Interpress Service articles from February 2009

Interpress Service archives from February 2009

ZIMBABWE: TEACHERS' STRIKE HITS KIDS' RIGHT TO LEARN, UNION SAYS.
February 2, 2009... By Stanley Kwenda HARARE, Zimbabwe, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The crisis of Zimbabwe's education sector is deepening by the day, as the country's schools remain closed due to the unremitting teachers strike. The ongoing strike is...

U.S.-IRAQ: GENERALS SEEK TO REVERSE OBAMA WITHDRAWAL DECISION.
February 2, 2009... By Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to abandon his campaign pledge to withdraw all...

JAPAN: NEW 24-HOUR ENGLISH NEWS CHANNEL JOINS GLOBAL LINEUP.
February 2, 2009... By Catherine Makino TOKYO, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Determined to tell its own story to the world, Japan on Monday launched its own 24-hour English-language TV news channel -- NHK World TV. Japan now becomes a member of a club of...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ISRAELIS WONDER WHAT GAZA ASSAULT ACHIEVED.
February 2, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Just over a week before they go to the polls, Israelis are in a grim mood. The gloom is fed by the leading candidates, all of whom are seeking to outdo...

MIDEAST: AID WORKER TELLS WHAT SHE SAW IN GAZA, THEN AND NOW.
February 2, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As fears rise of renewed violence in Gaza, Elena Qleibo, a French-Costa Rican aid worker from Oxfam, gives IPS a firsthand account of surviving Israel's three-week bombardment...

RIGHTS: EUROPEANS CLAMOR FOR PUTTING GEORGE W. BUSH ON TRIAL.
February 2, 2009... By Julio Godoy BERLIN, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Now that George W. Bush is no longer president, many legal and rights activists in Europe are demanding that he and high-ranking members of his government be brought to justice for crimes...

BALKANS: SERBS SAY MONEY'S NO REASON TO BREAK CODE OF SILENCE.
February 2, 2009... By Vesna Peric Zimonjic BELGRADE, Serbia, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A survey shows that two-thirds of Serbs would not tip off the police about seeing Ratko Mladic, indicted on war crimes, despite the million euros reward. The results...

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: ASSEMBLY AGREES TO PLAN OF GLOBAL ACTION.
February 2, 2009... By Alejandro Kirk BELEM, Brazil, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The World Social Forum ended its ninth edition Sunday in Belm with the adoption of dozens of resolutions and proposals to be the subjects of mobilizations around the world in 2009....

ECONOMY: CHINA SENDING BARRAGE OF WARNINGS ON PROTECTIONISM.
February 2, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Feb. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- China is worried that the lingering financial crisis could unleash a spiral of protectionist policies across the globe, which could further dent its trade-dependent economy. ...

Q&A: CRISIS IN ECONOMY COULD LEAD TO 'REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE'.
February 2, 2009... by Gustavo Capdevila ZURICH, Switzerland, Feb. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As the economic crisis bites deeper, a revolutionary outcome may be possible, in the view of French academic Alain Bihr. Everything depends on people's capacity for...

ANALYSIS-IRAQ: ELECTIONS COULD BE TELLING SIGNPOST OF RECOVERY.
February 2, 2009... Analysis by Dahr Jamail BAGHDAD, Feb. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- After strong polling for the provincial elections Saturday, Iraqis are looking out for new signposts of political recovery from the U.S.-led invasion and occupation. Polling...

FINANCE: MOST CITIZENS KEPT IN DARK ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING.
February 2, 2009... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The vast majority of the world's governments effectively deny citizens basic information they need to understand how public monies are being spent, according to a report released here...

ECONOMY-JAPAN: MELTDOWN PROMPTS CASH INFLUX TO BOOST ASIA.
February 2, 2009... By Catherine Makino TOKYO, Jan. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Saturday that Japan will provide $17 billion worth of aid to stimulate Asia's economies. ...

MEDIA-U.S.: GAZA COVERAGE ECHOES GOVERNMENT SUPPORT OF ISRAEL.
February 2, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- U.S. television coverage of the recent three-week conflict in the Gaza Strip failed to tell both sides of the story, according to a number of media analysts. The most recent...

SOMALIA: MODERATE LEADER RETURNS TO POWER AS REBELS ADVANCE.
February 2, 2009... By Najum Mushtaq NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A rare sense of optimism rose in Mogadishu, Somalia, in the early hours of Jan. 31 as people learned the leader of a moderate faction of the Union of Islamic Courts, Sheikh Sharif...

INDIA: SOCIAL FORUM MUST ADDRESS TERRORISM, MUMBAI INSISTS.
February 2, 2009... By Sandhya Srinivasan MUMBAI, India, Jan. 31, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Civil society in this port city, victim of the Nov. 26-29 terrorist attacks and host to the 2004 World Social Forum, has one question to ask -- will the movement seriously...

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: DAVOS GATHERING DRAWS FIRE FOR CRISIS.
February 2, 2009... By Gustavo Capdevila DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 30, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- One of the few indicators on the rise at this time of economic and financial crisis is the level of repudiation expressed about those responsible for the disaster, and...

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: LATIN LEADERS SAY FEMINIST SOCIALISM RISING.
February 2, 2009... By Mario Osava BELM, Brazil, Jan. 30, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- "True socialism is feminist," and is already being built, said Venezuelan President Hugo Ch vez at a dialogue that took place Thursday at the World Social Forum. Chavez made his...

ANALYSIS-U.S.: OBAMA TAKES HANDS-ON APPROACH TO MIDEAST.
February 2, 2009... Analysis by Helena Cobban* WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- During the three weeks of the Israel-Gaza war, then President-elect Barack Obama vowed he would be ready to engage on the Palestinian question "on Day One" of his...

ZIMBABWE: OPPOSITION BITES BULLET, JOINS UNITY GOVERNMENT.
February 2, 2009... By Ephraim Nsingo HARARE, Zimbabwe, Jan. 30, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The spirits of a nation were lifted when Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main section of the Movement for Democratic Change, declared his party would enter a unity government...

SRI LANKA: TAMILS SEE PEACE COMING, BUT DOUBT IT WILL LAST.
February 4, 2009... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As Sri Lanka celebrates 61 years of independence from British colonial rule Wednesday, the enthusiasm is not shared by minority Tamils living under military rule in the...

Q&A: RIGHTS ACTIVIST TALKS OF ABDUCTEES, HATE ON THE INTERNET.
February 4, 2009... by Catherine Makino TOKYO, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Rabbi Abraham Cooper, one of the world's leading human rights activists, often speaks on the subject of hate. He is an international authority on issues related to digital hate over the...

RIGHTS-MIDEAST: COURT INVESTIGATING ISRAELI WAR CRIMES CHARGES.
February 4, 2009... By Daniel Luban NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The International Criminal Court in The Hague announced a preliminary investigation Tuesday into whether Israel committed war crimes during the recent Gaza war. The announcement came...

ANALYSIS-U.S.: GOALS SHIFT AMID PLAN TO RAMP UP IN AFGHANISTAN.
February 4, 2009... Analysis by Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Even as U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to deploy more military forces to Afghanistan -- what he has called "the central front" in former President George W. Bush's "global...

COLOMBIA: CIVILIAN HOSTAGES REMAINING IN CAPTIVITY 1 EXTRA DAY.
February 4, 2009... By Constanza Vieira* BOGOTA, Colombia, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Alan Jara, the former governor of the central province of Meta, was released by Colombian guerrillas on Tuesday, instead of Monday as originally scheduled. Former...

RIGHTS-U.S.: GROUP FINDS RACIST IDEOLOGY IN ANTI-IMMIGRANT LOBBY.
February 4, 2009... By Ben Case NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Southern Poverty Law Center said Tuesday that its research has connected three mainstream U.S. anti-immigration groups to racist ideas. Its new report said the personal papers of John...

CARIBBEAN: INSURANCE CONGLOMERATE LINES UP FOR BAILOUT.
February 4, 2009... By Peter Richards PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- When it opened its doors to the public in 1936, the Colonial Life Insurance Co. (CLICO) adopted the motto: "Give a man value, give a man service, and he will support...

MIDEAST: U.N. SEEKS MONEY TO HELP GAZANS EMERGE FROM ASHES.
February 4, 2009... By Mirela Xanthaki UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations is urgently appealing for $613 million to aid more than a million desperate civilians in the ruins of the Gaza Strip. Over 1,300 Palestinians were killed...

MEDIA-SOUTH AFRICA: PUSH IS ON FOR MORE PUBLIC IN BROADCASTER.
February 4, 2009... By Stephanie Nieuwoudt CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A powerful coalition of civic organizations is calling for an overhaul of the legal framework of the South African Broadcasting Corp. (SABC) to force it to fulfill...

Q&A: SOUTH AFRICA 'IN DIRE SITUATION,' WATER-USE EXPERT DECLARES.
February 4, 2009... By Kristin Palitza JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Environmental experts warn that one of the first effects of climate change will be scarcity of water, especially in the African continent. Already-depleted water...

EDUCATION-ZAMBIA: NEW SCHOOLS BRING LEARNING TO POOR KIDS.
February 4, 2009... By Danstan Kaunda LUSAKA, Zambia, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The community school movement in Zambia is giving tens of thousands of children a chance to learn. "My mother has no job, and she cannot afford the cost of educating me and...

CLIMATE CHANGE: AMAZON'S RUIN UNDERMINES BRAZIL'S LEADERSHIP.
February 4, 2009... By Mario Osava /Tierramrica * RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Brazilian government, and its Environment Ministry in particular, accepted a risky bet by agreeing to voluntary goals for curbing deforestation in the Amazon,...

RIGHTS-U.S.: STUDY CHALLENGES CLAIMS OF GUANTANAMO RECIDIVISM.
February 4, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A prominent law professor said the U.S. Defense Department is issuing questionable data on the number of Guantanamo detainees who have been released "and then returned to the...

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: KASHMIR CONFLICT HAS ANIMALS ON LOSING SIDE.
February 5, 2009... By Athar Parvaiz SRINAGAR, India, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Decades of separatist militancy and the armed forces' response to it in Indian Kashmir, and other human activity, have exacerbated dangers posed to the state's wildlife. ...

RIGHTS: AUSTRALIA'S BIRTHDAY DATE DISTRESSES INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.
February 5, 2009... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- On Jan. 26, Australians celebrate the founding of the first colony more than 200 years ago, but that date is viewed by many indigenous activists as the anniversary of...

IRAQ: GRAVEDIGGERS HAVE LOST COUNT OF DEAD, SO HAVE LEADERS.
February 5, 2009... By Dahr Jamail BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Amid soaring unemployment in Iraq, gravediggers have been busy. So busy that officials have no record of the number of graves dug; of the real death toll, that is. "I've been...

ANALYSIS-TURKEY: ISRAEL'S GAZA ATTACK PUTS FRIENDSHIP IN PERIL.
February 5, 2009... Analysis by Hilmi Toros ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- For decades, isolated Israel could count Turkey as its only Muslim friend, if not ally, in the tumultuous Middle East. After Israel's assault on Gaza, that friendship is...

EUROPE: ABBAS SPEAKS TO EU AS IT RETHINKS POLICE PACT WITH ISRAEL.
February 5, 2009... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas strongly condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza in a formal address to the European Parliament on Feb. 4. His speech came as a...

COLOMBIA: NEWLY FREED HOSTAGE CALLS FOR PEACE NEGOTIATIONS.
February 5, 2009... By Constanza Vieira* BOGOT , Colombia, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- On Tuesday, Alan Jara became the latest hostage to be freed as a goodwill gesture by insurgents. Jara had been held more than seven-and-a-half years as their captive in...

POLITICS-U.S.: HAWKS URGE CONGRESS TO BOOST MILITARY SPENDING.
February 5, 2009... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite a shrinking national economy and a record defense budget, U.S. neo-conservatives and other right-wing hawks are mounting a spirited -- if misleading -- campaign to persuade...

POLITICS: U.N. CHIEF PREPARING HIS OWN INQUIRY INTO GAZA BOMBING.
February 5, 2009... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to announce soon the formation of an independent international team to investigate the bombing of a U.N. compound in the Gaza Strip....

Q&A: LAWYER FIGHTS TO FREE THOSE FOUND 'GUILTY' OF BEING GAY.
February 5, 2009... by Christi van der Westhuizen CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Feb. 3 (IPS/GIN) -- In 2003, Alice Nkom made a decision that has put her on a collision course with the police, prosecutors and judges of Cameroon. Nkom, who has been an attorney...

ENERGY: INVENTION LETS SHIPS THROTTLE ENGINES, HOIST PARASAIL.
February 5, 2009... By Maricel Drazer/Tierramrica* DSSELDORF, Germany, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Work to harness wind power has led to a new way to move ships -- by parasail. The technique, developed in Germany, is powerful enough to move today's...

ECONOMY-CANADA: LACK OF STIMULUS IN BUDGET BRINGS OUT CRITICS.
February 5, 2009... By Paul Weinberg TORONTO, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Canada's reluctance to institute a full stimulus package in the recent federal government budget has international parallels, said Armine Yalnizyan, a senior economist at the Canadian...

RIGHTS-U.S.: SUPREME COURT CASE WILL TEST OBAMA'S PLEDGES.
February 5, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- In what promises to be the first major test of the Barack Obama Administration's new approach to the rule of law, the Supreme Court will soon hear what could be one of the most...

ENVIRONMENT: STUDY SPREADS BLAME FOR COLLAPSING FISH STOCKS.
February 5, 2009... By Stephen Leahy SAN DIEGO, Calif., Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Every national government with a fishing fleet has dramatically failed to manage fisheries in a responsible manner, a new study reveals. The finding comes on top of experts'...

ECONOMY: GREECE IN SHAKIEST CONDITION, EU FIGURES SHOW.
February 5, 2009... By Apostolis Fotiadis ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The financial meltdown has finally visited Greece. European Commission figures leave no space for political maneuvering by the Greek government, the usual way to deal with EC...

BURMA: BAN'S VISIT CALLED WORTHLESS UNLESS PRISONERS ARE FREED.
February 5, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Feb. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A U.N. special envoy ended his seventh visit to Burma this week facing a tall order: Secure freedom for some 2,100 political prisoners in the military-ruled country as...

CAMBODIA: CHEVRON SILENT IN BRIBERY INVESTIGATION.
February 6, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- U.S. energy giant Chevron is under fire for failing to answer questions about how much it paid to secure rights to drill for offshore oil in corruption-ridden Cambodia....

WEST AFRICA: BANS DO LITTLE TO STEM FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.
February 6, 2009... By Mercedes Sayagues PRETORIA, South Africa, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Laws against female genital mutilation are driving the practice underground and across borders, UNIFEM said. A study released in 2008 looked at the flow of girls...

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: DEATHS IN JAIL REVIVE CALLS FOR POLICE REFORMS.
February 6, 2009... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The death of a young man in police custody and the torture of another in a police lockup, in recent weeks, have shocked Malaysians and revived calls for an oversight...

TRADE-UGANDA: ECO-FRIENDLY BURIAL CLOTH TAKES ON NEW LIFE.
February 6, 2009... By Wambi Michael KAMPALA, Uganda, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Bark cloth, a fabric historically used in Uganda to wrap the dead before burial, is making a comeback in the form of trendy crafts, clothing and household goods. The cloth,...

ENVIRONMENT: EU BODY PROPOSES PROTECTING SHARKS FROM HUMANS.
February 6, 2009... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has put forward an action plan designed to protect sharks. Humans pose a far greater danger to sharks than...

INDIA-PAKISTAN: ARTISTS PUT VIEWS OF PARTITION ON CANVAS, FILM.
February 6, 2009... By Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- With national boundaries continually being redrawn, it's time to deal with the reality of partitions and "make peace with our partitioned selves," said Hammad Nasar, a banker...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ISRAELI FAR-RIGHT PARTY SWELLS AHEAD OF VOTE.
February 6, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Just days before Israel's general election, the three front-running parties have been joined by an anti-establishment surge from the far right that has...

MIDEAST: REVELATION OF SETTLEMENT PLAN RAISES DOUBTS ON PEACE.
February 6, 2009... By Daan Bauwens TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- In violation of the Road Map to Peace agreed with the United States, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak agreed to the construction of another settlement in the West Bank,...

POLITICS: ISRAEL, IRAN, PAKISTAN AMONG LEAST-POPULAR NATIONS.
February 6, 2009... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Israel, Iran, North Korea and Pakistan are widely seen as exerting the most negative influence on world affairs, according to the latest in a series of annual global surveys by the BBC's...

ANALYSIS-U.S.: IRANIANS ADOPT WAIT AND SEE STANCE ON CHANGE.
February 6, 2009... Analysis by Farideh Farhi* HONOLULU, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- "We are not satisfied with [U.S. President Barack] Obama's actions since they have not been in line with claims of change -- although we are not without hope either." ...

ZIMBABWE: OBAMA CAUTIOUS ABOUT STAND ON POWER-SHARING DEAL.
February 6, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The new administration of President Barack Obama said it will look for concrete change in the way Zimbabwe is governed before deciding U.S. policy on the power-sharing deal between...

RIGHTS-U.S.: DON'T FORGET CHILDREN OF GUANTANAMO, ACTIVISTS SAY.
February 6, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Legal experts and human rights advocates are challenging the public to remember Guantanamo's "child soldiers" when the detainees there are characterized as "the worst of the worst." ...

ECONOMY-U.S.: ADVOCACY GROUPS FEAR NEW WAVE OF HOMELESS.
February 6, 2009... By Jonathan Springston ATLANTA, Feb. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Advocates for the homeless in the United States say if Congress and the Barack Obama Administration do nothing, many more low-income people could end up living on the streets over...

RIGHTS-CHINA: OPPOSITION REPORT TO U.N. DISPUTES STATE'S VIEWS.
February 9, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- When China's human rights record comes up for review before a key United Nations panel on Monday, this nominally communist country will have two contrasting accounts of its human...

SRI LANKA: AMID CIVIL WAR, GOVERNMENT APPEARS TO TARGET MEDIA.
February 9, 2009... By Paranjoy Guha Thakurta* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Sri Lanka's ruling establishment has become increasingly intolerant toward the island country's independent media. Whereas the government has accused certain...

TRADE: FINANCIAL CRISIS CREATES PUSH, AND DRAG, ON DOHA ROUND.
February 9, 2009... By Annelise Sander GENEVA, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- With the current economic crisis, questions are being asked about the viability of further liberalization as envisaged in the Doha Round at the World Trade Organization. In...

PAKISTAN: CIVILIANS ON CONSTANT ALERT IN FEAR OF U.S. DRONES.
February 9, 2009... By Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. military's continued use of drone attacks has made residents along the Afghan border angry and fearful that changes in Washington won't alter their situation. On...

HEALTH-ARGENTINA: ERADICATION EFFORTS FADING AGAINST CHAGAS.
February 9, 2009... By Sebasti n Lacunza /Tierramrica * BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Feb. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- After two years of the government health program "Argentina justa, Argentina sin Chagas" (Fair Argentina, Chagas-Free Argentina) the fight against the...

COLOMBIA: FREED HOSTAGE REPORTS FARC KILLED 11 CAPTIVES.
February 9, 2009... By Constanza Vieira BOGOT , Colombia, Feb. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Former lawmaker Sigifredo Lcentspez spoke about the fate of the 11 colleagues kidnapped with him almost seven years ago. They were murdered, he said. "Why did they kill...

ECONOMY: SOUTH AFRICA LOOKS FOR GERMANY'S HELP ON WORLD CUP.
February 9, 2009... By Julio Godoy BERLIN, Feb. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As the building of new soccer stadiums and transport infrastructure in South Africa steams ahead, little seems to have come of the agreed assistance by the host of the 2006 FIFA World Cup,...

TRADE: AFRICANS IN GROWING CONFLICT WITH EU ON REVIEW OF PACT.
February 9, 2009... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Feb. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Brussels officials have rejected calls from three southern African governments for a reassessment of a new trade accord with the European Union. In January, South Africa,...

POVERTY: CASH TRANSFERS TRANSFORM LIVES OF MALAWI'S POOR.
February 9, 2009... By Pilirani Semu-Banda LILONGWE, Malawi, Feb. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Malawi has taken major strides toward reducing poverty and hunger in the country. The government's cash transfer scheme has managed to reach many of those usually...

ZIMBABWE: CIVIL SOCIETY OPPOSES PATHWAY TO NEW CONSTITUTION.
February 9, 2009... By Stanley Kwenda HARARE, Zimbabwe, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Zimbabwean civil society is challenging the process for drafting a new constitution prescribed in the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which frames the country's power-sharing...

CHILE: SEARCH FOR BIOFUEL MATERIALS HEADS INTO FORESTS.
February 9, 2009... By Daniela Estrada /Tierramrica * SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Chile has set its sights on producing second-generation plant-based fuels from forest biomass within the next five years. But before that it must consider the...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN TRUCE REMAINS SHAKY.
February 9, 2009... Analysis by Helena Cobban* WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The tandem un-negotiated ceasefires that Israel and Hamas announced Jan. 18 across the Gaza-Israel front line remain fragile. Local and international efforts to...

Q&A: SANITATION IS BECOMING A SOCIAL MOVEMENT, U.N. EXPERT SAYS.
February 9, 2009... Nergui Manalsuren interviews Therese Dooley UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- While 2008 -- declared by the U.N. as the "International Year of Sanitation" -- passed with 2.6 billion people still living without basic facilities,...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: HAMAS LIKELY TO BE A FACTOR OVER LONG TERM.
February 9, 2009... Analysis by Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, Feb. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite intensive efforts by Israel, the international community and a number of Arab leaders to weaken and destroy Hamas, the Islamist organization continues to be a force to...

RUSSIA: MIGRANT WORKERS PAID IN 'VIOLENCE AND EXPLOITATION'.
February 10, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Migrant construction workers in Russia face widespread abuse by their employers, said a Human Rights Watch report released Tuesday. Those abuses include withholding wages,...

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: WORKERS PLACE HOPES IN NATIONAL BUDGET.
February 10, 2009... By Nazeem Dramat JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Feb. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Poor communities, the unemployed and workers will be hanging on Trevor Manuel's every word when South Africa's minister of finance delivers his 13th budget speech on...

CULTURE: ARTISTS PRESENT VIEWS ON LIFE IN PARTITIONED NATIONS.
February 10, 2009... By Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Collaborative and individual works from Pakistani, Indian and Britain-based artists are popping up like spring flowers to explore identities and issues arising from partitions...

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: OPPOSITION LOSES STATE, CLAIMS MORAL WIN.
February 10, 2009... By Anil Netto IPOH, Perak, Feb. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The state of Perak, peninsular Malaysia's second largest, is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. Embattled chief minister Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin has engaged in a battle of...

POLITICS-U.S.: PETRAEUS LEAKED DECEPTIVE STORY ON PULLOUT PLANS.
February 10, 2009... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The political maneuvering between President Barack Obama and his top field commanders over withdrawal from Iraq has taken a sudden new turn with the leak by CENTCOM commander...

RIGHTS-U.S.: CLAIM OF 'STATE SECRETS' PRIVILEGE NOT GONE WITH BUSH.
February 10, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- President Barack Obama has cast doubt on his promise to put an end to secret government by allowing his Justice Department to follow a path frequently taken by his predecessor. ...

MEDIA: U.N. PRESS CORPS PROTEST IDEA OF HAVING TO RENT OFFICES.
February 10, 2009... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Every U.N. secretary-general since 1946 believed in the concept of a free press -- including rent-free offices to journalists covering the United Nations. But that may change if...

Q&A: GENDER ACTIVIST SEES 'OPPORTUNITY TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY'.(Interview)
February 10, 2009... By Stanley Kwenda HARARE, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As Zimbabwe's government of national unity begins its work, gender activists are pushing for a greater place for women in decision-making. The early signs are not promising -- the...

U.S.-MIDEAST: ANTI-HAMAS POLICIES CONFOUND RECOVERY IN GAZA.
February 10, 2009... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite a desperate need to rebuild the Gaza Strip, it appears the United States and the international community are poised to continue policies against the governing Hamas that will...