Interpress Service articles from December 2007

Interpress Service archives from December 2007

MIDEAST: OLMERT WARNS ISRAELIS NOT TO LET PEACE TALKS COLLAPSE.
December 3, 2007... Analysis by Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has issued a dire warning to his people, declaring that failure to reach a negotiated two-state settlement with Palestinian leaders will...

VENEZUELA: OPPOSITION DEFEATS CH VEZ'S CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM.
December 3, 2007... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The constitutional reform promoted by Venezuelan President Hugo Ch vez was narrowly defeated in Sunday's referendum: 50.7 percent of those who turned out voted against the...

JAPAN: NATION HOPES TO PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN U.N. CLIMATE SUMMIT.
December 3, 2007... By Catherine Makino TOKYO, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Japanese government is expecting to play a key role at an 11-day conference on climate change this week on the Indonesian island of Bali. The conference, which began Monday, is...

SINGAPORE: ACTIVISTS CRITICIZE STATE'S SUPPORT FOR EXECUTIONS.
December 3, 2007... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Singapore's government disappointed many of its citizens this November by maintaining a strong stance in favor of the death penalty during the United Nations General...

CZECH REPUBLIC: GOVERNMENT URGES PUBLIC TO ACCEPT U.S. RADAR.
December 3, 2007... By Zolt n Dujisin PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Czech government has begun an $890,000 public relations campaign to rally support for a U.S. plan to set up a radar station in the Czech Republic. Opponents of...

RIGHTS: U.N. SUPPORTS 16-DAY CAMPAIGN AGAINST ABUSE OF WOMEN.
December 3, 2007... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Millions of women across the world are beaten, killed, bought and sold by men, but the gruesome violence and cruel treatment that they endure rarely makes headlines in the global...

TRADE: EAST AFRICA SIGNS FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH EU.
December 3, 2007... By Rosalia Omungo DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- African politicians and activists alike are worried about the possible consequences of a trade agreement signed by the East African Community and the European Union. ...

PERU: PRESIDENT THREATENS TO PUBLISH LIST OF FORMER PRISONERS.
December 3, 2007... By Angel P ez LIMA, Peru Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Peruvian President Alan Garc a recently announced his intention to publish a list of the names of 1,800 "freed terrorists," despite the fact that many of those on the list were jailed and...

CONGO: CIVILIANS ROUTINELY FACE RAPE AND TORTURE, U.N. SAYS.
December 3, 2007... By Nergui Manalsuren UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Sexual violence is being used brutally and systematically as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to humanitarian workers and U.N. experts, and the...

RELIGION-POLL: MAJORITY OF CATHOLICS DISAGREE WITH CONDOM BAN.
December 3, 2007... By Rajiv Fernando NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A new multi-nation poll released in Washington has shown that the majority of Catholics around the world believe that -- contrary to the edicts coming from Rome -- "good Catholics can...

REPUBLIC OF CONGO: STATE CRACKS DOWN ON BLOOD DIAMOND TRADE.
December 3, 2007... By Michael Deibert PARIS, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Republic of the Congo has been readmitted to the Kimberley Process, a certification scheme which aims to cut down on the exportation of blood diamonds. The Republic of the Congo,...

VENEZUELA: VOTERS MAY BLOCK CH VEZ'S REFORMS, POLLS SAY.
December 3, 2007... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Ch vez does not have overwhelming support for his latest pet project, a major constitutional reform, but pollsters say it's still possible that...

TRADE: AFRICAN STATES SIGN INTERIM ECONOMIC DEALS WITH EU.
December 3, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- No fanfare was made in Brussels in the past week over European Union officials' breakthrough in the trade talks on economic partnership agreements with almost 80 African,...

VIETNAM: FREE-RANGE DUCKS MAY BE DYING OF BIRD FLU, EXPERTS SAY.
December 3, 2007... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Large numbers of free-range ducks have died in Vietnam throughout November, leading experts to believe that the duck population has become vulnerable to the deadly avian...

BANGLADESH: GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO AVERT POST-CYCLONE FAMINE.
December 3, 2007... By Farid Ahmed DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The government of Bangladesh has appealed to the world community for rice or wheat to feed thousands of starving survivors of a cyclone that devastated the country's grain crops...

RUSSIA: OPPOSITION PARTIES ACCUSE KREMLIN OF ELECTORAL ABUSES.
December 3, 2007... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Russians are voting this Sunday in legislative elections that President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is expected to win by a landslide. Opposition parties, human rights...

COLOMBIA: NATIVE CHIBCHA CULTURE LIVES ON IN CENTRAL REGION.
December 3, 2007... By Gloria Helena Rey BOGOT , Colombia, Nov. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "Many Chibcha traditions and customs were demonized by the Spanish and other people, so we were encouraged to forget them," said Antonio Cruz C rdenas, a Colombian writer....

MEXICO: HIGH COURT EXONERATES GOVERNOR IN CHILD SEX CASE.
December 3, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Nov. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Mexico's Supreme Court disappointed human rights groups Thursday when it voted not to uphold an earlier decision regarding the treatment of an activist who exposed a child...

TANZANIA: HELSINKI PROCESS SEEMS DESTINED TO LOSE MOMENTUM.
December 3, 2007... Analysis by Alejandro Kirk DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Nov. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy was more or less sentenced to die young this week at a conference held in the Tanzanian financial center of...

COLOMBIA/VENEZUELA: BORDER DWELLERS HOPE FOR END TO FEUD.
December 3, 2007... By Constanza Vieira CUCUTA, Colombia, Nov. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Rubn Plata was born in Colombia, but he says is in truth "from both sides of the border." He gained permanent residency status in Venezuela in 2004, but in fact he crosses...

ASIA: DELEGATES SHARE SANITATION ADVICE AT WATER SUMMIT.
December 4, 2007... By Sahana Singh BEPPU, Japan, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Development officials from around the world observed the second day of the Asia-Pacific Water Summit Tuesday in Japan by orchestrating a regional launch of the International Year of...

INDIA: ROSE INDUSTRY BOOMS AS FARMS EXPAND ACROSS COUNTRY.
December 4, 2007... By Keya Acharya/IFEJ* BANGALORE, India, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Four women tend neat rows of rose beds inside a plastic-covered shed as two more walk leisurely about the premises, carrying buckets of bright-hued roses on cut stems. ...

CLIMATE CHANGE: BANGLADESHI DELEGATES RAISE ALARM AT SUMMIT.
December 4, 2007... By Farid Ahmed DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Leaders from Bangladesh are hoping to use the United Nations climate change conference currently underway in Indonesia as an opportunity to remind the world of their country's...

BRAZIL: UNIVERSAL SANITATION MAY TAKE 115 YEARS TO ACHIEVE.
December 4, 2007... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Just 47 percent of the population of Brazil is hooked up to the country's main sewage system, and at the current rate of public spending on sanitation, universal...

ARGENTINA: YOUNG DIRECTORS RECRUIT NON-ACTORS TO STAR IN FILMS.
December 4, 2007... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "I'd like to be offered the role of a madwoman some day, or of a vicious person, just out of curiosity, because I'm really not like that at all," said Carmen Drive, a...

KYRGYZSTAN: NEW ELECTION HURDLES DISQUALIFY NUMEROUS PARTIES.
December 4, 2007... By Kuban Abdymen BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- For the first time in the modern history of Kyrgyzstan, the country's parliament will be formed under a proportional system in which voters select a party rather than cast...

COLOMBIA: AMBASSADORS URGE URIBE TO HALT RIGHTS ABUSES.
December 4, 2007... By Helda Mart nez BOGOTA, Colombia, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "A state becomes a violator of human rights when it fails to guarantee, promote or defend them," Argentina's ambassador to Colombia announced during the Third International...

RUSSIA: PUTIN'S PARTY WINS ELECTION AMID ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD.
December 4, 2007... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Kremlin-backed United Russia party overwhelmingly won Sunday's parliamentary election, paving the way for President Vladimir Putin to remain in control after his term expires...

TRADE: IF U.S. RECIPROCATES, EU MAY SCRAP ALL FARM SUBSIDIES.
December 4, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The European Union committed itself in 2001 to phasing out all forms of subsidies that help its farmers to sell food abroad. New figures suggest that despite recognizing how...

AFRICA: ANALYST CALLS FOR FOCUS ON DOMESTIC NEEDS, NOT EXPORTS.
December 4, 2007... By Rosalia Omungo DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Dec. 3 (IPS/GIN) -- African states should address the needs of local and regional markets before looking at what can be exported globally, according to Michelle Pressend, a researcher from South...

SOUTH AFRICA: ALARM SPREADS AS GOLD MINES POISON RIVERS.
December 4, 2007... By Steven Lang JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Gold-mining companies operating to the west of Johannesburg, South Africa, stand accused of contaminating a number of water sources with radioactive pollutants. One...

EUROPE: EXPANDING FORESTS ABSORB 11 PERCENT OF HUMAN-MADE CO2.
December 4, 2007... By Stephen Leahy BROOKLIN, Canada, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Better conservation practices, migration to cities and the conversion of surplus farmland into woodland has caused European forests to expand, thereby increasing their ability to...

RUSSIA: PUTIN WARNS WEST NOT TO INTERFERE IN DOMESTIC POLITICS.
December 4, 2007... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued strict warnings against interference from the U.S. and European Union in Russia's domestic political affairs on the eve of the country's...

LATIN AMERICA: LEADERS URGE U.S., EU TO PAY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE.
December 4, 2007... By Mario Osava /Tierramrica * RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Latin American governments want industrialized countries to commit more resources toward curbing climate change and providing financial support for developing...

U.S.: POLICE ARREST 40 DURING PROTEST AGAINST BUSH'S AIDS POLICY.
December 4, 2007... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- On the eve of World AIDS Day, the U.S. Park Police arrested 40 demonstrators outside the White House as they chanted about the need for sweeping changes to President George W. Bush's...

KENYA: 20 PERCENT OF COMPANIES OFFER AIDS EDUCATION AT WORK.
December 4, 2007... By Kwamboka Oyaro NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- AIDS cuts workers down in their prime, leading them to the grave along with a wealth of training and experience that companies can ill afford to lose. One would think that...

MOROCCO: MEDIA RARELY REPORT ON DEATH PENALTY, ACTIVISTS SAY.
December 4, 2007... By Abderrahim El Ouali CASABLANCA, Morocco, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The media's lack of interest in reporting on death penalty issues is partially responsible for widespread public indifference to the issue of capital punishment in...

MEXICO: U.N. SOLICITS NOMINATIONS FOR BIENNIAL AIDS AWARD.
December 4, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations has presented its call for nominations for the Red Ribbon Award 2008 to honor community leadership and action against HIV/AIDS in the Mexican capital. ...

EL SALVADOR: TEST RESULTS SHOW RISE IN PREVALENCE OF HIV.
December 4, 2007... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The number of recorded HIV/AIDS cases is rising in El Salvador, but there is disagreement as to whether this is due to a rise in the number of people...

MIDEAST: SUMMIT INVOLVES HEAVY DOSE OF ANTI-IRANIAN RHETORIC.
December 4, 2007... Analysis by Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- President George W. Bush's ambitious peace conference in Annapolis, Md., appears to have been held in part to convince the Israeli government and Arab regimes that the region's...

Q&A-SYRIA: JOURNALIST HOPES FOR ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY.
December 4, 2007... By Abderrahim El Ouali CASABLANCA, Morocco, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Syria strongly opposed the recently passed U.N. resolution calling for an immediate moratorium on executions and end to capital punishment, but Nedal Naeiseh believes...

CHINA: STATE PLEASES U.S. BY SCRAPPING SOME TRADE SUBSIDIES.
December 4, 2007... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Chinese government has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding rescinding tax breaks and subsidies that Washington had challenged earlier this year as unfair and in...

LEBANON: ITALIAN PEACEKEEPERS STRUGGLE TO WIN CIVILIANS' TRUST.
December 4, 2007... By Rebecca Murray TYRE, Lebanon, Dec. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "We have to put boots on the ground, but at the same time we want to conquer hearts and minds," says Lt. Col. Nicola Tereano, the charismatic base commander for the Italian...

CUBA: FAMILIES HOPE PROMISED REFORMS WILL SLASH FOOD PRICES.
December 5, 2007... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Cubans are hoping that 2008 will bring reforms, at least in agriculture, that will result in a more varied supply of affordably priced food. "I don't know anything about economics,...

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: GOVERNMENT RATCHETS UP FIGHT AGAINST AIDS.
December 5, 2007... By Kevin Pamba MADANG, Papua New Guinea, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Experts have been warning Papua New Guinea for a decade that the country is at risk of an AIDS epidemic as serious as the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, but the government...

IRAN: ESPIONAGE ALLEGATIONS WEAKEN AHMADINEJAD'S COALITION.
December 5, 2007... By Kimia Sanati TEHRAN, Iran, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Espionage charges against Iran's former nuclear negotiator, Hossein Mousavian, appear to have intensified rifts within the alliance of conservatives and hard-liners that made Mahmoud...

JAPAN: PACIFIC ISLAND NATIONS SET AGENDA FOR WATER SUMMIT.
December 5, 2007... By Kalinga Seneviratne and Evelyn Agato BEPPU, Japan, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The first Asia Pacific Water Summit could well have been a Pacific Islands summit on climate change: Of the nine heads of state attending, seven are from the...

UNITED NATIONS: NGOS SEEK GREATER POWER OVER U.N. ACTIVITIES.
December 5, 2007... By Gustavo Capdevila GENEVA, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The alliance of civil society groups that have consultative status with the United Nations has without a doubt gained visibility on the international scene, but the international forum...

GUATEMALA: STATE EARMARKS $45.9 MILLION FOR BILINGUAL SCHOOLS.
December 5, 2007... By Ins Ben tez GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- In the Xepanil village school in Santa Apolonia, to the west of the Guatemalan capital, 20 children are learning both Spanish and Kaqchikel, a Mayan indigenous language....

U.S.: TWO FLORIDA DISTRICTS BAR PEACE GROUPS FROM SCHOOLS.
December 5, 2007... By Mark Weisenmiller TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Public school districts in two Florida counties are refusing to allow members of a peace organization to counter the presence of military recruiters by talking with high school...

INDONESIA: U.S. MAY FACE CRITICISM AT CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT.
December 5, 2007... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- President George W. Bush and his administration are certain to endure a rough ride during the major international conference about climate change that began this week in...

SOUTHERN AFRICA: LAND USE IS TO BLAME FOR FLOODS, EXPERTS SAY.
December 5, 2007... By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Zambezi River Basin has been flooding more than it used to, but experts say the change is preventable because the area is flooding due to changes in land use rather...

ARGENTINA: ORGANIC COOPERATIVES IMPROVE LABOR CONDITIONS.
December 5, 2007... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A group of 20 families have set up a farming operation just outside of Buenos Aires where they work without bosses, selling their products to consumers who appreciate...

IRAN: U.S. INTELLIGENCE REPORT SHOWS SUCCESS OF EU'S DIPLOMACY.
December 5, 2007... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The United States' new National Intelligence Estimate directly contradicts the George W. Bush administration's line on Iranian intentions regarding nuclear weapons. In...

CUBA: UNIVERSITY HOLDS FORUM TO ANALYZE, CRITIQUE MACHISMO.
December 5, 2007... By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Gender violence, emigration, pornography and legislation on sexual diversity were all discussed in relation to the construction of masculinity in Cuba at a recent gender issues forum in...

ECONOMY: THE BITTER TASTE OF COCOA IN COTE D'IVOIRE.
December 5, 2007... By Michael Deibert BINAO, Southern C"te d'Ivoire, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Hacking his way through the lush forest with a machete, his rubber boots sinking into the moist earth, Lambert Kwame surveys the plot of land that his family has...

AFRICA: MULTIPLE OBSTACLES DRIVING WOMEN FROM POLITICAL CAREERS.
December 5, 2007... By Kwamboka Oyaro JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Multiple obstacles continue to hold women back from pursuing political careers. That was the concensus among four politicians -- from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Lesotho -- who...

ENVIRONMENT-ZAMBIA: INVASIVE SHRUB THREATENS LOCAL ECOSYSTEM.
December 5, 2007... By Newton Sibanda LUSAKA, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- An invasive shrub has colonized a corner of the Lochinvar National Park, upsetting the balance of one of Zambia's most diverse ecosystems. Mimosa pigra, originally from Mexico, is now...

SOUTHERN AFRICA: BOTSWANA EXPERT SAYS DROUGHTS ARE AVOIDABLE.
December 5, 2007... By Miriam Mannak VICTORIA FALLS, Northern Zimbabwe, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- To tackle droughts in Southern Africa, one needs to think out of the box instead of pointing fingers at obvious causes such as lack of rainfall, experts said...

EGYPT: GOVERNMENT-BACKED FATWAS DRAW FIRE.
December 5, 2007... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- In the wake of several controversial fatwas -- religious edicts -- issued by the grand imam of the influential Al-Azhar Islamic establishment, critics are...

MALAYSIA: FOOD ACTIVISTS DECRY CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF FARMING.
December 6, 2007... By Anil Netto PENANG, Malaysia, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Food security campaigners are growing increasingly concerned about the ways in which farmers worldwide have become dependent on multinational corporations for seeds, fertilizers,...

KOSOVO: MEDIATION SESSION FAILS TO SOLVE CONFLICT WITH SERBIA.
December 6, 2007... By Apostolis Fotiadis PRISTINA, Kosovo, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The European Union, United States and Russia have had to acknowledge that their 120-day attempt to mediate between Serbia and its breakaway southern province of Kosovo has...

LEBANON: RULING COALITION, OPPOSITION AGREE TO BACK SULEIMAN.
December 6, 2007... By Mona Alami BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The clock is ticking away the last few hours of Emile Lahoud's presidential term as Lebanon continues to face its worst political deadlock since the end of its civil war. Five...

RUSSIA: PUTIN'S PARTY WINS TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT.
December 6, 2007... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Russia's Dec. 2 election significantly changed the country's political scenario: The Kremlin-backed United Russia has the parliamentary majority, both the Communist and Liberal...

CHINA: CHAN'S VICTORY MAY SLOW MERGER OF HONG KONG, SHENZHEN.
December 6, 2007... By Antoaneta Bezlova HONG KONG, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The victory of the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong's Dec. 2 by-elections has made it a little more difficult for China's booming southern hubs of Shenzhen and Hong Kong to merge...

DEVELOPMENT: FOOD PRICES WILL CONTINUE TO RISE, REPORT SAYS.
December 6, 2007... By Abra Pollock WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Globalization, climate change and the mass production of biofuels are pushing up food prices worldwide, and this trend could jeopardize the livelihoods of the world's poorest residents,...

GERMANY: IMMIGRANT WOMEN FIND SOLACE IN DRAWING WORKSHOPS.
December 6, 2007... By Maricel Drazer BERLIN, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "Drawing gives you the freedom to say what you feel, what you have bottled up for such a long time," said Teresa, an immigrant who was born in Colombia and has lived in Germany for more...

BRAZIL: 70 PERCENT OF REFUGEES RECEIVE SUPPORT AND TRAINING.
December 6, 2007... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Brazilian officials and the United Nations are applauding the progress that Brazil has made since adopting its asylum policy 10 years ago: It has become one of the...

PARAGUAY: U.N. CENSURES GOVERNMENT FOR TOLERATING ABUSES.
December 6, 2007... By David Vargas ASUNCI N, Paraguay, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A United Nations committee recently reprimanded the Paraguayan government for denying land to campesinos and indigenous people, allowing for the indiscriminate use of...

AFRICA: ZAMBEZI BASIN COMMUNITY MOBILIZES TO SAVE WETLANDS.
December 6, 2007... By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Participants in the third Zambezi Basin-wide Stakeholders Forum recently agreed that the loss of wetlands in the Zambezi River Basin has become an urgent problem. ...

CANADA: ACTIVISTS URGE GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE MINING SECTOR.
December 6, 2007... By Am Johal VANCOUVER, Canada, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Canadian mining companies have consistently come under scrutiny from civil society organizations for international human rights violations and environmental damage, and critics say...

Q&A: STIGMA IMPEDES WORK ON SANITATION, U.N. OFFICIAL SAYS.
December 6, 2007... By Rajiv Fernando UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Prince of Orange, Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined forces last month to declare 2008 to be the International Year of...

KENYA: FEMALE CANDIDATES STRUGGLE TO COUNTER STEREOTYPES.
December 6, 2007... By Kwamboka Oyaro NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Female candidates who are running in the general election in Kenya this month are doubtless keeping a close eye on the media to see whether their campaigns will be covered at all....

MIDEAST: PEACE SUMMIT DELEGATES REMAIN SILENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS.
December 6, 2007... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Most officials representing Middle Eastern and North African nations at the recent Mideast peace summit in Annapolis, Md., appeared to endorse the idea of a "two-state solution" to the...

U.S.-REPORT: DETENTION SITES DENY CARE TO IMMIGRANTS WITH AIDS.
December 7, 2007... By Rajiv Fernando NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Department of Homeland Security's guidelines for dealing with HIV-positive detainees fail to meet both national and international standards for appropriate care, according to a...

ENERGY: TRADE BARRIERS MAY CRIPPLE BIOFUEL MARKET, EXPERTS SAY.
December 7, 2007... By Mario Osava/Tierramrica * RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Dec. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The development of an international market for crop-based fuels could reduce climate-changing gas emissions, but it is a process that will take years. The...

EGYPT: MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD'S MANIFESTO SPARKS CONTROVERSY.
December 7, 2007... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Politicians of all stripes have been waiting several months for the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political opposition movement, to release the final...

TURKEY: PROSECUTOR ASKS COURT TO BAN PRO-KURDISH PARTY.
December 7, 2007... Analysis by Hilmi Toros ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The controversial, pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party is at risk of being shut down and consigned to Turkey's political cemetery, which already contains an unusually...

CLIMATE CHANGE: BALI DECLARATION SEEKS TO HALVE EMISSIONS.
December 7, 2007... By Imelda Abano NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Extreme geo-climatic events are certain to occur if greenhouse gas emissions are not contained, according to scientists attending a major United Nations conference on climate...

INDIA: CONGRESS PARTY LACKS SUPPORT FOR NUCLEAR DEAL WITH U.S.
December 7, 2007... Analysis by Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, Dec. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Manmohan Singh government has failed to garner support for the controversial United States-India nuclear cooperation deal from elected political representatives outside the...

U.S.: INSTITUTE HONORS MEDIA FOR COVERAGE OF POPULATION ISSUES.
December 7, 2007... By Mithre J. Sandrasagra WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A U.S. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, a television news reporter from the Philippines and a radio show host from Cameroon were among the 12 recipients of the Population...

RIGHTS: NGOS AIM TO PUT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FORUMS IN DIALOGUE.
December 7, 2007... By Gustavo Capdevila GENEVA, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A group of human rights organizations is hoping to bridge the gap between two antagonistic camps in January: the World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum. The World Economic...

RIGHTS: LGBT ACTIVISTS URGE U.N. TO ADOPT YOGYAKARTA PRINCIPLES.
December 7, 2007... By Rajiv Fernando UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Three lesbians were brutally murdered in two separate incidents on Aug. 9, as South Africans celebrated National Women's Day, which marked the 51st anniversary of women's...

BOLIVIA: GOVERNORS ACCEPT PRESIDENT'S REFERENDUM CHALLENGE.
December 7, 2007... By Franz Ch vez LA PAZ, Bolivia, Dec. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales has offered to hold a referendum to let voters decide whether or not he should stay in office, and the country's governors accepted his challenge to...