Interpress Service articles from July 2008

Interpress Service archives from July 2008

PARAGUAY: STATE DRAGS FEET IN RETURNING LAND TO ENXET GROUP.
July 1, 2008... By David Vargas -- Special to IPS POZO COLORADO, Paraguay, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Members of the indigenous Enxet community are still waiting for the restitution of their ancestral lands, nearly three years after the Inter-American Court...

MIDEAST: HOSTAGE SWAP GENERATES CONTROVERSY IN ISRAEL.
July 1, 2008... By Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- An impending prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah has ignited a debate over the implications of paying a high hostage price not just for live Israeli soldiers but also for the...

EGYPT: 'RIFT' IN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS MEDIA HYPE, ANALYSTS SAY.
July 1, 2008... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Egyptian press has promoted the idea that conservative and reformist factions are clashing within the Muslim Brotherhood, but independent commentators...

ZIMBABWE: TOBACCO SECTOR SUFFERS AS STATE VIOLENCE ESCALATES.
July 1, 2008... By Tonderai Kwidini HARARE, Zimbabwe, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The perennial political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe has wreaked havoc on the country's once-thriving tobacco industry. Tobacco was the mainstay of the southern African...

ENERGY: ANXIETIES ABOUT U.S. ATTACK ON IRAN DRIVE UP OIL PRICES.
July 1, 2008... Analysis by Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Jun. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- If President George W. Bush wants to boost the Republican Party's chances of holding on to the White House, he might do well to consider taking an attack on Iran before the end...

JAPAN: POLITICIANS FROM 23 NATIONS URGE G-8 TO REDUCE EMISSIONS.
July 1, 2008... By Keya Acharya TOKYO, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Approximately 133 parliamentarians from 23 countries have gathered in Tokyo in hopes of persuading the Group of Eight industrialized nations to adopt a policy for tackling climate change...

RIGHTS: U.N. INVESTIGATOR DECRIES OPACITY OF U.S. JUSTICE SYSTEM.
July 1, 2008... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jun. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A U.N. human rights investigator has blasted the administration of President George W. Bush for a rash of shortcomings in the United States' flawed justice system. After a...

CARIBBEAN: PUSH FOR REGIONAL UNITY LOSES MOMENTUM.
July 1, 2008... By Peter Ischyrion SAINT JOHN'S, Antigua, Jun. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Caribbean Community leaders are gearing up for their annual summit in Antigua early next month amid worrying signs that after 35 years, the regional integration movement...

SOUTH AFRICA: DEATH OF CROCODILES RAISES WORRIES ABOUT WATER.
July 1, 2008... Analysis by Steven Lang GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa, Jun. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A private pilot spotted the carcasses of several large crocodiles floating in the Olifants River earlier this month in the far eastern reaches of South Africa....

VIETNAM: HARVEST SEASON RAISES RISK OF BIRD FLU IN MEKONG DELTA.
July 1, 2008... By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam /Newsmekong * CAN THO, Vietnam, Jun. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Government officials are warning farmers in Vietnam's fertile Mekong Delta to be particularly vigilant about bird flu as this year's harvest season gets...

KENYA: STATE CLOSES CAMPS, LEAVING DISPLACED FAMILIES STRANDED.
July 1, 2008... By Najum Mushtaq NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Kenyan government says Operation Rudi Nyumbani is almost complete: Most of the camps for internally displaced people are closed, and the remaining people will be resettled...

ZIMBABWE: WOMEN BEAR BRUNT OF RISING POLITICAL VIOLENCE.
July 1, 2008... By Ephraim Nsingo HARARE, Zimbabwe, Jun. 28, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF party is hastily preparing to swear in 84-year-old Robert Mugabe as president, and the country's residents are continuing to count the cost of the party's...

IRAN: BREAKTHROUGH EASES TALKS ON NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT.
July 2, 2008... By Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Iran has agreed to freeze its enrichment program for six weeks and begin negotiations with the P5+1 group of states as early as next week, according to reports from the Iranian...

ISRAEL: TEL AVIV EARNS REPUTATION AS HIGH-TECH 'SILICON WADI'.
July 2, 2008... By Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Israeli security agencies are already using Alex Argov's message-scrambling telephone, but the entrepreneur is hoping to market the Internet-based phone to civilians, as well. ...

GAZA: SEWAGE SEEPS INTO DRINKING WATER AS FACILITIES SHUT DOWN.
July 2, 2008... By Mel Frykberg GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip is forcing the region to pump 77 metric tons of untreated or partially treated sewage out to sea daily, and some fear the waste may be...

FRANCE: SARKOZY PUSHES EU TO ADOPT PUNITIVE IMMIGRATION LAWS.
July 2, 2008... By Julio Godoy PARIS, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The French government, which assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1, is trying to expand its tough policy against immigration and asylum to the entire...

CHILE: NORWEGIAN SALMON FARMS ARE POLLUTING SEA, ACTIVISTS SAY.
July 2, 2008... By Tarjei Kidd Olsen OSLO, Norway, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Fish farms operated in Chile and Canada by the world's largest salmon company are breeding grounds for disease, not to mention environmental damage and workers rights abuses,...

ARGENTINA: CONSUMPTION SLACKS OFF IN WAKE OF FARMERS' STRIKE.
July 2, 2008... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- More than 100 days of conflict in Argentina's farm sector have cooled the country's pace of consumption, causing a general slowdown in economic activity, which had been expanding...

U.S.: MANUFACTURING SPURT DOES LITTLE TO LIFT ECONOMISTS' SPIRITS.
July 2, 2008... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- An unexpected spurt in manufacturing activity has surprised economists but has not managed to dispel the gloom that has enveloped the U.S. economy since midyear. On Tuesday, the...

POLL: GLOBAL PUBLICS FAVOR GREATER U.N. ROLE IN MIDEAST PEACE.
July 2, 2008... By Khody Akhavi and Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A majority of global publics say their governments should not take either side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a survey of 18 countries released...

PERU: FUJIMORI'S RIGHT-HAND MAN DEFENDS FORMER LEADER IN COURT.
July 2, 2008... By Angel P ez LIMA, Peru, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Vladimiro Montesinos, the second most powerful person in the regime of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, has admitted in court that illegal wiretapping was used during...

ENERGY: INTERNATIONAL AGENCY PREDICTS DIP IN DEMAND FOR OIL.
July 2, 2008... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The International Energy Agency has lowered its expectations concerning the global demand for oil, saying high prices are forcing consumers to leave gas-guzzling vehicles in the garage....

INDIA: SINGH REFUSES TO GIVE UP ON NUCLEAR DEAL WITH U.S.
July 2, 2008... By Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has plunged his Congress party and the country's ruling United Progressive Alliance government into a grave crisis by staking his personal...

SOUTH AFRICA: HEALTH CLINICS TURN AWAY HIV-POSITIVE REFUGEES.
July 2, 2008... By Kristin Palitza DURBAN, South Africa, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The lack of accessible health care services for refugees in South Africa is causing serious problems for many HIV-positive migrants in need of continuous antiretroviral...

ZIMBABWE: PRESSURE FROM U.S. DRIVES AU CLOSER TO MUGABE.
July 2, 2008... By Alison Raphael WASHINGTON, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Ramped-up pressure from the U.S. and Britain is having a perverse effect on leaders from the African Union this week as they gather in Egypt. The harder the West leans, the more they...

CHINA: SHOWY OLYMPICS SAP WATER FROM BEIJING'S SCARCE SUPPLY.
July 2, 2008... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Olympic Games are expediting the demise of Beijing by wasting the city's scarce water resources on musical fountains and huge water landscapes, according to experts. Few in...

SOMALIA: STUDENTS BRAVE GUNFIRE TO REACH STRUGGLING SCHOOLS.
July 2, 2008... By Abdurrahman Warsameh MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- "I like to study, even though there is fighting everywhere in Mogadishu," said Bashir Gedi, a 15-year-old student in the Somalian capital. "Education is more important...

BULGARIA: EXTREMISTS ATTACK NEW GAY PRIDE.
July 3, 2008... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Jul. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - A rock-throwing attack on Bulgarian gays marred Bulgaria's first gay pride march. The violence was orchestrated by extremists including neo-nazis and skinheads. The march Saturday...

AUSTRALIA: BEE-KILLING PARASITE THREATENS FOOD SECURITY.
July 3, 2008... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Jul. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Australia's food security is under threat from a tiny parasite with the potential to devastate the nation's bee and pollination industries. "Honey bees pollinate many of the...

AFGHANISTAN-CONFLICT: ATTACKS ON U.S. TROOPS UP 40 PERCENT.
July 3, 2008... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Six and a half years since the ouster of the Taliban, U.S. media attention is returning to Afghanistan, where more U.S. and NATO troops were killed in June than in any previous month. ...

GLOBALISATION: WEST'S LOSS OF GULF FUNDS EAST'S GAIN.
July 3, 2008... Analysis by Meena Janardhan DUBAI, Jul. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Facing an increase in politically motivated restrictions on investments by oil-rich countries, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) of the Gulf countries are eyeing Asia and other...

ECONOMY: DISMAL PICTURE FOR U.S. WORKERS.
July 3, 2008... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - U.S. companies are shedding workers in numbers not seen for nearly six years, and there seems little hope of a turnaround any time soon. Firms jettisoned 79,000 workers last month, the...

MIGRATION-SOUTH AMERICA: EU 'RETURN DIRECTIVE' FAULTED.
July 3, 2008... By Marcela Valente SAN MIGUEL DE TUCUM N, Argentina, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - The European Union's immigration policy was soundly rejected by the presidents of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and associate countries, at a meeting...

RIGHTS-US: CRITICS SEE VENDETTA IN AL-ARIAN'S LEGAL LIMBO.
July 3, 2008... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Palestinian activist and former university professor Sami Al-Arian was arraigned Monday in U.S. federal court on two counts of criminal contempt for his refusal to testify in a grand jury...

G8: JAPAN SHOWCASES ITS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY.
July 3, 2008... By Keya Acharya TOKYO, Jul. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Japan has one of the world's most aggressive environmental policies, set both to meet 2012 emission reduction targets and to make the country -- which has no natural resources of its own --...

GHANA: COCONUT TREES DEVASTATED BY LETHAL YELLOW DISEASE.
July 3, 2008... By Francis Kokutse ACCRA, Jul. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Older Ghanaians remember when the country's coast was lined with coconut trees. Fishermen would mend their nets in the shade of the trees, drink the water and eat the fruit. Women made a...

POLITICS: TEHRAN SEEN LEANING TOWARDS ENDING ENRICHMENT.
July 3, 2008... By Omid Memarian UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday that Tehran is finalising its response to the European Union's latest offer to suspend uranium enrichment, as European...

RIGHTS: U.N. LACKS MUSCLE TO END SEX ABUSE BY PEACEKEEPERS.
July 3, 2008... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - When the United Nations Security Council adopted a key resolution last month critical of violence against women, the condemnation was also directed at the increasing number of...

MALAYSIA: SCHISMS THREATEN TO DIVIDE OPPOSITION COALITION.
July 9, 2008... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim has continued to draw the crowds, despite the fresh allegations of sodomy leveled against him. But even though many people showed up...

BOOKS: SCHOLAR EXPLORES REACH OF GLOBAL SUPERCLASS.
July 9, 2008... By Abra Pollock WASHINGTON, Jul. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Globalization has ushered in the formation of a powerful network of elites who have access to unprecedented resources and influence. This new "superclass," whose decisions affect...

SERBIA: ALLIANCE WITH DEMOCRATS STRENGTHENS SOCIALIST PARTY.
July 9, 2008... By Vesna Peric Zimonjic BELGRADE, Serbia, Jul. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Serbia is now led by a pro-European coalition government made of former archenemies -- the Democrats of President Boris Tadic and the Socialists of late leader Slobodan...

UKRAINE: NEWS AGENCIES INCREASINGLY DO POLITICIANS' BIDDING.
July 9, 2008... By Zolt n Dujisin PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Jul. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Freedom of media has improved in Ukraine, but there are still many problems: Media owners are using favorable coverage as a source of income, even as journalists continue...

ZIMBABWE: AFRICAN LEADERS SAY SANCTIONS COULD DERAIL TALKS.
July 9, 2008... By Omid Memarian* UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A number of African leaders are standing in the way of U.S. and European efforts to push the 15-member U.N. Security Council to adopt a unanimous sanctions resolution against...

EU: IMMIGRATION PACT PAVES WAY FOR EXPULSION OF MIGRANTS.
July 9, 2008... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Serge Fosso was putting his hand luggage in the overhead compartment when he heard cries coming from another passenger. He realized that the Belgian government was using his...

G-8: LEADERS PLEDGE TO BOOST AID TO AFRICA BY $25 BILLION A YEAR.
July 9, 2008... By Ramesh Jaura TOYAKO, Japan, Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The G-8 summit of major industrial nations' leaders has taken nongovernmental organizations by surprise by delivering more than expected by way of three key documents on African...

REPORT: ISLAND NATIONS CATCH 17 TIMES MORE FISH THAN REPORTED.
July 9, 2008... By Stephen Leahy FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Fisheries catches in tropical island nations may be as much as 17 times higher than officially reported, according to a study released Tuesday. "The underreporting of...

IRAN: U.S. PRESSURE MAY BE BEHIND IAEA'S FOCUS ON URANIUM PAPER.
July 9, 2008... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency has in recent months suggested that a 15-page paper on casting uranium metal into hemispherical forms may be evidence of an alleged...

KENYA: FINANCE MINISTER RESIGNS, FACING CORRUPTION CHARGES.
July 9, 2008... By Najum Mushtaq NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Two days after publicly vowing to die rather than resign, Kenya's powerful finance minister announced he was resigning to allow an independent investigation of corruption charges...

JAPAN: GROUP OF EIGHT WILL REMAIN EXCLUSIVE FOR AT LEAST 1 YEAR.
July 9, 2008... By Ramesh Jaura TOYAKO, Japan, Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Group of Eight major industrial nations has decided to remain an exclusive club for at least one year, after which time it may consider expanding to include Brazil, China, India,...

CLIMATE CHANGE: ACIDIC OCEANS MAY DRIVE CORALS TO EXTINCTION.
July 9, 2008... By Stephen Leahy FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Climate change is making the ocean too warm and too acidic for most corals species to survive beyond the year 2050, according to the predictions of many marine scientists....

PERU: NGO URGES SURFERS TO SHARE SKILLS WITH FISHING VILLAGE.
July 9, 2008... By Enrique Gili SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jul. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- David Aabo believes he can tap into an unlikely demographic to improve living conditions in the hardscrabble Peruvian fishing town of Lobitos: foreign surfers. Aabo, a former...

U.S.: LOBBYISTS SEEK TO LIMIT INVESTMENT IN OIL FUTURES MARKET.
July 14, 2008... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Jul. 14, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Energy traders and oil-consuming businesses are enlisting the public in a tug-of-war over proposals to tame fuel and other commodity prices. At issue are measures that would curb...

LEBANON: RADICAL ISLAMIST MOVEMENT GAINS POPULARITY IN TRIPOLI.
July 14, 2008... By Mona Alami TRIPOLI, Lebanon, Jul. 14, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A large statue -- inscribed with the word "Allah" in Arabesque calligraphy -- has been erected in the center of one of Tripoli's squares in north Lebanon. The statue reflects...

BALKANS: SERBIA ADVERTISES ITS PIECE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
July 14, 2008... By Vesna Peric Zimonjic BELGRADE, Serbia, Jul. 14, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Sixteen Roman emperors from the third and fourth centuries A.D. were born in what is now Serbia. Having recently discovered this fact, the country's government is now...

TRADE: EU PRESSURES POOREST STATES TO SIGN ECONOMIC DEALS.
July 14, 2008... By Teresa Robins SEVILLE, Spain, Jul. 14, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The European Commission has been persistently targeting the poorest countries that have resisted signing trade deals with the European Union. Academic Ainhoa Mar n Egoscozabal...

SRI LANKA: FEAR PERVADES NORTH AS ARMY ENTERS REBEL TERRITORY.
July 14, 2008... By Feizal Samath COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jul. 14, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The embattled civilian population in the Wanni, the headquarters of the Tamil Tigers, has been hit not only by scarcities but also by deep insecurity as the Sri Lankan army...

AUSTRALIA: GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO DETER JAPANESE WHALING.
July 14, 2008... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Jul. 14, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Australian government is hoping that its proposal for a new multinational whale research program -- in which whales are not killed -- will place considerable...

VIETNAM: POLICE HARASS MOURNERS AT BUDDHIST LEADER'S FUNERAL.
July 14, 2008... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Jul. 13, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Nguyen Thieu monastery held a tension-laden funeral Friday morning for Thich Huyen Quang, the patriarch of an outlawed Buddhist movement in Vietnam. Hundreds of...

JAPAN: DELEGATES FROM GLOBAL SOUTH PARTICIPATE IN G-8 SUMMIT.
July 14, 2008... Analysis by Ramesh Jaura TOKYO, Jul. 13, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Last week's G-8 summit meetings in Toyako on the Japanese island of Hokkaido were critical not only for North-South relations but also for South-South ties. The Group of Eight...

JAPAN: G-8 DECLINES TO SET MIDTERM GOALS FOR CUTTING EMISSIONS.
July 14, 2008... By Ramesh Jaura TOKYO, Jul. 12, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Environmentalists are shifting their focus back to the United Nations' negotiations on a new post-2012 climate treaty regime, now that the Group of Eight summit has ended. At the...

BRAZIL: AFRO-BRAZILIAN FARMERS RENEW JU[euro]ARA PALM POPULATION.
July 14, 2008... By Mario Osava /Tierramrica * ELDORADO, Brazil, Jul. 12, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The juara, a palm tree in danger of extinction due to the high demand for its edible heart, is finally beginning to recover. Afro-Brazilian communities of the...

ENVIRONMENT: QUICK ACTION COULD SAVE CORALS, SCIENTISTS SAY.
July 14, 2008... By Stephen Leahy FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jul. 12, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The rapid decline of coral reefs around the world offers a potent example of how entire ecosystems can collapse due to human activity. It also offers an example of the...

Q&A-CHAD: U.N. URGES REFUGEES TO PRODUCE THEIR OWN FOOD.
July 14, 2008... By David Axe GORE, Chad, Jul. 12, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- United Nations-administered agriculture programs have reduced external food assistance to a minimum in the five years since camps for Central African refugees were established in Southern...

TRADE: RUSSIA LAGS BEHIND IN RACE TO BUILD TIES WITH AFRICA.
July 14, 2008... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Jul. 12, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Russia maintained tight ties with various African states during the Soviet era, but those connections have since weakened, leaving little more than arms trades and low levels of...

SPAIN: ZAPATERO PLEDGES AID TO AFRICA AFTER MIGRANTS' DEATH.
July 14, 2008... By Tito Drago MADRID, Spain, Jul. 11, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The only positive way to deal with illegal immigration is to fight poverty, said Spanish Prime Minister Jos Luis Rodr guez Zapatero, upon learning of the deaths of 15 would-be...

MALDIVES: VULNERABLE NATION RAISES NEW ALARM OVER CLIMATE.
July 14, 2008... By Shiraz Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 11, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- "Why have the warnings of the past 20 years gone unheeded?" demanded the foreign minister of the Maldives, speaking at an expert panel discussion on climate change last week. A...

Q&A: GLOBAL HOUSING CRISIS FUELS EXPANSION OF SLUMS.(Interview)
July 14, 2008... By Nergui Manalsuren UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 11, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The world faces yet another looming challenge -- the rise of an impoverished urban underclass, said Anna Tibaijuka of the United Nations Human Settlements Program. With a...

U.N.: BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR BETTER ACCESS TO FAMILY PLANNING.
July 14, 2008... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jul. 11, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations commemorated World Population Day Friday in the shadow of a grim statistic: An estimated 200 million women worldwide want to delay or avoid pregnancy but are not...

EUROPE: SCHISMS MAY DERAIL MEDITERRANEAN UNION, ANALYSTS SAY.
July 14, 2008... By Julio Godoy PARIS, Jul. 11, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Many economists and political leaders have expressed skepticism about whether the Union for the Mediterranean -- a proposed alliance of 27 European Union countries and at least 13 countries...

REPORT: SWEDEN AMONG STATES MOST TOLERANT OF GAYS.
July 14, 2008... By David Cronin LEUVEN, Belgium, Jul. 11, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The international struggle for gay rights has experienced both victories and setbacks within the past few months. In June, Norway became the latest country to legislate in...

INDIA: PUBLIC GRASP OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION REMAINS WEAK.
July 17, 2008... By Nitin Jugran Bahuguna NEW DELHI, Jul. 17, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Some doctors in India have begun presenting the emergency contraceptive pill as a possible solution to the country's high rate of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions,...

MALAYSIA: DRAWN-OUT CASE STOKES OPPOSITION TO DEATH PENALTY.
July 17, 2008... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul. 17, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Lawyers and opposition legislators are among a growing number of people expressing concern over the drawn-out suffering of those on death row in Malaysia. ...

U.S.: OPENNESS TOWARD IRAN HIGHLIGHTS REALISTS' GROWING POWER.
July 17, 2008... Analysis by Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The realists appear to have chalked up another win in their ongoing internal battle against hawks within the foreign policy branch of President George W. Bush's administration....

U.S.-POLL: DOVES OUTNUMBER HAWKS IN JEWISH COMMUNITY.
July 17, 2008... By Daniel Luban WASHINGTON, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A new poll suggests that strong majorities of U.S. Jews favor diplomacy with Iran, a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine and a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. In short, the Jewish...

EU: BLOC SEEKS TO FURTHER CRIMINALIZE MIGRANT WORKERS.
July 17, 2008... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Efforts by the European Union to penalize employers who hire unauthorized immigrants have drawn criticism from both business lobbyists and trade unionists. Next week the...

COLOMBIA: CAPTURED GUERRILLA SAYS HE WAS TRICKED BY URIBE.
July 17, 2008... By Constanza Vieira BOGOTA, Colombia, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- "Occupation: Guerrilla. Address: Colombian mountains. Distinguishing marks: Combat scars." That is how two Colombians recently described themselves on forms for their...

COLOMBIA-SIDEBAR: FARC ACCUSES CAPTURED REBELS OF BETRAYAL.
July 17, 2008... By Constanza Vieira BOGOTA, Colombia, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The secretariat of the FARC guerrillas has accused the two rebels captured by the Colombian government of "despicable conduct" and betrayal. A communiqu from the...

COLOMBIA-SIDEBAR: ALLEGED RUSE CONFLICTS WITH LAW, JURISTS SAY.
July 17, 2008... By Constanza Vieira BOGOTA, Colombia, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The possibility that the Colombian government may have used the Red Cross symbol to trick two guerrillas into giving up their hostages and boarding a helicopter has caused a...

Q&A-IRAN: AHMADINEJAD WELCOMES IDEA OF U.S. DIPLOMATIC OFFICE.
July 17, 2008... By Omid Memarian NEW YORK, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has responded positively to a proposal by the United States to open a U.S. Interests Section in Tehran. Ahmadinejad welcomed the...

MAURITIUS: DEVELOPMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE DRY UP WATER SUPPLY.
July 17, 2008... By Nasseem Ackbarally PORT-LOUIS, Mauritius, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Mauritius presently enjoys plentiful piped potable water from the heavy rains that fall over the island each year, but with growing demand from new development, the...

GUYANA: APPEAL FOR FORENSIC AID ELICITS SNUB FROM WASHINGTON.
July 17, 2008... By Bert Wilkinson GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. government has once again snubbed the Guyanese authorities, this time over a request for expert help in solving the latest of three mass murders this year. Late...

GAZA: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RATES SPIKE AS ISRAELI SIEGE CONTINUES.
July 17, 2008... By Mel Frykberg GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The siege of Gaza has led to a sharp rise in the number of battered and sexually abused women and children in the region, according to members of the Gaza Community Health...

IRAQ: POLICE CHIEF'S RESIGNATION UNDERSCORES UNREST IN FALLUJAH.
July 17, 2008... By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail* FALLUJAH, Iraq, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Security has collapsed again in Fallujah, where the city's chief of police, Col. Fayssal al-Zobai, has suddenly resigned. Local militias supported by U.S....

Q&A-U.N.: POST-MASSACRE JUSTICE CAN BE ELUSIVE, ANALYST SAYS.
July 17, 2008... By IPS correspondents OSLO, Norway, Jul. 16, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- In the aftermath of massive human rights abuses such as the Srebenica massacre or the genocide in Rwanda, the search for justice and reconciliation can be a controversial and...