Interpress Service articles from December 2008

Interpress Service archives from December 2008

DEVELOPMENT: BRING THE PEOPLE INTO DOHA ACCORD, GROUPS URGE.
December 1, 2008... By Ann Ninan DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Civil society groups have turned up the heat on governments reviewing the Monterrey Consensus in Doha, Qatar. The demand is seemingly simple. "Vote for democratic, people-centered...

INDIA-PAKISTAN: PLEAS FOR SANITY GO OUT AFTER MUMBAI MAYHEM.
December 1, 2008... Analysis by Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Every time India and Pakistan head toward dialogue and detente, something explosive happens that sidetracks peace and drags them back to the familiar tense relationship,...

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: INQUIRY URGED IN NATIVE'S DEATH BEFORE RIOT.
December 1, 2008... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A six-year prison term was given to the leader of the 2004 Palm Island riot, but island residents say more needs to be done. Although supporters have expressed...

POLITICS-THAILAND: VIOLENCE SHAKES ELITE MYTH OF THAI UNITY.
December 1, 2008... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The killing of Somchai, a 37-year-old man, reveals unprecedented depths of political enmity among Thais, some Thai analysts say. The murder justified the fears of...

Q&A: GENDER BUDGETING EXPERT WONDERS ABOUT SUSTAINING GAINS.
December 1, 2008... by Terna Gyuse CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Nov. 29, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The negative aspects of Africa's experience with structural adjustment programs beginning in the 1990s have been well-documented. Facing high debt loads, African...

POLITICS-KENYA: TRAILBLAZING OFFICIAL TAKING UP WOMEN'S AGENDA.
December 1, 2008... By Najum Mushtaq NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 29, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The first woman from the Muslim majority island constituency of East Lamu to contest for a seat in the Kenyan parliament, Shakila Abdalla, is determined to give voice to the...

ECONOMY-U.S.: OBAMA NAMES ECONOMIC TEAM AMID CRISIS.
December 1, 2008... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Faced with the worst crisis since the Great Depression, President-elect Barack Obama ditched tradition this week, naming his economic team before anointing a secretary of state -- by...

POLITICS-THAILAND: PROTESTS DENTING STATUS AS REGIONAL LEADER.
December 1, 2008... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov. 29, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The siege of Bangkok's international airport is having harmful effects on Thailand's reputation among its neighbors. For years, Thais affected an air of superiority...

DEVELOPMENT-LATAM: EXPERT URGES KEEPING SOCIAL SPENDING UP.
December 1, 2008... By Dar o Montero MEDELL N, Colombia, Nov. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Participants in the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean's fourth social innovation fair, which ended here Friday, vowed to not allow the global financial...

BRAZIL: WEB EMPLOYED AGAINST CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON INTERNET.
December 1, 2008... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Brazilian government has announced the creation of a Web site to centralize the reception of complaints about child pornography on the Internet. It is a...

TRADE: COTE D'IVOIRE SIGNS PARTNERSHIP DEAL WITH EUROPEAN UNION.
December 1, 2008... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- C"te d'Ivoire became the first country in Africa to sign an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union this week. The move prompted fears that the accord...

Q&A: FINANCIAL CRISIS 'COULD LEAD TO MILLIONS OF AIDS DEATHS'.
December 1, 2008... by Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The global economic crisis is threatening to undermine yet another key development goal set by the United Nations: reversing by 2015 the AIDS epidemic still devastating millions of...

LATIN AMERICA: INDIGENOUS JOURNALISTS OPEN SUPPORT DIALOGUE.
December 1, 2008... By Franz Ch vez LA PAZ, Bolivia, Nov. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Journalists from indigenous communities in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Guatemala and Bolivia came together here to take the first step toward creating a network to work...

ANALYSIS-INDIA: PAKISTANIS SHARE EMPATHY, GRIEF ON MUMBAI HIT.
December 1, 2008... Analysis by Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov. 29, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The terrorist attacks unleashed in the Indian port city and financial hub of Mumbai continue to reverberate through Pakistan at a personal level and on the media. ...

RUSSIA-LATIN AMERICA: ECONOMIC MOVES OVERSHADOW NAVAL ONES.
December 1, 2008... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Nov. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Aboard the Russian submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, docked at La Guaira, Presidents Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and Hugo Ch vez of Venezuela announced the start of...

TRADE: RICH NATIONS APPLY 'DOUBLE STANDARDS' IN WTO DOHA TALKS.
December 1, 2008... By Ravi Kanth Devarakonda GENEVA, Nov. 27, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- South Africa said the major industrialized members of the World Trade Organization are applying double standards when it comes to their interests and those of African countries...

EAST AFRICA: FARMERS HOPE TO BOOST INCOMES WITH KENYA COFFEES.
December 2, 2008... By Charles Wachira NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A golden era when coffee as a cash crop stood out as the top foreign exchange earner in Kenya ended in 1992. Farmers are trying to bring the golden days back. Beginning in...

POVERTY-ZIMBABWE: GARDENING GIVES URBAN WOMEN A LIFELINE.
December 2, 2008... By Ignatius Banda BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Growing and selling vegetables has become a lifeline at a time when millions of Zimbabweans face increasing poverty and hunger after years of debilitating economic recession....

SRI LANKA: SHOW POSES NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT JOURNALIST'S MURDER.
December 2, 2008... By Feizal Samath COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A BBC documentary on Sri Lankan journalist and actor Richard de Zoysa poses fresh questions about his brutal murder, 19 years ago. The documentary highlights little-known...

Q&A: RIGHTS ACTIVIST SEES DEATH PENALTY RETREATING IN SYRIA.
December 2, 2008... by Abderrahim El Ouali CASABLANCA, Morocco, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The abolitionist movement in Syria faces more difficulties from religious institutions and scholars than from the state, Ammar Qurabi said. Qurabi, president of the...

Q&A: RELIGIOUS RULE PRESENTS HURDLE TO DEATH PENALTY FOES.
December 2, 2008... by Abderrahim El Ouali CASABLANCA, Morocco, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Political Islam is the main barrier to abolishing the death penalty in most countries where it is still practiced, abolition activist Maryam Namazie said. Weaken...

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: ENLARGED CAPITAL CRIMES LIST UPSETS ACTIVISTS.
December 2, 2008... By Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The decision to add "cyber terrorism" to Pakistan's long list of capital crimes has raised questions on whether the new government has the resolve to carry through its promise...

U.S.: OBAMA'S TEAM STRESSES DIPLOMACY, MULTILATERALISM.
December 2, 2008... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Introducing the top figures in his national security team Monday in Chicago, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama promised a "new dawn of American leadership" that will be marked by much...

Q&A: CHURCHES, ISLAMISTS FAVOR DEATH PENALTY, OPPONENT SAYS.
December 2, 2008... by Abderrahim El Ouali CASABLANCA, Morocco, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- King Mohamed VI of Morocco could easily abolish the death penalty by royal decree. But by keeping capital punishment on the statute books, the young king is yielding...

Q&A: EFFORTS GROW TO MAKE CENTRAL ASIA 'DEATH PENALTY FREE'.
December 2, 2008... by Kuban Abdymen BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The guns of state firing squads are today silent in Central Asia. Gulnara Kaliakbarova, a doctor and lawyer, is monitoring that and other reforms in the penal and justice...

VENEZUELA: CHAVEZ REVIVES DEBATE ON PRESIDENTIAL REELECTION.
December 2, 2008... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Ch vez, who has governed the country since 1999, plans to seek reelection until 2019, or even 2021. "You have my authorization to begin a...

RIGHTS-HUNGARY: ACTIVISTS WORK TO REVERSE LAW ON LIFE INMATES.
December 2, 2008... By Zolt n Dujisin BUDAPEST, Hungary, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A Hungarian rights organization is seeking to return the country to the days when all life prisoners had a right to a review of their sentences. The return would give hope...

DEVELOPMENT-LATAM: ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP WINS WITH FOOTBALL.
December 2, 2008... By Dar o Montero MEDELLIN, Colombia, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- An environmental group in Belize was recognized for using football to recruit people into the fight for the protection of local biodiversity. The Economic Commission for...

FRANCE: WORKING IN FAIR TRADE BRINGS MORE REWARDS THAN MONEY.
December 2, 2008... By Hilaire Avril PARIS, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Just like humanitarian relief, fair trade is a field that attracts passionate individuals with complex world views. Most are not in it for the money. They're in their jobs because they...

CANADA: CONCERNS OVER NATIVE RIGHTS CLOUD 2010 OLYMPICS.
December 2, 2008... By Jon Elmer VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A coalition of indigenous elders, social justice activists and community organizers is voicing opposition to the Winter Olympics, promising to continue their protests up...

DEVELOPMENT: GENDER BUDGETING INITIATIVE BRINGS MIXED RESULTS.
December 2, 2008... By Joshua Kyalimpa KAMPALA, Uganda, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A pilot project in gender budgeting is being deemed a success despite the fact not all its goals have been reached. A participant in the pilot project, Jenipher Namugwere,...

HEALTH-AFRICA: U.N. GROUP WORKS TO BREAK CYCLE OF HIV INFECTION.
December 2, 2008... BY Zahira Kharsany JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- According to the United Nations Children's Fund, fewer than one in 10 infants born to HIV-positive mothers in 2007 was tested for HIV within two months of birth. Children and...

DEVELOPMENT: GROUP PUTS FOCUS ON RIGHTS AMID FINANCIAL CRISIS.
December 2, 2008... By IPS Correspondents DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- An international rights coalition called on delegates at the Doha development conference to launch a financial approach based on human rights. For the past three decades,...

ENVIRONMENT-U.S.: BUSH ENACTING DOZENS OF 'DRACONIAN' RULES.
December 2, 2008... By Stephen Leahy UXBRIDGE, Ontario, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The George W. Bush White House is passing new anti-environmental rules and regulations at a furious pace. More than 2 million acres of public wildlands in Wyoming and Utah...

ENVIRONMENT-CUBA: 'FOREST RANGER' LOOKS AFTER HAVANA'S TREES.
December 2, 2008... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Outrage over the butchering of a tree led a Havana man to found a project to teach people how to protect the trees and other nature. "It all began with the cutting of the ceiba,"...

LATIN AMERICA: INDIGENOUS REPORTING PUTS MEDIA IN SOURCE ROLE.
December 2, 2008... Analysis by Diana Cariboni* LA PAZ, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Indigenous journalism seems to be caught in a constant state of tension between activism and professionalism. The problem is that "we are sources and media at the same...

DEVELOPMENT: EXPERTS URGE CREATING NEW FINANCIAL DESIGNS.
December 2, 2008... By IPS Correspondents DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression needs massive, coherent economic stimulus packages that are linked with sustainable development imperatives, top U.N....

Q&A: YOUTHS INVISIBLE UNTIL THEY BECOME PROBLEM, EXPERT SAYS.
December 2, 2008... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Latin American and Caribbean countries with specific laws and policies on young people must move on to concrete actions, international consultant Dina Krauskopf said in an...

RIGHTS-MAURITANIA: AMNESTY REPORTS CRUEL CONDITIONS PERSIST.
December 3, 2008... By Ebrimah Sillah DAKAR, Senegal, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A report released by Amnesty International today details Mauritanian security forces' cruel violations of human rights, poor prison conditions and a judicial system that offers...

ARGENTINA-URUGUAY: DISPUTE STILL SIMMERING BELOW THE SURFACE.
December 3, 2008... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Although things have settled down, the four-year dispute between Argentina and Uruguay over a paper pulp mill on a border river continues to simmer. The biggest...

Q&A: MACHO IS NOT REQUIRED FOR MASCULINITY, PROFESSOR SAYS.
December 3, 2008... by Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The rules for "being a man" that predominate in Latin America include "never saying no" to temptations out on the street, being "macho" -- hanging tough -- no matter what the risks, and...

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: GENDER EQUALITY NEEDS MORE THAN QUOTAS.
December 3, 2008... By Stephanie Nieuwoudt CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The African National Congress' directive to increase the number of women on the party's election lists to 50 percent (up from 30 percent) might actually weaken the...

ENVIRONMENT-AFRICA: EU BANK ACCUSED OF FINANCING DESTRUCTION.
December 3, 2008... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The European Union is financing ecologically and socially destructive projects in Africa, a conference here was told Tuesday. Officially, the Luxembourg-based European...

MALAYSIA: TRIUMPHANT IN COURT, ACTIVIST SEEKS POLITICAL VICTORY.
December 3, 2008... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- After winning a 13-year court battle on charges of maliciously publishing false news, Malaysia's best-known human rights champion is seeking a political career. "I...

ANALYSIS-INDIA: EASING TENSION WITH PAKISTAN WILL BE DIFFICULT.
December 3, 2008... Analysis by Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, India, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the Indian capital Wednesday to try and soothe nerves frayed by last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. She is likely...

POLITICS: MUSLIM-MAJORITY NATIONS BACK STRONGER U.N., POLL FINDS.
December 3, 2008... By Ulrich Knapp UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- People in seven majority Muslim countries favor a more active United Nations with broader powers, according to a new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a global network of research...

U.S.: MIDEAST EXPERTS URGE OBAMA TO QUICKLY ENGAGE IRAN, SYRIA.
December 3, 2008... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama should move quickly to engage Iran without preconditions and to promote an Israeli-Syrian peace accord, according to two veteran...

ENVIRONMENT: HEALTH IS VICTIM OF CLIMATE CHANGE, SCIENTISTS SAY.
December 3, 2008... By Diego Cevallos MRIDA, Mexico, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Cases of malaria, diarrhea and asthma are on the rise around the world because of environmental destruction, researchers reported at a forum here. The diseases kill about 3...

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: MIX OF HOMOPHOBIA, GUNS DEADLY FOR GAYS.
December 3, 2008... By Mario Osava BOGOT , Colombia, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Transgender people suffer violence to a greater extent than gay men and lesbians in Colombia, where armed combatants in the conflicts too often turn prejudice into murder. "We...

DEVELOPMENT: NUCLEAR ENERGY TOUTED FOR FILLING BREAD BASKET.
December 3, 2008... By Sanjay Suri LONDON, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- It could be time to make agriculture more nuclear to increase the world's food supply, atomic energy and agriculture experts have said. A lot of it is, already. Hundreds of millions of...

POLITICS-THAILAND: GOVERNMENT FALLS AS COURT BANS PARTY.
December 3, 2008... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A superior court ordered Tuesday that Thailand's ruling party be dissolved, thus ending the government elected in December 2007. Somchai Wongsawat, the country's 26th...

Q&A: UAW BOSS SAYS UNIONS ARE KEY TO HEALTHY AUTO INDUSTRY.
December 3, 2008... By Bankole Thompson DETROIT, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Ron Gettelfinger, who for six years has been president of the 640,000-member United Auto Workers union, said he favors a bridge loan to U.S. automakers, but not at union members'...

POLITICS: U.N. ASSEMBLY HEAD RECEIVES KUDOS FOR BLASTING ISRAEL.
December 3, 2008... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Pro-Palestinian activists hailed the president of the General Assembly, Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, after he lashed out last week at Israel for its repressive actions in the...

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: NATIONS AGREE ON ZAMBEZI PLAN.
December 3, 2008... By Pilirani Semu-Banda LILONGWE, Malawi, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- If the socio-economic development goals of the eight countries that share the Zambezi River basin are to be met, those countries agreed they should quickly implement plans...

DEVELOPMENT: CIVIL SOCIETY EXPRESSES DISMAY AS DOHA TALKS END.
December 3, 2008... By Ann Ninan DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Reactions from civil society were sharp and swift as the U.N. Financing for Development (FfD) talks drew to a close in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday: "Good but not enough!" "Missed...

LATIN AMERICA: CHANGES IN LAND USE, CHANGES IN CLIMATE.
December 3, 2008... By Emilio Godoy/Tierramrica * MEXICO CITY, Dec. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A regional meeting of an environment coalition resulted in the launch of the International Commission on Land Use Change and Ecosystems. Change in land use was one of...

Q&A-DEVELOPMENT: GCAP LEADER DESCRIBES DOHA WINS, LOSSES.
December 4, 2008... by Miren Gutierrez ROME, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Doha Financing for Development Conference is over, and many are wondering how it went and what really happened. Sylvia Borren, co-chairwoman of the Global Call to Action Against...

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: GOVERNMENT DECLARES CHOLERA EMERGENCY.
December 4, 2008... By Stanley Kwenda HARARE, Zimbabwe, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- With the official death toll at 565, Zimbabwe's government has declared a growing cholera epidemic a national emergency and appealed for international assistance. "Funerals...

FILM-BRAZIL: WATCHING MOVIE BRINGS MAESTRO TO TEARS.
December 4, 2008... By Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Brazilian Maestro Mozart Vieira found the new film about a popular orchestra difficult to watch. The first three times he saw the film he could not watch it through to...

GHANA: AREA AWASH IN GUNS, CLOSE TO TROUBLE, EXPERTS WARN.
December 4, 2008... By Francis Kokutse ACCRA, Ghana, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- It is estimated that there are 8 million small arms in circulation in the West African subregion, and weapons experts are warning of grave consequences for the region's security....

EAST AFRICA: AREA ADVANCES PLAN TO INTEGRATE STOCK EXCHANGES.
December 4, 2008... By Charles Wachira NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Plans are going ahead to integrate the three major exchanges within the East Africa region, namely the Dar es Salaam stock exchange, the Nairobi stock exchange and the Uganda...

AUSTRALIA: HOMELESS WORLD CUP AIMS FOR GOAL OF FEWER TEAMS.
December 4, 2008... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- While the action has been fast and furious among the 56 teams competing in the 2008 Homeless World Cup, the problems associated with homelessness are never too far...

TANZANIA: STUDY FINDS POVERTY PERSISTS DESPITE ECONOMY'S RISING.
December 4, 2008... By Sarah McGregor DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Tanzania is lagging on key development goals even though the east African nation has benefited from a growing economy, according a newly released household budget survey....

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: MORE RURAL AREAS CELEBRATING SANITATION.
December 4, 2008... By Keya Acharya KURUKSHETRA, India, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Sanitation is making progress across India, and villagers are celebrating their achievements. Everywhere there was the seductively deep bass sound of Indian drums as crowds...

ENVIRONMENT: NATIVE PEOPLES OUT IN COLD AT TALKS ON WARMING.
December 4, 2008... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Global efforts to combat climate change will lead nowhere as long as the indigenous peoples' representatives have no say in planning, activists say. They made that statement as...

ENVIRONMENT: CHANGED HABITATS REVITALIZING ZOONOTIC DISEASES.
December 4, 2008... By Diego Cevallos MRIDA, Mexico, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The growing interaction between wild animals and humans and changes in habitats are generating new diseases and reviving old ones, experts at a global forum here have said. ...

CHILE: SALMON WORKERS THREATEN TO GO HUNGRY IF NO AID GIVEN.
December 4, 2008... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Workers in Chile's salmon industry are demanding that the national government grant assistance to thousands of workers who have been laid off due to the sanitary crisis...

ECONOMY-ENVIRONMENT: COMPANIES WARNED TO GO GREEN OR FAIL.
December 4, 2008... By Wolfgang Kerler NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- If companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector do not implement sustainable environmental strategies, their earnings could be cut in half by 2018, according to a future...

RIGHTS: 'STAIN OF TORTURE' CASTS SHADOW ON U.S. AND IRAQ.
December 4, 2008... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A new United Nations report charged that Iraqi authorities were committing "grave human rights violations" in their treatment of thousands of detainees. The report came as a group...

MIGRATION: DUAL CITIZENSHIP BEDEVILING CARIBBEAN POLITICS.
December 4, 2008... By Peter Richards KINGSTON, Jamaica, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Jamaica-based Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) released a new study on problems arising in Caribbean nations because of the widespread practice of disqualifying...

DR CONGO: WORLD'S GREED, INDIFFERENCE CITED IN RAPE EPIDEMIC.
December 4, 2008... By Stephen Leahy TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Activists blamed international lust for mineral and resource riches, abetted by international indifference, for the widespread incidence of rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo....

CUBA: COASTAL DWELLERS TO MOVE WHERE HURRICANES HURT LESS.
December 4, 2008... By Dalia Acosta SANTA CRUZ DEL SUR, Cuba, Dec. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- In the wake of three hurricanes raking the island in less than a year, Cuban authorities have decided to move people inland. Most of the people in the worst-affected...

CLIMATE CHANGE-CHILE: BACHELET'S PLAN DISAPPOINTS ACTIVISTS.
December 5, 2008... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Chilean government's 2008-2012 National Climate Change Action Plan presented by President Michelle Bachelet failed to satisfy local environmental and citizen groups. ...

ZIMBABWE: ALLOWING IVORY SALES RILES ANIMAL-RIGHTS ACTIVIST.
December 5, 2008... By Stanley Kwenda HARARE, Zimbabwe, Dec. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The decision to again allow some southern African countries to conduct one-time ivory sales has been attacked by an animal rights activist. The activist said elephants are...

Q&A-RIGHTS: OMBUDSMAN ANSWERS CRITICISMS OF SLOVAK PRISONS.
December 5, 2008... BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, Dec. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- More experts should become engaged in helping long-term prisoners prepare for their eventual return to society, Pavel Kandrac said. Kandrac, Slovakia's parliamentary-elected ombudsman, said...

ZAMBIA: RISING ABUSE OF WOMEN HOLDS NATION BACK, ACTIVISTS SAY.
December 5, 2008... By Danstan Kaunda LUSAKA, Zambia, Dec. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Gender activists are sounding the alarm about the increasing violence against women in Zambia and the negative effect it has on the nation. "There will be no peace, security...

POLITICS-THAILAND: KING'S POOR HEALTH ADDS TO NATIONAL GLOOM.
December 5, 2008... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- After months of national turmoil, the people of Thailand were looking forward to a happy annual tradition from their king, but it didn't happen. During his more than...

SRI LANKA: TROPICAL STORM DAMAGES MUCH OF WAR-TORN AREA.
December 5, 2008... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Tropical Storm Nisha left behind death and destruction when it struck northern Sri Lanka in the last week of November. The only good thing about the storm was that it...

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: WARRING SIDES PLAN RETURN TO TABLE.
December 5, 2008... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations is trying again to bring peace to war-torn Central African Republic as the government and the opposition were set to hold another round of negotiations starting...

DEVELOPMENT: RICHEST NATIONS STINGIEST ON GROWTH, REPORT SAYS.
December 5, 2008... By Wolfgang Kerler UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- As the biggest economy in the world, the United States is hardly living up to its potential to promote global prosperity and boost development in poor countries, according to the...

HEALTH-LATIN AMERICA: WOMEN LEAD FIGHTS AGAINST EPIDEMICS.
December 5, 2008... By Diego Cevallos MRIDA, Mexico, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The achievements of women involved in the field of "ecohealth" were celebrated here during the Dec. 1-5 International Ecohealth Forum 2008, Two of the women serve as examples....

U.S.: MUMBAI MASSACRE SEEN AS MAJOR BLOW TO REGIONAL STRATEGY.
December 5, 2008... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A week after the massacre of more than 170 people by armed militants in Mumbai, U.S. officials are scrambling to prevent the incident from blowing up into a full-fledged confrontation...

COLOMBIA: 'HUMAN BEINGS ARE THE PROBLEM' IN WEATHER DISASTERS.
December 5, 2008... By Helda Mart nez BOGOTA, Colombia, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The lack of policies against indiscriminate deforestation in river basins, in synergy with the rainy season, has had devastating effects in Colombia. Adding to the misery is...

DISARMAMENT: NEW TREATY BANS WEAPONS VICTIMIZING CIVILIANS.
December 5, 2008... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- On Thursday in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, 94 nations signed a new treaty banning cluster bombs. But diplomats think it is unlikely to solve existing problems with the...