Interpress Service articles from July 2007

Interpress Service archives from July 2007

ENVIRONMENT: FUEL INDUSTRY EXPLORES CELLULOSIC ETHANOL.
July 2, 2007... By Stephen Leahy BROOKLIN, Canada, Jun. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Luminaries such as former Vice President Al Gore and Microsoft's Bill Gates have begun aggressively touting cellulosic ethanol, a second generation biofuel. The big benefit...

TANZANIA: ARTISAN GROUP SEEKS TO REGULATE HANDICRAFT PRICES.
July 2, 2007... By Sarah McGregor DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Jun. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- On display amid bold African patterns and strings of chunky jewelry, a carved giraffe flashes a price tag of 20,000 Tanzanian shillings -- about $15. The vendor,...

U.N.: CIVIL SOCIETY SUMMIT SPARKS DEBATES ON 'PRO-POOR GROWTH'.
July 2, 2007... By Zofeen Ebrahim GENEVA, Jun. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Participants in a major civil society meeting analyzed and debated the concept of "pro-poor growth" this week in Geneva, Switzerland. Martin Khor, director of Malaysia-based Third...

BURMA: GENERALS EXPRESS INTEREST IN CHINESE-STYLE GOVERNMENT.
July 2, 2007... By Larry Jagan BANGKOK, Thailand, Jun. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Burma's top generals appear ready to ditch the country's roadmap to democracy in favor of a Chinese-style system of government, following their quarterly meeting in the country's...

MALAYSIA: INDONESIAN MIGRANTS FACE EXECUTION FOR DRUG CRIMES.
July 2, 2007... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Henok Sibuea, an immigrant from Indonesia, recently escaped the hangman's noose because he was charged with "possession" of marijuana, not "trafficking," which carries...

BOOKS: SCAHILL'S 'BLACKWATER' EXPOSES U.S. MERCENARY ARMY.
July 2, 2007... By Bill Berkowitz* OAKLAND, Calif., Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A company founded 10 years ago by the son of a conservative multimillionaire has since grown into what journalist Jeremy Scahill terms "the world's most powerful mercenary...

CANADA: FED UP WITH INEQUALITY, NATIVE GROUP BLOCKS HIGHWAY.
July 2, 2007... By Am Johal VANCOUVER, Canada, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A day of action organized by Canada's aboriginal community has led to nationwide protests across the country and some transportation closures in Ontario. A dissident group, led...

TRADE: ETHIOPIA TRIUMPHS OVER STARBUCKS, WINS RIGHTS TO COFFEE.
July 2, 2007... By Emad Mekay WASHINGTON, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A deal between Starbucks and Ethiopia that ends their trademark dispute and offers more benefits to Ethiopian coffee farmers has been hailed as a potential model for other poor nations...

U.N.: MAJOR POWERS WON'T RATIFY ANTI-NUCLEAR TERRORISM TREATY.
July 2, 2007... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A long-awaited international convention against nuclear terrorism will come into force next week, nine years after it was originally proposed by Russia. The convention was...

U.N.: DEVELOPMENT FORUM NEGLECTS NEEDS OF LATIN AMERICA.
July 2, 2007... By Dar o Montero GENEVA, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Latin America was notable chiefly for its absence within the diagnoses, assessments and examples presented by speakers at a development forum in Geneva, Switzerland, this week. Latin...

U.S.: SOCIAL FORUM CENTERS ON KATRINA'S AFTERMATH.
July 2, 2007... By Matthew Cardinale ATLANTA, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- An estimated 10,000 civil society activists gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday for the beginning of the first U.S. Social Forum. Rallied under the banner, "If another...

U.N.: AGRICULTURE SHOULD NOT BE REGULATED BY WTO, NGOS SAY.
July 2, 2007... By Christi van der Westhuizen GENEVA, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "As you are suffering from overconsumption, I am suffering from underconsumption -- we need to strike a balance," said Mary Wahu Kaara from the Kenya Debt Relief Network with...

NICARAGUA: CONSERVATION ENABLES DRIED-UP SPRINGS TO FLOW.
July 2, 2007... By Jos Ad n Silva /Tierramrica MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Logging on Nicaragua's Pacific coast had practically dried up 10 flowing springs in Lomas del Viento six years ago, but since then the area's residents have...

TRADE: EU PESTICIDE RULES MAY FORCE OUT SMALL AFRICAN FARMERS.
July 2, 2007... By Sue Scott YORK, England, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- European retailers and governments are moving toward a zero-tolerance policy on chemical residues in food, following a trend that may force African farmers out of the lucrative...

MIDEAST: ISRAEL'S FREEING OF FATAH PRISONERS MAY WEAKEN ABBAS.
July 2, 2007... Analysis by Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert shocked the media and fellow politicians when he announced his plan earlier this week to release 250 Fatah prisoners from Israeli jails....

EU: BELGIAN SUGAR RETAILER MISREPRESENTS ITSELF, MALAWIANS SAY.
July 2, 2007... BY David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jun. 29, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Malawian ambassador to the European Union has accused a major Belgian retail firm of misleading its customers by implying that its sugar sales will benefit education...

BANGLADESH: ARMY-BACKED REFORMS IMPERIL DEMOCRACY.
July 3, 2007... By Farid Ahmed DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- An army-backed plan to marginalize Bangladesh's main political parties may result in serious damage to the democratic fabric of the country, analysts say. After failing to...

ALBANIA: AUTHORITIES PROMOTE ECOTOURISM.
July 3, 2007... By Claudia Ciobanu TIRANA, Albania, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Albania, which is becoming increasingly dependent on revenue from its tourism industry, has launched a new program to prevent mass tourism from destroying local ecosystems. ...

INDIA: VISIT FROM U.S. NUCLEAR AIRCRAFT CARRIER INCITES PROTESTS.
July 3, 2007... By Praful Bidwai* NEW DELHI, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The port call of a United States nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to Chennai in southern India has provoked strong protests from a spectrum of political parties, trade unions, peace...

KURDISTAN: SECURITY FORCES TORTURE DETAINEES, REPORT SAYS.
July 3, 2007... By Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Kurdistan's security forces routinely torture detainees and deny them their due process rights, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch. The security forces are...

BURMA: JUNTA LEADERS AGREE TO STOP RECRUITING CHILD SOLDIERS.
July 3, 2007... By Larry Jagan BANGKOK, Thailand, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Burma's military may finally stop recruiting children into the armed forces, thanks to talks held last week between a senior United Nations envoy and Burma's acting Prime Minister...

U.S.: BUSH HOBBLES TOWARD END OF UNPOPULAR PRESIDENCY.
July 3, 2007... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- President George W. Bush has reason to envy his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, whose domestic popularity guarantees him vast influence even as he prepares to leave office in nine...

U.N.: LACK OF AID IMPEDES PROGRESS ON MILLENNIUM GOALS.
July 3, 2007... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. has allocated four times more money to the war in Iraq than the world's 22 richest nations collectively spent on global development aid to poor nations in 2006. The...

BRAZIL: RIGHTS CENTER COMBATS SLAVE LABOR IN A[euro]AILANDIA.
July 3, 2007... By Mario Osava AAILANDIA, Brazil, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Workers frequently arrive ragged and hungry at the Aailandia Center for Defense of Life and Human Rights in Brazil. Fleeing torture, surveillance and forced labor, the workers...

U.S.: PARTICIPANTS IN SOCIAL FORUM RETURN HOME ENERGIZED.
July 3, 2007... By Matthew Cardinale ATLANTA, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. Social Forum wrapped up Sunday with declarations about the meeting's main issues: Gulf Coast reconstruction in the post-Katrina era; militarism and the prison industrial...

EU: EUROPEAN COMMISSION ACKNOWLEDGES DOWNSIDE OF BIOFUELS.
July 3, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- European Union officials have signaled that they intend to ban subsidies for biofuels in areas where their production would cause serious environmental damage. The wider use of...

CUBA: GRASSROOTS WOMEN'S GROUP COMBATS HOUSING SHORTAGE.
July 3, 2007... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Juana Hilda Naranjo endured years of leaky roofs and flooded rooms before moving into the watertight apartment where she now lives. Every time it rains she feels grateful for the women's...

U.N.: UNDERSECRETARY-GENERAL PROMISES TO HEED NGOS.
July 3, 2007... By Zofeen Ebrahim GENEVA, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.N.'s new undersecretary-general for economic and social affairs has promised to heed recommendations crafted by nongovernmental groups at a forum June 28-30 in Geneva, Switzerland....

AUSTRALIA: ACTIVISTS SEEK 'HERITAGE SITE' STATUS FOR CAPE YORK.
July 3, 2007... By Neena Bhandari SYDNEY, Australia, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Australian conservation groups are seeking to protect Cape York Peninsula from mining, commercial fishing and pressures from the tourism industry by identifying the peninsula...

GHANA: AFRICAN UNION LEADERS PLAN CONTINENTAL GOVERNMENT.
July 3, 2007... By Joyce Mulama ACCRA, Ghana, Jul. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- African leaders began planning the establishment of a pan-African government Sunday in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Heads of state and government from around the continent are...

AFRICA: GADDAFI PUSHES FOR CONTINENT-WIDE GOVERNMENT.
July 3, 2007... By Moyiga Nduru JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jul. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The creation of a continent-wide government is a major focus of this year's African Union summit. The final leg of the summit kicked off in the Ghanaian capital of...

MOZAMBIQUE: ANTI-POVERTY ADVOCATES MEMORIALIZE JOSE NEGRAO.
July 3, 2007... By Moyiga Nduru JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jul. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Jose Negrao passed away in 2005, but the Mozambican activist and economist has continued to be nominated for posthumous awards every year for his work. Negrao won...

SOUTH AFRICA: JOHANNESBURG STRUGGLES TO ABSORB MIGRANTS.
July 3, 2007... By Moyiga Nduru JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jul. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "You cannot keep people away from settling in cities -- it has never worked anywhere," according to Jean de Plessis, a housing rights advocate in South Africa. ...

U.S.: NATIVE AMERICANS AND IMMIGRANTS FORM TIES AT SOCIAL FORUM.
July 3, 2007... By Jonathan Springston ATLANTA, Jul. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The issue of indigenous rights drew the attention of activists and community leaders Friday at the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, Ga. Native Americans have lived here for...

Q&A: U.N. LEADER TOUTS EQUALIZING POWER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
July 3, 2007... By Zofeen Ebrahim GENEVA, Jul. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Information and communication technologies have the potential to rapidly empower the poor, but bureaucracies and governments are often too reluctant to share the information and power...

Q&A-SOUTH AFRICA: AUTHOR CHRONICLES GLOBAL WARMING'S EFFECTS.
July 3, 2007... By Moyiga Nduru JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jun. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- In her recently published book "Scorched: South Africa's Changing Climate," South African author Leonie Joubert tracks how bees, frogs and other creatures and plants...

MOZAMBIQUE-POLL: U.N. EFFORTS HAVE NOT IMPROVED EVERYDAY LIFE.
July 3, 2007... By Christi van der Westhuizen GENEVA, Jun. 30, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Only 30 percent of Mozambicans say their quality of life has improved since 2000, the year when the international community agreed to work toward the U.N.'s millennium...

CHINA: CREDIT POLICY ENCOURAGES COMPANIES TO POLLUTE LESS.
July 5, 2007... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Chinese leaders have decided to use financial means to restrain its big polluters, after a series of administrative campaigns failed to enforce environmental controls throughout the...

BALKANS: ALBANIA FINDS COMMON GROUND WITH ITS NEIGHBORS.
July 5, 2007... By Vesna Peric Zimonjic TIRANA, Albania, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Most Balkan states come from a similar past and are envisioning a similar future. Despite the conflicts of the recent past, countries in the region share common ground...

HUNGARY: ALLEGED GANG RAPE UNDERMINES CONFIDENCE IN POLICE.
July 5, 2007... By Zolt n Dujisin BUDAPEST, Hungary, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A group of policemen has been accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Hungary, where civilians are rapidly ceasing to trust their police force. The rape affair was just...

EU: AID ALLOCATIONS INTENTIONALLY FAVOR TRANSPORT, EU SAYS.
July 5, 2007... By David Cronin THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A senior official from the European Union has admitted that the EU's executive arm is intentionally directing development aid away from health and education programs. ...

IRAQ: PUSH FOR SECULAR CONSTITUTION SPARKS DISPUTE IN KURDISTAN.
July 5, 2007... By Mohammed A. Salih ARBIL, Iraq, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Iraqi national constitution asserts Islam as the country's official religion and a major source of legislation, but disputes have arisen over whether Islam should play a...

AFRICA: POLITICIANS AGREE TO INTEGRATE CONTINENT GRADUALLY.
July 5, 2007... By Joyce Mulama ACCRA, Ghana, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A gradual approach to pan-African government emerged as a preferred strategy among participants in this year's African Union summit, which ended Tuesday in the Ghanaian capital of...

IRAN: SATELLITE TV CHANNEL COVERS SHIA ISSUES AND IRAQ WAR.
July 5, 2007... By Kimia Sanati TEHRAN, Iran, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Iran's newly launched English-language television channel, Press TV, aims to cover difficult issues in the Middle East, such as the United States' occupation of Iraq and tensions...

SRI LANKA: NORWAY DENIES CRAFTING PLANS TO RESUME MEDIATION.
July 5, 2007... By Amantha Perera COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Norwegian embassy spokesman Erik Nurenberg said Tuesday that rumors about Norway leading a renewed peace effort in Sri Lanka are untrue. There are no immediate plans for...

THAILAND: DEMAND FOR BIODIESEL STIMULATES PALM OIL INDUSTRY.
July 5, 2007... By Marwaan Macan-Markar KRABI, Thailand, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "We are aiming to be the palm oil capital of Thailand," says Siwa Sirisoawaluk, the new governor of the southern Thai province of Krabi. Standing near a grove of tall...

EL SALVADOR: FREE AIDS TESTS ARE 'PUBLICITY STUNT,' CRITICS SAY.
July 5, 2007... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Salvadoran health authorities have launched an ambitious HIV testing campaign, but critics say the government is doing little to improve the lives of those who are in...

COLOMBIA-REPORT: FOREIGN FIRMS PROFIT FROM LABOR ABUSES.
July 5, 2007... By Constanza Vieira BOGOT , Colombia, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Amnesty International is calling on foreign companies that operate in Colombia to pressure the government "to end and prevent human rights abuses against trade unionists." ...

BRAZIL: RIGHTS CENTER OFFERS NEW LIFE FOR VICTIMS OF SLAVE LABOR.
July 5, 2007... By Mario Osava AAILANDIA, Brazil, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Jos Alves fell victim to slave labor not once but several times before he discovered a human rights center that installed him as the leader of a charcoal recycling program. ...

INDUSTRY: GLOBAL BUSINESS LEADERS CONFER WITH U.N. AGENCIES.
July 5, 2007... By Nergui Manalsuren UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- More than 4,000 business, labor and government representatives are meeting to discuss social and environmental issues with U.N. agencies in Geneva this week. The Global...

EL SALVADOR: GOVERNMENT IS DOCTORING POVERTY DATA, U.N. SAYS.
July 5, 2007... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Local and international development experts are questioning the validity of data gathered by El Salvador's government about the country's poverty rates....

LATIN AMERICA: REGION STRUGGLES TO MEET U.N. GOAL ON POVERTY.
July 5, 2007... By Diego Cevallos* MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Latin America has sped ahead of other regions of the developing world in terms of meeting many of the U.N.'s millennium development goals, but leaders are still struggling...

U.S.: SUPREME COURT RULING PAVES WAY FOR DEATH SENTENCES.
July 5, 2007... By Srabani Roy NEW YORK, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the disqualification of a juror who expressed doubts about the death penalty, leading critics to predict that future juries will be more likely to...

GHANA: AFRICAN UNION DISCUSSES PEACEKEEPING PLANS FOR SOMALIA.
July 5, 2007... By Joyce Mulama ACCRA, Ghana, Jul. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The African Union had previously pledged to send 8,000 peacekeepers to Somalia, but only 1,500 Ugandan troops have arrived there to date. Leaders discussed this troubling state of...

U.N.: CONTROVERSIAL REPORT CALLS FOR CONSERVATION IN SUDAN.
July 6, 2007... By Brian D. Pellot UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.N. Environment Program won't officially release its report on land degradation in Sudan until July 8, but copies of the study have already sparked conversations about the...

FINANCE-ASIA: 10 YEARS AFTER MELTDOWN, IMF IS LESS RELEVANT.
July 6, 2007... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Jul. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Economic officials and finance experts spoke of the International Monetary Fund with a tone of contempt at an Asian Development Bank meeting Monday in Manila. ...

INDIA: TIES WITH CHINA SOUR AS NEW DELHI PURSUES BOND WITH U.S.
July 6, 2007... By Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, Jul. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Indian leaders are coming under growing pressure to clarify the countries' foreign policy loyalties as New Delhi deepens its "strategic partnership" with Washington. In particular,...

WEST AFRICA: NIGER AND NIGERIA JOINTLY CONSERVE RIVER BASINS.
July 6, 2007... By Ousseini Issa NIAMEY, Niger, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The West African countries of Nigeria and Niger share more than just a border: They also share a number of river basins that are under threat from land degradation. An...

ETHIOPIA: RIGHTS GROUPS CRITICIZE COUNTERINSURGENCY CAMPAIGN.
July 6, 2007... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- An intensified counterinsurgency campaign against Somali rebels and their suspected civilian supporters in Ethiopia's Ogaden region is drawing growing criticism by human rights groups. ...

TRADE: CHAVEZ THREATENS TO WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR MERCOSUR.
July 6, 2007... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Ch vez issued an ultimatum on Tuesday, saying he will withdraw his country's application to join the Southern Common Market unless it is approved...

U.S./IRAQ: BUSH FOCUSES ON AL-QAIDA, DOWNPLAYS SUNNI INSURGENCY.
July 6, 2007... Analysis by Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- President George W. Bush and his administration are increasingly representing the war in Iraq as a struggle against al-Qaida, thereby failing to discuss other political actors...

GALAPAGOS: SCIENTISTS CELEBRATE DISCOVERY OF DEEP-SEA VENTS.
July 6, 2007... By Stephen Leahy PUERTO AYORA, Gal pagos Islands, Ecuador, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Marine scientists returned to the Gal pagos Islands this week to celebrate a discovery that Charles Darwin never dreamed of: bizarre animals that live in...

U.N.: RICH COUNTRIES MUST COMPROMISE ON TRADE, OFFICIAL SAYS.
July 6, 2007... By David Cronin THE HAGUE, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A new partnership between rich and poor countries will be necessary in order to reducing extreme poverty by 2015, according to an official who helped devise the United Nations'...

MIDEAST: HAMAS AIMS TO WIN RESPECT THROUGH REPORTER'S RELEASE.
July 6, 2007... By Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Leaders of Hamas in Gaza are describing the release on Wednesday of a BBC reporter as the initiation of a new era of law and order on the strip. Members of the Islamic movement...

DEVELOPMENT: DUTCH MINISTER CALLS FOR CONDOM DISTRIBUTION.
July 6, 2007... By David Cronin THE HAGUE, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Bert Koenders, the Dutch minister for development assistance, has alleged that an "ideological campaign against condoms is sabotaging the fight against AIDS." Most of the 2.9...

TURKEY: ARMY MAY SOON ATTACK KURDISH MILITANTS IN IRAQ.
July 6, 2007... Analysis by Jacques N. Couvas ANKARA, Turkey, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Gamblers in Turkey's capital have begun betting on when the Turkish army will began its invasion of Northern Iraq. Until recently, the gamblers were betting on...

MEXICO: SUPREME COURT EARNS NEW RESPECT FOR DEFENDING RIGHTS.
July 6, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Former critics of Mexico's Supreme Court are now praising its verdicts against big business interest groups, its investigations of human rights violations and its fight...

ALBANIA: ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION TRANSFORMS TIRANA.
July 6, 2007... By Claudia Ciobanu TIRANA, Albania, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Albania's capital is ripe with material for sociological analysis. As the country moves away from socialism and toward liberal capitalism, dynamic changes are occurring in...

THEATER-U.S.: BROADWAY SPOTLIGHTS ISSUES OF CLASS.
July 6, 2007... By Lucy Komisar* NEW YORK, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Class privilege is the focus of two new plays and a revival that are infusing the New York theater scene with an awareness of the way that wealth, status and power affect people's lives....

SURINAME: CHINA AND TAIWAN BATTLE FOR DIPLOMATIC ALLEGIANCE.
July 6, 2007... By Bert Wilkinson GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Leaders of Suriname have fallen into a bitter debate about whether their country should maintain its long-held diplomatic relations with mainland China or dump it for Taiwan....

U.S.: GREEN ROOFS GAIN POPULARITY AS ENERGY BILLS SOAR.
July 6, 2007... By Enrique Gili /IFEJ SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Jim Mumford recently ripped up his old roof and replaced it with a green haven for wayward butterflies and pollinating plants. "It's mind-blowing," said Mumford,...

CHILE: AYMARAS SUE MINING COMPANY OVER DRIED-OUT WETLAND.
July 6, 2007... By Daniela Estrada, Special to IPS PICA, Chile, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Members of the Chilean community of Cancosa are determined to rehabilitate a nearby wetland, which became dry after the Cerro Colorado Mining Company started...

SOUTH AFRICA: CAPE TOWN MAY MANDATE USE OF SOLAR POWER.
July 6, 2007... By Gail Jennings /IFEJ CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Lawmakers from the South African city of Cape Town have proposed a bylaw that would require many new buildings to heat at least 60 percent of their water using solar...

RWANDA: COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SECTOR BOOMS.
July 6, 2007... By Erin Cunningham PARIS, Jul. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Rwanda appears set to become sub-Saharan Africa's hub for information and communications technology, less than 15 years after the genocide that ripped apart families and destroyed the...

DEVELOPMENT: NEW EU PRESIDENT PROMISES TO FOCUS ON AFRICA.
July 6, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Leaders of Portugal, the country that now holds the European Union's rotating presidency, have promised that Africa will be one of their key priorities for the next six months....

JAPAN: DEFENSE MINISTER RESIGNS OVER COMMENT ABOUT HIROSHIMA.
July 6, 2007... By Suvendrini Kakuchi TOKYO, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Nationalists and pacifists alike welcomed the resignation this week of Japan's defense minister, Fumio Kyuma, who scandalized the nation by referring to the 1945 atomic bombings of...

SRI LANKA: SOCIAL WORKERS FIGHT FOR ACCEPTANCE OF AIDS ORPHANS.
July 6, 2007... By Feizal Samath COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jul. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Through a long process of visits and counseling, Salvation Army workers have persuaded conservative communities in three Sri Lankan districts to be more accepting to people...

INDIA: PLANTING MANGROVES, KERALA RESIDENTS PROTECT COAST.
July 9, 2007... by Max Martin KANNUR, India, Jul. 9, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Monsoon is mangrove-planting time, and Kallan Pokkudan has already planted 100,000 saplings with his own hands. Inspired by Pokkudan's work, the local youth and the forest...

IRAQ: WATER SHORTAGE PLAGUES 'THE LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS'.
July 9, 2007... By Ali al-Fadhily* BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jul. 9, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Two large rivers run through Iraq, but the country's residents are still desperate for water. Lacking electricity to run pumps and fuel to run generators, Iraqi farmers cannot...

INDIA: LEGACY OF PESTICIDE DISASTER HAUNTS DOW CHEMICAL.
July 9, 2007... By Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, Jul. 9, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Try as it might, Dow Chemical Company has been unable to shake off the criminal liability it inherited for a 1984 gas disaster in Bhopal. When Dow decided in 2001 to fully own Union...

COTE D'IVOIRE: LOGGING DESTROYS MEDICINAL HERBS.
July 9, 2007... By Aly Ouattara and Miche Boko KORHOGO, Northern C"te d'Ivoire, Jul. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Sogbn Soro says he could treat leprosy, diarrhea and ringworm, if only loggers would stop destroying the medicinal plants that he needs. The...

PAKISTAN: OFFICIALS FORCE AFGHAN REFUGEES TO RETURN HOME.
July 9, 2007... By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jul. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Heavy seasonal rains recently damaged bridges on the road to Afghanistan, forcing the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to suspend repatriation operations. At the same...

U.S.: BUSH SHIELDS MUSHARRAF AS TERRORISTS ORGANIZE IN PAKISTAN.
July 9, 2007... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Jul. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Pakistan has become the largest haven for Islamic terrorism in the world, due in part to the Pakistani military government's complicit acceptance of extremist groups. ...

Q&A: NOBEL NOMINEE SAYS MEDICAL AGENCIES NEGLECT HIV+ WOMEN.
July 9, 2007... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Jul. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Two decades ago, doctors diagnosed Argentine activist Patricia Prez with HIV and told her she might die within two years. When she was diagnosed at 24, AIDS...