in Cuba after swelling in his pelvis and has been out of public sight since, causing much speculation  that he may be seriously…

• On Friday, suspected insurgents killed two civilians  and wounded another four in a triple bombing attack in Thailand, near the Malaysian border. Thailand faces an election July 3rd, in a vote that the opposition…

• The meeting of religious leaders from Armenia and Georgiadid not result in any concrete agreements on disputes between the quasi-official churches after nearly one week of talks.
• Thousands of people marched on Parliament in Athens,…

Hello, hope all is well!

Sorry, several of the This Week in Conflict reports are a little late this week, as I have been without power or Internet since Tuesday, one of the side-effects of living in a conflict zone. As such, stories are only updated until Tuesday evening. I will try to keep to a consistent posting schedule, as much as my access to the Internet allows me.

Peace!

Rebecca

This Week in Conflict is now being divided…