Interpress Service articles from April 2009

Interpress Service archives from April 2009

POLITICS: ARAB-LATIN AMERICAN TIES HAILED.
April 1, 2009... By AJ Correspondents* DOHA, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Latin American leaders and their Arab counterparts sat down for their second major summit, in another sign of the growing economic and political ties between the two strategic regions....

NAMIBIA: UNEMPLOYMENT, RISING PRICES OUTWEIGH TAX CUTS FOR POOR.
April 1, 2009... By Servaas van den Bosch WINDHOEK, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Namibia's minister of finance, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, drew loud applause when she announced that $80 million in tax cuts for the poor will be partially offset by broadening...

MIDEAST: INVESTIGATION CLEARS ISRAELI MILITARY OF GAZA CRIMES.
April 1, 2009... By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The Israeli army's Advocate General has summarily closed an internal investigation into allegations stemming from accounts by soldiers of abuses against...

FINANCE: AFRICAN LEADERS DEMAND REPRESENTATION AT G20 MEETING.
April 1, 2009... By Michael Chebud ADDIS ABABA, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - A daunting task awaits Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi when the Group of 20 (G20) rich and emerging economies meet in London tomorrow. Zenawi's message is straightforward:...

FINANCE: GREATER IDB LENDING MAY COME TOO LATE FOR CURRENT CRISIS.
April 1, 2009... By Mario Osava MEDELLIN, Colombia, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The financial, environmental and social crises roiling the world today place demands and expectations before the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) it may be unable to meet....

ECONOMY: GLOBAL POLL FINDS PUBLIC BACKS MAJOR REFORMS.
April 1, 2009... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The international economic system needs a broad overhaul, said a strong majority of 70 percent of respondents to a global poll. Majorities in 20 of the 24 countries polled said that...

G20: NO SURPRISES IN DRAFT DECLARATION OF G20 MEETING.
April 1, 2009... Analysis by Sanjay Suri LONDON, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - If the draft declaration of the G20 meeting in London is anything to go by, the most specific outcome of this summit is that there will be another one later in the year. Several...

POLITICS-SOMALIA: REFUGEES SUFFERING IN KENYAN CAMPS.
April 1, 2009... By Joyce Mulama NAIROBI, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - In early March, Amina Ayanna Yusuf strapped her two-year-old son to her back and set off for the Kenyan border with her small savings. Fleeing insurgent attacks on her home town of...

SOUTH AFRICA: OBSTACLES TO 'SCALING UP' HIV TREATMENT REMAIN.
April 1, 2009... By Kristin Palitza DURBAN, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The money to scale up HIV treatment is there, but implementation of programs to curb the pandemic is a problem, health experts said at the opening of the Fourth South African AIDS...

US-CUBA: CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT SEEN FOR LIFTING CUBAN EMBARGO.
April 1, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and interest groups is backing a bill that would end the long economic embargo against Cuba, including travel restrictions to the island. ...

GHANA: CADBURY'S DEAL DESTINED TO SWEETEN MORE FARMERS' LIVES.
April 1, 2009... By Francis Kokutse ACCRA, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The initiative linking British chocolate giant Cadbury's with a Ghanaian cooperative representing 40,000 cocoa farmers is set to grow further and enhance the livelihoods of more farmers....

Q&A: SANITATION MUST BE OWNED BY LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
April 1, 2009... Nergui Manalsuren interviews JAE SO and PETER KOLSKY of the World Bank UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The world's developing nations, particularly in Asia and Africa, are struggling to cope with two of the basic necessities of...

G20: JAPAN CARRIES AFRICAN CONCERNS TO LONDON.
April 1, 2009... By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Japan, the world's second largest economy, is calling for global initiatives to reactivate financial flows to Africa, including government grants, concessional loans and lines of credit....

PAKISTAN: ANOTHER TERROR ATTACK FOR TV CAMERAS.
April 1, 2009... Analysis by Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The brazen armed attack on a police academy near Lahore on Monday underlines the danger that the Pakistani state faces from militancy linked to the 'war on terror', but with...

MUSIC-ITALY: NURTURING OPERA.
April 1, 2009... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Pierri AMEGLIO, Italy, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Fabrizio tells a young woman, Eriko, that it is very cold outside, while logs crackle in the fireplace and the sun sets behind the mountains, adorned with last...

POLITICS-THAILAND: BACK TO STREET PROTESTS.
April 1, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Mar. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Any hope of political peace returning to Thailand has been shattered by a week of street protests, exposing an emotional fault line that runs through this South-east Asian nation....

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: SEA TURTLES HACKED TO DEATH BY TRAWLERS.
April 2, 2009... By Malini Shankar/ IFEJ * PURI, India, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The stench emanating from the carcasses of thousands of butchered Olive Ridley turtles overpowers seaside visitors in this pilgrimage town in Orissa on India's east coast. ...

CLIMATE CHANGE: GOING BEYOND THE CARBON MARKET.
April 2, 2009... Dar o Montero interviews economist JOHN NASH /Tierramrica * MONTEVIDEO, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Economist John Nash defends the role of the World Bank and underscores the need to expand the so-called "clean development mechanism". ...

DR-CONGO: ELECTRONICS FIRMS URGED TO AVOID "BLOOD MINERALS".
April 2, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The world's mass consumption of cell phones, laptops and other electronics fuels widespread sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a new study...

Q&A: "IF I WERE CHAIRMAN OF THE U.S. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL".
April 2, 2009... Jim Lobe interviews ret. U.S. Amb. CHARLES "CHAS" FREEMAN WASHINGTON, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Ret. Amb. Charles "Chas" Freeman, appointed two months ago to chair the National Intelligence Council (NIC), withdrew his name in mid-March after...

POLITICS: AL-MALIKI DRAWS U.S. TROOPS INTO CRACKDOWN ON SUNNIS.
April 2, 2009... By Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - When U.S. troops joined Iraqi forces in putting down an uprising by Sunni "Sons of Iraq" militiamen last weekend, it was a preview of the kind of combat the U.S. military is likely to...

POPULATION: GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS THREATENS FAMILY PLANNING.
April 2, 2009... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The spreading global financial crisis is threatening to undermine another one of the U.N.'s major development and health goals: family planning. United Nations officials are...

HEALTH: ARV DRUGS MAY PREVENT AS WELL AS TREAT HIV.
April 2, 2009... By Kristin Palitza DURBAN, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Researchers are now investigating if antiretroviral (ARV) drugs can play a role in not just treating HIV, but in preventing infection. Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS...

MEXICO: ZAPOTECA WOMAN LEADS OTHERS TO SEEK HIGHER OFFICE.
April 2, 2009... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Two years ago, Eufrosina Cruz was kept from running for mayor of her home village by the traditions and customs of her indigenous community in southern Mexico, just because she is a...

NICARAGUA: UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION STILL FAR OFF.
April 2, 2009... By Jos Ad n Silva MANAGUA, Apr. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Poverty is forcing mothers in Nicaragua to pull their daughters out of school. "My oldest child is already in fifth grade; now we're waiting for the situation to improve so that she...

POLITICS: U.S., RUSSIA AFFIRM IDEAL OF "NUCLEAR-FREE" WORLD.
April 3, 2009... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - On the eve of the G20 summit in London, the leaders of the U.S. and Russia prepared to take the first concrete steps towards a "reset" of relations between the two countries. ...

AUSTRALIA: CONCERNS RISE OVER LEAK AT URANIUM MINE.
April 3, 2009... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The revelation that a substantial amount of contaminated water is leaking each day from a tailings dam at a uranium mine, located in a World Heritage Site, has sparked...

ENERGY: OIL PRODUCERS LOOK FOR WAYS OUT OF CRISIS.(Conference notes)
April 3, 2009... By Alecia D. McKenzie PARIS, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - With the price of crude oil down more than 50 percent from a year ago, and with U.S. President Barack Obama championing alternative forms of energy, oil producers are scrambling to find...

MIDEAST: BIG POWERS ARE 'TARGETING PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE'.
April 3, 2009... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani CAIRO, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Nine NATO member states agreed last month to utilise naval, intelligence and diplomatic resources to combat the alleged flow of arms into the Gaza Strip. Some...

MIDEAST: ALL UNCLEAR OVER ISRAELI POLICY.
April 3, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - How genuine is Israel's new leadership about peace when the Prime Minister says that he will go a long way towards striving for a settlement with the...

ECONOMY: DESPITE ITS CLOUT, CHINA FEELS VULNERABLE TO SHOCKS.
April 3, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Despite an impressive show of its increased economic and political stature at the just-finished G20 summit in London, China remains plagued by doubts about the sustainability of its...

CLIMATE CHANGE: FARMING COULD BE FRIEND OR FOE.
April 3, 2009... By Stephen Leahy UXBRIDGE, Canada, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Don't forget about agriculture in the upcoming global negotiations to combat climate change, experts warn. Not only is farming most at risk in an increasingly variable and...

CHILE: THERAPEUTIC ABORTION - HOT ELECTION ISSUE.
April 3, 2009... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The debate on the decriminalisation of therapeutic abortion has been revived ahead of the December presidential elections in Chile, one of the few countries in the world where abortion...

ECONOMY: INSURANCE TO PROVIDE COVER AGAINST GLOBAL CRISIS.
April 3, 2009... By Stephanie Nieuwoudt CAPE TOWN, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The global economic crisis makes it even more imperative that investors ascertain the economic and legal conditions in foreign countries. ''When one has dealings overseas, you...

SOUTH AFRICA: NURSES SHOULD BE BACKBONE OF ARV TREATMENT.
April 3, 2009... By Kristin Palitza DURBAN, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Effectively scaling up South Africans' access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment will require decentralisation of health services from hospitals to clinics and allowing nurses to manage...

HEALTH-ARGENTINA: DENGUE HAEMORRHAGIC FEVER IS HERE.
April 3, 2009... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - While the authorities squabble over what or whom to blame, Argentina is suffering its worst epidemic of dengue fever since 1998 in terms of the number of people and the size of the...

ZAMBIA: DIMINISHING RETURNS ON AGRICULTURE SUBSIDY.
April 3, 2009... By Kelvin Kachingwe LUSAKA, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - Responding to years of complaints over the management of the Fertiliser Support Programme (FSP), the Zambian government has now proposed that the private sector takes over its running to...

POLITICS: IN REVERSAL, U.S. TO ENGAGE WITH HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL.
April 3, 2009... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The Barack Obama administration's decision this week to seek a seat on the world's top human rights body has affirmed the hopes of many activist groups that the United States will...

US-ISRAEL: VISA FOR TOP NETANYAHU AIDE IN QUESTION.
April 3, 2009... By Stephen Green* WASHINGTON, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The first official test of wills between the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama and the new Likud-led government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could well be...

MEXICO: MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM UNDER FIRE.
April 3, 2009... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - The Mexican government, legislators and human rights organisations are calling for a review of the outdated military justice system, accused of letting human rights violators off the...

RIGHTS: ENGAGING MEN IN GENDER EQUALITY EFFORTS.
April 3, 2009... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) - How many men work in day care centres, looking after children? How much paternity leave are men entitled to? How many government programmes to combat domestic violence include...

NORTH KOREA: MAJOR POWERS SEE MISSILE LAUNCH AS PROVOKING.
April 6, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The timing of North Korea's rocket launch on Sunday was as provocative as the launch itself. It occurred on the day President Barack Obama called for an end to nuclear arms. ...

MIDEAST: GAZA FARMERS NEVER FELT SAFE, NOW THEY LOST CROPS.
April 6, 2009... By Eva Bartlett* KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- For farmers along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, being shot by Israeli soldiers was a concern before December's violence, and it still is. Now they have lost crops...

GREECE: BAD LIVING CONDITIONS DECAY FOR REFUGEE SLUM DWELLERS.
April 6, 2009... By Apostolis Fotiadis ATHENS, Greece, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Refugees in a slum near a port city in Greece are enduring dangerously poor hygiene conditions and increasing hostility from nearby residents. For more than a decade...

ANALYSIS-EUROPE: SOME QUESTION EQUATING COMMUNISM, NAZISM.
April 6, 2009... Analysis by Zolt n Dujisin BUDAPEST, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A declaration that equates communism to Nazism and condemns communist ideology as "directly responsible for crimes against humanity" has been debated in the European...

ROMANIA: CRISIS PUSHES GOVERNMENT INTO DUBIOUS BORROWING.
April 6, 2009... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Romania, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Romanian government is borrowing close to $26.8 billion from international financial institutions in order to stem the effects of the global financial crisis. But...

SRI LANKA: ESCALATED CONFLICT HARMING CHILDREN, CIVILIANS.
April 6, 2009... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The escalation since December of the conflict in Sri Lanka's north between government forces and the Tamil Tigers is taking a heavy toll on children and civilians, many of...

MALAYSIA: NEW PRIME MINISTER EXTENDS HAND TO CYNICAL POPULACE.
April 6, 2009... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Apr. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Malaysia's controversial Najib Razak, who became the country's sixth prime minister on Apr. 3, has launched a charm offensive to win over people disillusioned by...

Q&A-ZIMBABWE: GOVERNMENT PROMISES TO REBUILD HEALTH SYSTEM.
April 6, 2009... Stanley Kwenda interviews Henry Madzorera HARARE, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The resuscitation of Zimbabwe's health care system has been identified as one of the major challenges facing the country by its new unity government. Zimbabwe...

MOLDOVA: ELECTIONS OFFER SMALL, VIABLE CHANCE OF CHANGE.
April 6, 2009... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Romania, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Moldavians are heading for general elections this Sunday. After a campaign marred with illegalities, the incumbent Communist Party is confident of winning most seats in the...

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS ACTIVISTS ASK ABOUT FUNDS FOR BATTLE.
April 6, 2009... By Terna Gyuse DURBAN, South Africa, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Fourth South African AIDS conference ended in Durban on Friday with optimism over progress in research and policy on AIDS prevention. However, there were serious...

TURKEY: RULING PARTY'S VICTORY SEEN AS FALLING SHORT.
April 6, 2009... By Hilmi Toros ISTANBUL, Turkey, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Turkey's ruling party won the local elections last week, but the reduced majority comes as an indicator its popularity may be in decline. The local elections were contested on...

ANALYSIS-EUROPE: NATIONS WORK TO GET IT RIGHT ON AFGHANISTAN.
April 6, 2009... Analysis by Cillian Donnelly BRUSSELS, Belgium, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As NATO prepares to celebrate its 60th year, Europe's somewhat fractured Afghanistan policy, which will feature large in discussions at the organization's...

VENEZUELA: 10 POLICE CONVICTED OF KILLINGS AHEAD OF 2002 COUP.
April 6, 2009... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A Venezuelan court sentenced six police force members Friday to the maximum sentence in Venezuela, 30 years, for killing demonstrators before the Apr. 11, 2002, coup. ...

CHILE: TEACHERS, STUDENTS FIGHT LAW EASING ENTRY INTO TEACHING.
April 6, 2009... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Teachers and students marched in protest against a new education law the Chilean parliament passed nearly three years after the "penguin revolution," named for the uniforms of...

ANALYSIS-G-20: ACTIVISTS WONDER WHO HAS WHAT MONEY FOR AID.
April 6, 2009... Analysis by Sanjay Suri LONDON, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- It seemed like a lot of money at the time. The leaders of the group of eight richest countries, the G-8, met in Gleneagles in Scotland and announced $50 billion in new aid, half of...

POLITICS: CLEARED OF TERRORIST TIES, CANADIAN STRANDED IN SUDAN.
April 6, 2009... By Paul Weinberg TORONTO, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik has been marooned for a year at his country's embassy in Khartoum. The murky post-9/11 sharing of information between Western security and...

CARIBBEAN: REGION WARY ON ALTERING TRADE PACT WITH CANADA.
April 6, 2009... By Peter Richards PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Caribbean leaders are being warned that they should not rush into a new accord with Ottawa to replace the 1985 one-way duty-free Caribbean-Canada (CARIBCAN) agreement....

RIGHTS: U.S. JUDGE OPENS DOOR TO APPEALS BY PRISONERS AT BAGRAM.
April 6, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A federal judge has ruled that non-Afghan citizens rendered by the United States to Bagram prison in Afghanistan have a constitutional right to challenge their detention in U.S....

AFRICA: ARBITRATION METHOD DEMANDED TO END SCOURGE OF DEBT.
April 6, 2009... By Stanley Kwenda HARARE, Zimbabwe, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- International debt campaigners are calling for the establishment of a debt arbitration mechanism to respond to the difficulties that many countries of the South are increasingly...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ISRAELI FAR-RIGHT PRESENTS PROBLEM FOR OBAMA.
April 6, 2009... Analysis by Helena Cobban* WASHINGTON, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was sworn in Tuesday -- just one day later his foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, set off a firestorm by saying he...

HEALTH-UGANDA: BURDEN OF CARE FALLS ON FEWER SHOULDERS.
April 7, 2009... By Wambi Michael KAMPALA, Uganda, Apr. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A critical shortage of health care workers in Uganda is affecting the delivery of health services. The situation is affecting patients and staff members. There is no...

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: ILLNESS FIGURES IN MIGRATION PATTERNS.
April 7, 2009... By Siyabonga Kalipa and Brenda Nkuna CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Apr. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- While migration inside South Africa is generally considered to be into the urban areas, researchers are watching a phenomenon that has sick people...

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: PROGRAM PUTS HIV TESTING ON WHEELS.
April 7, 2009... By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- In the 10 months since the Tutu Tester's mobile clinic began touring Cape Town offering quick, confidential tests for diseases including HIV/AIDS, more than 7,000 people...

TRADE: EUROPE NUDGES SILENT AFRICAN NATIONS ABOUT NEW PACT.
April 7, 2009... By Servaas van den Bosch WINDHOEK, Namibia, Apr. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Southern African countries remain mum on the interim economic partnership agreement (EPA), despite a letter from European Commission Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton...

POLITICS-U.S.: MILITARY BUDGET SIGNALS CHANGES IN GOALS, WEAPONS.
April 7, 2009... By Daniel Luban and Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Monday unveiled the new military budget, which aims to reorient the armed forces toward irregular and counterinsurgency warfare while...

BOOKS-ARGENTINA: SIBLINGS OF MENTALLY DISABLED TELL TROUBLES.
April 7, 2009... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- "He's the favorite. I always have to let him play," complains a boy with a mentally disabled brother. "Will she have to come live with me?" is a common worry among...

UGANDA: VOLUNTEERS FILL GAPS IN HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM.
April 7, 2009... By Joshua Kyalimpa KAMPALA and GOMBE, Uganda, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Primary health care in Uganda is hampered by a shortage of doctors and nurses, but trained volunteers from the community are stepping into the breach. Robert Kito...

DEVELOPMENT: TOOL HELPS FIND MOST-VULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDS.
April 7, 2009... Busani Bafana interviews Unity Chipfupa JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A new tool to accurately measure the vulnerability of rural households to the impact of shocks has been developed by a Southern Africa regional...

ECONOMY-EL SALVADOR: INCOMING PRESIDENT TO INHERIT FISCAL MESS.
April 7, 2009... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Apr. 6, 2006 (IPS) -- Analysts say President Antonio Saca ignored warnings about the dire state of the Salvadoran economy, and now the new president will have to deal with the...

AFRICA: G-20 SUMMIT'S TRADE-RELATED PLEDGES DISAPPOINT AUTHORS.
April 7, 2009... By Annelise Sander GENEVA, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS) -- The Group of 20's commitments to trade finance and aid for trade are too vague, according to the editors of the e-book Rebuilding Global Trade, published last week. And the London summit...

CLIMATE CHANGE: MELTING MEANS SEALS DIE, SO POLAR BEARS STARVE.
April 7, 2009... By Julio Godoy/ Tierramrica * BERLIN, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Because of rising global temperatures, ringed seals in the Baltic Sea are finding fewer and fewer ice caves in which to raise their young, and scientists say that, in turn, is...

ENVIRONMENT: IDEA AT SHOW PLACES PIG STY IN DOWNTOWN SKYLINE.
April 7, 2009... By Peter Gorrie/IFEJ* TORONTO, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- One of the displays at an exhibition here imagines a Netherlands pig grower who, in some not-distant future, has given up his farm and commutes to work downtown at a high-rise "Pig...

BRAZIL: ACTIVISTS WONDER IF WALL TO PROTECT FOREST, OR THE RICH.
April 7, 2009... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The government of the state of Rio de Janeiro insists a wall being built around a poor neighborhood is designed to protect what remains of Brazil's Atlantic rainforest...

EUROPE: IMPORTS THOUGHT TO BE FROM ILLEGAL ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS.
April 7, 2009... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Apr. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- European Union officials are seeking evidence to support claims that fruit and vegetables from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are being exported under false...

PARAGUAY: SPAIN LETS DEBT PAYMENTS GO TO EDUCATION INSTEAD.
April 7, 2009... By Natalia Ruiz D az ASUNCI N, Paraguay, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- An agreement to swap debt for education will help Paraguay's government begin to address problems in education, including rundown school buildings and a shortage of...

ARTS-FRANCE: FILM ON MIGRANTS SPURS TALK ON ACTS AGAINST THEM.
April 7, 2009... By Alecia D. McKenzie PARIS, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A new film on undocumented migrants has sparked heated discussion among the public and lawmakers here about the migrants' plight and desperation amid efforts to reduce their numbers....

NAMIBIA: SOME ECONOMISTS CALL U.S. POVERTY GRANT A CURSE.
April 7, 2009... By Servaas van den Bosch WINDHOEK, Namibia, Apr. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- More than $300 million in foreign aid will flood Namibia in the next five years through a U.S.-affiliated account, But the jury is still out on whether the grant is a...

EAST TIMOR: ACTIVISTS' FACES DARKEN AT PLAN TO MAKE ELECTRICITY.
April 7, 2009... By Matt Crook DILI, East Timor, Apr. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Residents in East Timor's capital say they are happy to have more-reliable electricity available, but many criticized the government's plan to keep it flowing. The city...

RIGHTS-U.S.: LEGAL SCHOLARS WELCOME PURSUIT OF BUSH AIDES.
April 8, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Apr. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Human rights organizations and legal scholars are applauding the efforts of Spanish lawyers in seeking the indictment of six former officials of the George W. Bush administration in...

MEDIA-THAILAND: BLOGGER'S SENTENCE SHOCKS INTERNET USERS.
April 8, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Apr. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A Thai court has sentenced blogger Suwicha Thakhor to 10 years in prison for posting an image on the Internet that was deemed to have insulted the Thai royal family. ...

Q&A-NAMIBIA: U.N. SEEKS AID AS FLOODING DISPLACES THOUSANDS.
April 8, 2009... Moses Magadza interviews Simon Nhongo WINDHOEK, Namibia, Apr. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Namibia is experiencing flooding on a scale last seen nearly 50 years ago. The northern part of the country is the worst hit. President Hifikepunye...

CUBA: U.S. LAWMAKERS VISIT BOTH CASTROS, DECIDE IT'S TIME TO TALK.
April 8, 2009... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Apr. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Seven Democratic members of Congress concluded it is possible to talk about any issue with Cuba and that "it is time" to do so. The decision was announced at the end of a five-day...

ENVIRONMENT-ANTARCTICA: ANOTHER ICE SHELF FALLS AWAY.
April 8, 2009... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Apr. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Accelerated warming in the Antarctic Peninsula has caused the loss of over 85 percent of the ice shelves surrounding the northern half of the peninsula in the last 20...