Interpress Service articles from January 2009

Interpress Service archives from January 2009

EL SALVADOR: 14 YEAR OLD MURDER CASE BEARS DEATH SQUAD MARKINGS.
January 2, 2009... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Jan. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A court ordered El Salvador to comply with its sentence in the murder of businessman Mauricio Garc a Prieto and to end government agents' threats and...

ARGENTINA: ECOCLUBS DRAW YOUTHS INTO GREEN LEADERSHIP.
January 2, 2009... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Jan. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Ecoclubs are a growing movement that shows young people a path to getting involved in the environment and their communities. "We try to promote change in our...

HEALTH-AFRICA: STUDY URGES MAXIMIZING BENEFITS OF AIDS FUNDING.
January 2, 2009... By Rosemary Okello* NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Significant new investments in the fight against the AIDS pandemic could have positive impacts on broader health systems in Africa if governments handle them right, a report...

POLITICS-BANGLADESH: EX-PRIME MINISTER WINS SECOND CHANCE.
January 2, 2009... Analysis by Farid Ahmed DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- With her stunning landslide victory, Prime Minister-elect Sheikh Hasina Wajed has a second opportunity to put the ghosts of the past to rest and release Bangladesh from a...

LABOR-SRI LANKA: ANALYSTS SEE GLOOMY PROSPECTS FOR NEW YEAR.
January 2, 2009... By Feizal Samath COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- If the global financial crisis slams the brakes on worker remittances from the Middle East, Sri Lanka's top foreign exchange earner, it could severely intensify this country's...

ENVIRONMENT-CAMBODIA: BIG DAM ACROSS MEKONG BACK IN PLANS.
January 2, 2009... By Andrew Nette PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Jan. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Phnom Penh is moving ahead with a dam that would block the entire width of the Mekong River at Sambor, Kratie province, in central Cambodia. It has been a long held plan...

MIDEAST: MEDIA BANNED FROM GAZA AS HUMANITARIAN CRISIS GROWS.
January 2, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 31, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Israel was again preventing journalists from entering Gaza to report firsthand on the escalating crisis there as its military operation entered its fifth day. Israel...

MIDEAST: ISRAEL SEEMS TO BE LOOKING TO SILENCE HAMAS FOREVER.
January 2, 2009... By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Dec. 31, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- This is the most senseless of all the wars that Palestinians and Israelis have fought, said Israeli President Shimon Peres. The futility, he suggests, stems...

MIDEAST: ANGER TARGETS EGYPT IN WAKE OF ISRAELI MOVE ON GAZA.
January 2, 2009... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. 31, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- As the Palestinian death toll approached 400, much of the popular anger throughout the Arab world has been directed at Egypt -- seen by many as complicit in...

NEPAL: LACK OF REBEL ARMY INTEGRATION SNAGS PEACE PROCESS.
January 5, 2009... By Renu Kshetry KATMANDU, Nepal, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Two years after Maoist fighters put aside their arms and agreed to place themselves in U.N.-monitored camps, the issue of integrating them into the regular Nepal army as part of a...

GREECE: WORKERS SEEKING RIGHTS FACE CRIMINAL PERILS, UNIONS SAY.
January 5, 2009... By Apostolis Fotiadis ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- One immigrant's case illustrates the dangers workers face when they try to unionize, Greek labor leaders say. Around midnight on Dec. 22, Decheva Elena Kuneva, a Bulgarian...

ANALYSIS-EUROPE: CZECH'S EU PRESIDENCY PROMISES CONTROVERSY.
January 5, 2009... Analysis by Zolt n Dujisin BUDAPEST, Hungary, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The rotating EU presidency has been taken over for the first half of the year by a country with a president who may refuse to sign the EU Treaty, and with a weak...

HEALTH-MALAYSIA: IDEA OF FORCED HIV TESTING CAUSES UPROAR.
January 5, 2009... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A raging debate over mandatory HIV screening has exposed fear and ignorance within the government, AIDS activists say. The debate comes despite years of awareness...

MIDEAST: ISRAELI GROUND TROOPS INVADE GAZA; CEASEFIRE BLOCKED.
January 5, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Israel launched a ground incursion into Gaza late Saturday night, ending a week of speculation whether a ground assault would follow a week's intensive bombardment of Gaza from...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ISRAEL GAINS SURETY IN FIGHT FOR LEGITIMACY.
January 5, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Jan. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Israel launched the second half of its war against Hamas in Gaza self-assured that it had already secured two central components of the war: the...

LABOR-INDIA: HOME FOR OUTSOURCED JOBS FACING STAFF CUTBACKS.
January 5, 2009... By Keya Acharya BANGALORE, India, Jan. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The global recession appears likely to cost this information technology hub at least 50,000 jobs. The Union of Information Technology Enabled Services (UNITES) Professionals,...

MIDEAST: AMNESTY CALLS ON RICE TO DROP 'LOPSIDED' STANCE.
January 5, 2009... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. section of Amnesty International sent an "urgent" letter Friday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calling on her to end what it called Washington's "lopsided response" to the...

IRAN: ACTIVIST WANTS TO SHOW DIFFERENT VIEW OF IRANIAN WOMEN.(Conference news)
January 5, 2009... by Omid Memarian BERKELEY, Calif., Jan. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. government's calls for civil society to work for "regime change" in Iran has increased pressure on activists engaged in a peaceful process of improving their society and...

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: YOUNG AND POOR FILL POLICE-SHOOTING LISTS.
January 6, 2009... By Sebasti n Lacunza BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- In the last 25 years, Argentina has racked up a total of 2,557 deaths from abuses in police stations and prisons, summary executions or trigger-happy police, according...

PERU: LAW LETS FOREIGN DRUG MULES SERVE SENTENCES AT HOME.
January 6, 2009... By Angel P ez LIMA, Peru, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Two women from the Netherlands accused of trying to smuggle 7 pounds of cocaine out of Peru may be able to serve out their sentences in their own country. Yorleth Metz, 26, and Yokati...

SOUTHERN AFRICA: FUNDS FOR WATER PROJECTS FLOW AWAY.
January 6, 2009... By Moses Magadza WINDHOEK, Namibia, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Nearly $9 million of donor aid intended to support transboundary water management projects in southern Africa was diverted elsewhere after governments in the region failed to...

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: FAMILIES AWAIT GUANTANAMO DETAINEES' RETURN.
January 6, 2009... By Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Pakistanis are reacting to numerous media reports regarding the possible closure of the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison run by the United States in east Cuba soon after...

POLITICS: OBAMA'S SILENCE ON GAZA CRISIS SPURS TALK.
January 6, 2009... By Daniel Luban WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As U.S. President-elect Barack Obama settles into Washington, he and his incoming administration remain silent about the intensifying crisis in the Gaza Strip. Obama's silence,...

MIDEAST: CIVILIANS EVACUATE GAZA HOMES AS CRISIS INTENSIFIES.
January 6, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Civilians are fleeing their homes as Israel continues to blanket-bomb a now-encircled Gaza. So far 145 Palestinians have been killed in just the ground invasion that was...

POLITICS-RUSSIA: GAS WAR BREAKS OUT WITH UKRAINE.
January 6, 2009... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Disputes over gas supply from Russia to Europe have again taken on a political dimension. After Ukraine failed last week to negotiate a new price for Russian gas and to pay more...

INDIA: NEW ELECTED LEADER BRINGS HOPE FOR PEACE IN KASHMIR.
January 6, 2009... By Athar Parvaiz SRINAGAR, India, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As tensions brew between India and Pakistan, a newly elected provincial government, has taken over the reins in Jammu and Kashmir -- a territory whose ownership has long been...

MIDEAST: U.N. DIPLOMATS EXPRESS FRUSTRATION AT GAZA IMPASSE.
January 6, 2009... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Disappointed with the Security Council's inaction regarding the worsening situation in Gaza, diplomats from numerous nations of the global South are close to taking the case of...

U.S.: NETWORKS' WORLD NEWS COVERAGE AT RECORD LOW IN 2008.
January 6, 2009... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite two wars involving more than 200,000 U.S. troops and a global economic crisis, foreign-related news coverage by the three major U.S. television networks fell to a record low during...

FILM: MASSACRE IN 1982 RENDERED VIA DARK, DISTORTED LENS.
January 6, 2009... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Ari Folman's new animated documentary detailing Israeli involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacre sheds new light on the Israeli side of that conflict, as well as the one unfolding...

ECONOMY-BRAZIL: ANALYSTS EXPECT RELATIVE STABILITY AMID CHAOS.
January 6, 2009... By Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- There are many indications Brazil will remain largely safe from the recession shaking the world's rich countries and that economic growth will stay at reasonable levels if...

ANALYSIS-POLITICS: BUSH PLAN ERASED OBSTACLE TO GAZA ASSAULT.
January 6, 2009... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Until mid-2007, there was a serious political obstacle to a massive conventional war by Israel against Hamas in Gaza: the fact that Hamas had won free and fair elections for...

INDIA: GOVERNMENT SENDS DIPLOMATIC ULTIMATUM TO PAKISTAN.
January 6, 2009... By Indranil Banerjie NEW DELHI, India, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday his government has delivered a dossier to Pakistan containing evidence of the involvement of Pakistanis in the Mumbai...

POLITICS-GHANA: ECONOMY CALLED JOB 1 FOR NEW PRESIDENT.
January 6, 2009... By Francis Kokutse ACCRA, Ghana, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As President-elect John Evans Atta Mills prepares to take office, he has his work cut out for him translating years of strong growth into tangible benefits for the majority of...

PERU: PEOPLE NEAR OPEN-PIT MINE SET TO MOVE FROM TOXIC ENVIRONS.
January 6, 2009... By Milagros Salazar CERRO DE PASCO, Peru, Jan. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- An immense open-pit mine is swallowing up the center of the city of Cerro de Pasco in Peru's central highlands, while the damages, in the form of toxic waste, spread to...

PERU: EVERYONE MUST MOVE IS ALL POOR MINING TOWN AGREES ON.
January 7, 2009... By Milagros Salazar MOROCOCHA, Peru, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS) -- The town of Morococha ("colored lake" in the Quechua language) is a living example of what the mining industry has brought to many poor rural villages and towns in this country....

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ISRAEL, AT CROSSROADS, LOOKS AT ENDING BATTLE.
January 7, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- With the onslaught against Hamas at a crossroads, Israel's security Cabinet convened Wednesday morning. The choice, according to government...

CULTURE-NIGERIA: UNDER SHARIAH, TRADITIONAL DANCE IS FOR MEN ONLY.
January 7, 2009... By Amina Ahmed KANO, Nigeria, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- On any weekday evening in the heart of Kano's Old City, the sounds of a koroso dance troupe can be heard from within the maroon walls of the Gidan Makama Museum. The museum is...

CHINA-U.S.: 30 YEARS IN, CRISES TEST SINO-U.S. TIES.
January 7, 2009... Analysis by Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING , Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Beijing and Washington are celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries in a subdued mood. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...

ECONOMY-CHILE: WORKERS FRET ABOUT JOBS DESPITE ANTI-CRISIS PLAN.
January 7, 2009... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The $4 billion economic stimulus plan announced by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has majority support, but trade unions are still worried about mass layoffs. "The...

MIDEAST: OBAMA'S SILENCE ON CONFLICT GRIEVES PALESTINIANS.
January 7, 2009... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- With the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip now in its second week, President-elect Barack Obama has continued to remain silent. Obama's reticence,...

MIDEAST: ISRAEL ATTACKS U.N. SCHOOLS, PALESTINIAN AMBULANCES.
January 7, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- At least 42 Palestinians sheltering in a U.N. school in the Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza city were killed Tuesday afternoon after two Israeli tank shells exploded outside...

ECONOMY-HONDURAS: ANALYSTS SEE STORM CLOUDS MASSING FOR 2009.
January 7, 2009... By Thelma Mej a TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The economic outlook for Honduras this year is far from bright, according to analysts consulted by IPS. The government has failed in its attempts to sign a new letter of...

TRINIDAD: LOVED ONES ASKING WHERE SCORES OF MISSING PEOPLE ARE.
January 7, 2009... By Peter Richards PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Jan. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A record number of more than 600 people were reported missing in this twin-island state last year. One of them, 15-year-old Devika Lalman, left her home a...

SRI LANKA: EDITOR SLAIN AMID ONGOING VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDIA.
January 8, 2009... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A controversial but powerful newspaper editor was assassinated Thursday. Lasantha Wickrematunga, the respected editor of the English-language Sunday Leader weekly newspaper, was...

U.S.-MIDEAST: MEDIA HAS NO EYES IN GAZA AT KEY MOMENT.
January 8, 2009... By Jim Lobe and Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Consumed by coverage of the Nov. 4 presidential election, U.S. mainstream media ignored a key Israeli military attack on a Hamas target that some Palestinians claim marked...

ECONOMY-MEXICO: STIMULUS PLAN ENACTED TO CUT IMPACT OF CRISIS.
January 8, 2009... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Mexican government announced a $54 billion economic recovery plan Wednesday aimed at helping the local economy weather the global financial crisis. The measures form part of...

MIDEAST: EUROPEAN LEADERS' ACTIONS BELIE CLAIMS OF IMPARTIALITY.
January 8, 2009... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- In carefully crafted official statements, diplomats have portrayed the European Union as something of an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet even though almost all...

Q&A-IRAN: NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE SAYS SHE FEARS FOR HER LIFE.
January 8, 2009... by Omid Memarian UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A few days after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Iranian authorities to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, she...

MEXICO: HIGH FUEL PRICES HAVE FISHERMEN KEEPING NETS DRY.
January 8, 2009... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Thousands of fishermen in Mexico have gone on strike over the last few days to protest the rise in the cost of diesel fuel which, they say, has reduced their profit margin to zero....

SRI LANKA: TV STATION INVADED AS ANTI-MEDIA VIOLENCE CONTINUES.
January 8, 2009... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Maharaja TV became the latest victim of violence against Sri Lankan media Tuesday when its offices were raided, employees were beaten and costly equipment was destroyed....

MIDEAST: RIGHTS GROUP URGES WAR CRIMES CHARGES AGAINST ISRAEL.
January 8, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Israel has committed war crimes and should be prosecuted in an international court, said Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza. "The repeated bombing...

CUBA: RACISM IS 'TABOO, COMPLICATED AND THORNY' ISSUE.
January 8, 2009... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Jan. 7, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The persistence of racism in Cuba is disturbing to some of the island's thinkers, who are calling for a debate on the problem in this country, where equal rights have not guaranteed equal...

EASTERN EUROPE: GOOD OLD WAYS PROTECTING THE ECONOMY.
January 9, 2009... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Romania, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Fears about the impact of the global financial crisis in Eastern Europe may be overblown, economists are saying. While economic growth is likely to slow down in 2009, it is...

RUSSIA: BEAR BEGINS TO ROAR AGAIN ON WORLD STAGE.
January 9, 2009... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Through a difficult 18 years since the end of Soviet political dictatorship, Russia has steadily made its way back onto the global stage. Through this period many see the first...

LABOR-CHINA: LEADERS WORKING TO STEM MASS UNEMPLOYMENT.
January 9, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Twenty years after the Chinese Communist Party deployed tanks to crush protests on Tiananmen Square, the country is facing the same mix of rising unemployment and economic gloom that...

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: RULING COALITION STRIVES TO KEEP ITS STRENGTH.
January 9, 2009... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Prime Minister-designate Najib Razak faces a by-election that will test whether voters still support the 13-party coalition government, which suffered massive setbacks...

BRAZIL: AFRO-BRAZILIAN RELIGIONS HIT NEW THREATS TO SURVIVAL.
January 9, 2009... By Mario Osava SALVADOR, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A legal victory is providing fresh oxygen to an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced by millions. Few of them realize that the religion is fighting for survival in the face of...

COLOMBIA: STAGE IS SET FOR GUERRILLA GROUP TO FREE 6 HOSTAGES.
January 9, 2009... By Constanza Vieira* BOGOTA, Colombia, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- President lvaro Uribe has agreed to provide security guarantees for the release of six hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The release,...

POLITICS-MIDEAST: U.S. WEAPONRY FACILITATES KILLINGS IN GAZA.
January 9, 2009... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The devastating Israeli firepower, unleashed largely on Palestinian civilians in Gaza during two weeks of fighting, is the product of advanced U.S. military technology. The U.S....

MEDIA: POWER OF PRESS CAN SPARK WAR, AND PEACE, OBSERVERS NOTE.
January 9, 2009... By Nastassja Hoffet UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- In 2003, two journalists from Radio-Tlvision Libre des Milles Collines were convicted of war crimes in the Rwanda genocide -- illustrating the dangerous role media can play by...

DEVELOPMENT: REPORT WARNS OF CENTURIES OF POVERTY FOR AFRICA.
January 9, 2009... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Extreme poverty will continue to blight sub-Saharan Africa for another 200 years unless action to overcome it is intensified, a new report has suggested. Social Watch, a...

MIDEAST: EGYPT SHUTS THE DOOR ON HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA.
January 9, 2009... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Egyptian authorities have almost fully sealed the border with Gaza, preventing delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid. "The government has...

MIDEAST: CHILDREN FOUND STARVING NEAR MOTHERS' BODIES IN GAZA.
January 9, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- An international chorus of condemnation has blasted Israel over its human rights abuses in Gaza after children were found starving near their dead mothers in Gaza city. ...

MEXICO: FILMS ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ARE IN NEED OF VIEWERS.
January 9, 2009... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Jan. 8, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Half a century of stored films about indigenous peoples have been recorded on discs and launched on the Mexican market to show views and realities that are seldom shown on commercial...

MIDEAST: ISRAEL USING PHOSPHORUS BOMBS IN GAZA, OBSERVERS SAY.
January 12, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 12, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- "There is no doubt that Israel is using phosphorous bombs over Gaza. Israel is flagrantly violating the Fourth Geneva Convention," said Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian...

EASTERN EUROPE: GAS CRISIS BRINGS LOOK AT OLD NUCLEAR PLANTS.
January 12, 2009... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Romania, Jan. 12, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The gas crisis has placed environmental concerns on the back burner and raised demands for nuclear production at plants once considered unsafe. Over the past week,...

MIDEAST: CHINA TAKES ACTIVE ROLE IN SEEKING PEACE TO SECURE OIL.
January 12, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Jan. 12, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- China's proactive stance in finding a settlement to the latest crisis in the Middle East -- a trouble spot that does not normally figure on Beijing's list of top foreign policy...

MIDEAST: THOUSANDS OF ISRAELIS MAKE WISHES FOR PEACE CLEAR.
January 12, 2009... By Daan Bauwens TEL AVIV, Jan. 11, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Another peace rally Saturday night brought together about 2,000 Israelis to demand an immediate end to the ongoing assault in Gaza. The demonstration was held in front of the...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ISRAEL AT POINT OF CEASEFIRE OR OCCUPATION.
January 12, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Jan. 11, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Without a suitable diplomatic exit from the Gaza conflict soon, Israel's military "successes" could quickly begin to unravel, some sobering Israeli...

MIDEAST: EGYPTIAN PARTY SAYS IT SHARES ONLY IDEALS WITH HAMAS.
January 12, 2009... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Jan. 11, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Egypt's official press has alleged an "organizational relationship" between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood opposition movement and Hamas. MB spokesmen,...

AIDS-AFRICA: BATTLE AGAINST VIRUS SHOWS SIGNS OF PROGRESS.
January 12, 2009... By Zahira Kharsany JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jan. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Encouraging new data suggests there have been significant gains in preventing new HIV/AIDS infections in several African countries with high prevalence rates. ...

EUROPE: LACK OF GAS DELIVERIES CASTS CHILL OVER EVERYDAY LIFE.
January 12, 2009... By Zolt n Dujisin BUDAPEST, Hungary, Jan. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Central Europe and the Balkans face a halting of industrial production, closed schools, frozen water supply pipes and eventual economic paralysis as suspension of gas...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: TEHRAN OPTS FOR MORAL SUPPORT IN GAZA WAR.
January 12, 2009... Analysis by Kaveh Afrasiabi* WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Although the administration of President George W. Bush and Israeli leaders have depicted the crisis in Gaza as part of a larger struggle against Iran and its "proxies,"...

MIDEAST: U.N. CALLS FOR WAR CRIMES INQUIRY AGAINST ISRAEL.
January 12, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A United Nations report that Israel ordered civilians into a building and then shelled it marks yet more evidence of widespread targeting of civilians in the Gaza assault. ...

INDIA-PAKISTAN: TEMPERATURE COOLS ON NATIONS' HOSTILITIES.
January 12, 2009... Analysis by Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, India, Jan. 10, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Six weeks after the Mumbai terrorist attacks precipitated a grave new crisis in their mutual relations, the danger of a military conflict breaking out between India and...

POLITICS: DEBATE RAGES ON LEVEL OF IRAN'S STATUS WITH HAMAS.
January 12, 2009... By Daniel Luban WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As the war in Gaza approaches its third week, a chorus of influential voices in the U.S. media has cast the conflict as a proxy war in which the real enemy is not Hamas but Iran. ...

POLITICS-U.S.: OBAMA'S INTELLIGENCE CHOICES SEND MIXED MESSAGE.
January 12, 2009... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- After announcing his choices for top intelligence positions on Friday, President-elect Barack Obama was lauded by some for breaking strongly with the policies of the George W. Bush...

RIGHTS: AID GROUPS DISPUTE ISRAELI CLAIMS IN ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS.
January 12, 2009... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As the Israelis try to justify the massive loss of civilian life in Gaza, their arguments and counter-charges continue to be shot down either by the United Nations or by...

MIDEAST: 'IF WE DIE, WE DIE TOGETHER,' GRANDMOTHER IN GAZA SAYS.
January 12, 2009... By Mohammed Omer* AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Zahrah Salem, 64, has four children and 15 grandchildren to worry about. Day after day of bombing brings blessing they are still there. "We all sleep in one room,"...

MIDEAST: ISRAELIS' IGNORING RESOLUTION FRUSTRATES U.N. LEADERS.
January 12, 2009... By Haider Rizvi* UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- International aid organizations are calling for the immediate implementation of the Security Council resolution passed late Thursday demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. "The...

EUROPE: POLITICAL CHILL MAY OUTLAST BIG FREEZE OVER RUSSIAN GAS.
January 12, 2009... By Zolt n Dujisin BUDAPEST, Hungary, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As Russia suffers from the financial crisis and Ukraine heads toward bankruptcy, nobody can tell who is to blame for a spat that threatens to freeze Central Europe and the...

U.S.: AS ECONOMY GOES DOWN, CONGRESSIONAL PAY GOES UP.
January 12, 2009... By Adrianne Appel BOSTON, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- U.S. workers are losing jobs in record numbers; scores of businesses are shuttering, and hundreds of thousands of families are newly homeless. Congress received a pay raise. Figures...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: GAZA, AND ISRAEL'S WARS FOR REGIME CHANGE.
January 12, 2009... Analysis by Helena Cobban* WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The war that Israel launched Dec. 27 on Gaza is the seventh war of choice Israel has launched against its neighbors since 1973, the last year in which it fought a war that...

MIDEAST: HAMAS CEASEFIRE OFFER IN DECEMBER WENT UNANSWERED.
January 12, 2009... By Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Contrary to Israel's argument that it was forced to launch its air and ground offensive against Gaza in order to stop the firing of rockets into its territory, Hamas proposed in...