Interpress Service articles from June 2008

Interpress Service archives from June 2008

IRAQ: WAR DEAD TOTAL MAY BE AN UNDERCOUNT, SAYS U.S. GROUP.
June 2, 2008... By Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail* BAQUBA, Iraq, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The real death toll in Iraq is far higher than even the highest declared in official counts, many Iraqis say. "The U.S. military benefits from hiding the real...

CHINA: SCULPTOR DRAWS ATTENTION TO RESTRICTIVE BEAUTY NORMS.
June 2, 2008... By Bruce Lim BANGKOK, Thailand, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Traditional norms in China dictate that women should strive for hourglass figures and shiny, long hair. Chinese artist Xiang Jing, however, is challenging these edicts by portraying...

Q&A-MALAWI: FISH FARMERS STRUGGLE TO RESTORE CHAMBO STOCKS.
June 2, 2008... By Steven Lang GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa, May 31, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Fishermen on Lake Malawi have depended for centuries on "chambo" fish to feed their families without disrupting the ecosystem, but following the start of commercial...

U.N.: BIODIVERSITY SUMMIT YIELDS FEW MONETARY COMMITMENTS.
June 2, 2008... By Stephen Leahy BONN, Germany, May 31, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The world community took some careful steps toward slowing the biodiversity crisis at the recent U.N. meeting in Bonn, while emphasizing the need for urgency and action. ...

AFRICA: MINING BOOM IS UNLIKELY TO BENEFIT LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
June 2, 2008... By Aileen Kwa GENEVA, May 31, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The prices of oil and metals are high these days, and mining companies increasingly investing in oil in Angola and Uganda, and in metals in Madagascar and Ghana. This "new scramble for...

BURMA: SOUTHEAST ASIAN ASSOCIATION LEADS LATEST RELIEF EFFORT.
June 2, 2008... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, May 31, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Four weeks after Cyclone Nargis swept through the populous Irrawaddy Delta in Burma, a regional effort to help the victims is slowly grinding into shape. On Friday,...

CUBA: IBERO-AMERICAN JOURNALISTS HOLD SUMMIT ON GENDER ISSUES.
June 2, 2008... By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Changing society to bring about greater respect for diversity requires the participation of the mainstream press, in addition to the good work done by alternative media agencies and...

PERU: FORENSIC TEAM FINDS ARMY BULLETS IN MASS GRAVE FROM 1984.
June 2, 2008... By Angel P ez LIMA, Peru, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- It was not hard for residents of the Peruvian village of Putis to find the remains of the victims of the 1984 massacre: Some of the victims' bones were exposed to the elements. But...

JAPAN: NGO URGES GOVERNMENT TO LEAD FIGHT ON AIDS IN AFRICA.
June 2, 2008... By Ramesh Jaura YOKOHAMA, Japan, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A key document emerging from the fourth round of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development has failed to address HIV/AIDS in the region, according to an NGO called...

AFRICA: REPORT CALLS FOR U.S.-CHINA COOPERATION ON DEVELOPMENT.
June 2, 2008... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. and Chinese governments should coordinate their policies toward Africa in order to enhance the effectiveness of their economic aid and investment, to further political stability...

TURKEY: FIGHT WITH KURDISTAN WORKERS' PARTY ESCALATES.
June 2, 2008... By Mohammed A. Salih WASHINGTON, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The intensifying fight between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party is introducing a new element of instability to the Middle East. Some of the most chronic crises in the...

U.S.: WASHINGTON GRADUALLY LEANS TOWARD TALKS WITH IRAN.
June 2, 2008... Analysis by Omid Memarian* BERKELEY, Calif., May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential aspirant, has dismissed Sen. Barack Obama's willingness to talk directly with U.S. adversaries such as Iran as an openness...

CARIBBEAN: LEADERS SEEK INVESTORS TO BACK FARMING PROJECTS.
June 2, 2008... By Bert Wilkinson GEORGETOWN, Guyana, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Caribbean governments are hosting a global forum in Guyana early next month, in hopes of attracting international investors to the languishing agriculture sector. The...

BOLIVIA: AUTONOMY CONTROVERSY IMPEDES INDIGENOUS MOVEMENT.
June 2, 2008... By Franz Ch vez LA PAZ, Bolivia, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The autonomy movement in Bolivia's wealthier eastern provinces has somewhat overshadowed the indigenous community's demand for empowerment and greater participation in political...

U.S.: PROTESTERS ADOPT NAMES OF GUANT NAMO DETAINEES IN COURT.
June 2, 2008... By Haider Rizvi NEW YORK, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- More than 30 activists are facing trial in Washington, D.C., for their Jan. 11 protest against the indefinite detention of alleged terrorism suspects at the U.S. military base in Guant...

CUBA: URBAN FARMERS 'MAKE SOIL FROM SCRATCH'.
June 2, 2008... By Patricia Grogg CINAGA DE ZAPATA, Cuba, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The soil in Cinaga de Zapata is salty, shallow, stony and hard to plow, but this Cuban municipality is nevertheless home to more than 140 urban farmers. "Here you have...

CANADA: SCANDAL DRIVES FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TO RESIGN.
June 2, 2008... By Am Johal VICTORIA, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Canada's gaffe-prone foreign affairs minister, Maxime Bernier, resigned suddenly this week after revelations that he left sensitive and confidential government documents at the home of his...

REPORT: GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL DAMAGE COSTS $78 BILLION PER YEAR.
June 2, 2008... By Stephen Leahy BONN, Germany, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The ongoing loss of biodiversity across the globe is costing about $78 billion in ecological damage to the planet's land areas every year, according to a new study. "The...

IRELAND: MORE THAN 100 NATIONS ENDORSE BAN ON CLUSTER BOMBS.
June 2, 2008... By David Cronin DUBLIN, Ireland, May 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- More than 100 governments formally agreed on Friday to outlaw the use of cluster bombs, despite intense opposition from the U.S., the world's top user of the weapon. The...

ITALY: FARMERS, NGOS HOLD PROTEST SUMMIT ON FOOD SOVEREIGNTY.
June 3, 2008... By Sabina Zaccaro ROME, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- High global food prices and their impact on poor countries are set to dominate the three-day U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization summit of world leaders that opened Tuesday in Rome. ...

MIDEAST: FAILURE OF TALKS COULD LEAD TO ESCALATION IN GAZA.
June 3, 2008... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A cessation of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions remains elusive as ever, despite the recent round of Egypt-brokered talks....

PAKISTAN: POLICEMAN SAYS TALIBAN IS BEHIND SPATE OF KIDNAPPINGS.
June 3, 2008... By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A flurry of kidnappings in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province and areas adjoining Afghanistan are being blamed on Taliban militia. "A 14-year-old boy, Mohammad Khan,...

KENYA: SLUM DWELLERS STRUGGLE TO ACCESS CLEAN WATER.
June 3, 2008... By Rosalia Omungo NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The road leading to the informal settlement of Korogocho is narrow and winding. Here, in Nairobi's third largest slum, up to 150,000 people are crammed into an area of just over 1...

GAZA: DENIAL OF VISAS TO FULBRIGHT RECIPIENTS STOKES ILL WILL.
June 3, 2008... By Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Israel and the U.S. announced Friday that they plan to revisit a policy that prevents Palestinians from leaving the Gaza Strip to pursue their educational goals, one day after a...

RIGHTS: ACTIVISTS SEEK TRANSPARENCY IN INTER-AMERICAN COURT.
June 3, 2008... By Constanza Vieira MEDELLIN, Colombia, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Although it is proceeding "at a very slow pace," the current trend in the Americas is toward a "strengthening of human rights," said Mar a Victoria Fallon, a spokeswoman for...

AFRICA: CONTROVERSY DOGS CREATION OF U.S. MILITARY COMMAND.
June 3, 2008... Analysis by Lawrence Delevingne NEW YORK, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The United States Africa Command -- Washington's latest military oversight structure for the African continent -- is expected to be fully operational in just a few months....

U.S.: VETERANS GATHER IN SEATTLE TO TELL OF ATROCITIES IN IRAQ.
June 3, 2008... By Dahr Jamail SEATTLE, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Dozens of veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq converged in Seattle over the weekend to share stories of the atrocities being committed daily in Iraq. The gathering was a...

U.S.: GATES, RICE PRIVATELY OPPOSED BUSH'S LINE ON IRANIAN ARMS.
June 3, 2008... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The George W. Bush administration has for months publicly embraced the idea that the Iranian government is smuggling armor-piercing warheads to Iraqi Shiite groups. But when...

BRAZIL: LANDOWNERS AND MILITARY FIGHT INDIGENOUS LAND POLICY.
June 3, 2008... By Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A political-military alliance opposed to the Brazilian government's indigenous and environmental policies is taking shape, catalyzed by the controversy over the Raposa Serra...

INDIA: RAJASTHANI WOMEN USE PUBLIC HEARINGS TO DEMAND JUSTICE.
June 3, 2008... By Nitin Jugran SAWAI MADHOPUR, India, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Public hearings organized by the Rajasthan State Women's Commission have now been held in 30 districts of the Indian state, offering support to hundreds of women in Rajasthan...

EGYPT: RIGHTS ACTIVISTS DECRY 2-YEAR EXTENSION OF MARTIAL LAW.
June 3, 2008... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A parliamentary majority approved a two-year extension of Egypt's longstanding emergency law last week, amid harsh criticism from opposition figures and...

UKRAINE: STATE SEEKS SELF-SUFFICIENCY THROUGH NUCLEAR POWER.
June 3, 2008... By Zolt n Dujisin PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Ukraine is embarking on a costly and inefficient path of nuclear development, hoping to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. Criticisms are mounting over the...

MOROCCO: DISCOVERY OF GRAVES REVIVES FIGHT AGAINST EXECUTIONS.
June 3, 2008... By Abderrahim El Ouali CASABLANCA, Morocco, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The recent discovery of two mass graves and the anticipation of a disclosure of five other places where victims of other alleged extrajudicial killings lie has shocked...

TRADE: FARM GROUP SAYS NIGERIA THREATENED GHANA WITH TARIFFS.
June 3, 2008... By Aileen Kwa* GENEVA, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- West African states are attempting to salvage regional relations in a renewed attempt to collectively negotiate an economic partnership agreement with the European Union. Talks have...

WEST AFRICA-TRADE: NIGERIA TAKES STEPS TO PROTECT ITS INDUSTRIES.
June 3, 2008... By Aileen Kwa* GENEVA, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Nigeria took a strong stance on the course of its own economic development recently by rejecting an economic partnership agreement with the European Union. The country has also adopted a...

ISRAEL: OLMERT'S IMPENDING DEMISE MAY DAMAGE PEACE PROCESS.
June 3, 2008... Analysis by Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, Jun. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a seasoned, street-smart political brawler, but even he is having a hard time finding a way out of his current predicament: Engulfed by a...

MIDEAST: TIES WITH U.S. MAY BE HURTING CAIRO'S MEDIATING POWER.
June 4, 2008... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Some local analysts have charged that Egyptian diplomacy has been hamstrung by the ruling regime's closeness to Washington, offering as evidence Cairo's...

NORWAY: NATION EARNED $425 MILLION THROUGH ARMS SALES IN 2007.
June 4, 2008... By Tarjei Kidd Olsen OSLO, Norway, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Norway may have the reputation of being a peace builder, but it is nevertheless the world's seventh largest exporter of weapons and ammunition, according to recent figures. ...

Q&A-BULGARIA: ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS FORM GREEN PARTY.
June 4, 2008... By Claudia Ciobanu Sofia, Bulgaria, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Members of various environmental NGOs in Bulgaria have banded together to form a green political party called Zelenite. Among the founders are activists who have been...

TRADE: FOOD CRISIS LEADS NATIONS TO LEASE FARMLAND OVERSEAS.
June 4, 2008... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Unprecedented food scarcity is beginning to dictate the rules of a new political order, a noted environmentalist said Tuesday: Individual countries are scrambling to secure their own...

U.N.: SELF-INTERESTED JOCKEYING IMPEDES BIODIVERSITY SUMMIT.
June 4, 2008... Analysis by Stephen Leahy BONN, Germany, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Self-interest and petty politicking has largely paralyzed efforts to solve the problem of widespread extinctions, with few concrete achievements coming out of the two-week...

INDIA: CHILD REPORTERS DRAW ATTENTION TO THEIR VILLAGES' NEEDS.
June 4, 2008... By Nitin Jugran TONK, India, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Children in some villages of the Indian state of Rajasthan have assumed the role of the media, tackling the social and development issues that concern their well-being. Their work...

INDIA: ACTIVISTS PLAN 10-DAY FAST OVER JAILING OF JUNGLE DOCTOR.
June 4, 2008... By Keya Acharya BANGALORE, India, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A countrywide caucus of Indian activists is set to begin a 10-day fast starting June 16 to protest India's "black laws" and demand the freeing of a "jungle doctor" and human...

BRAZIL: CLIMATE CHANGE MAY WEAKEN RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.
June 4, 2008... By Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- To Brazil's credit, 45 percent of its energy comes from renewable sources, three times as much as in industrialized countries. But for that very same reason, the South...

COLOMBIA: U.S. PRAISES URIBE, REAFFIRMS BACKING FOR DRUG WAR.
June 4, 2008... By Michael Flynn MEDELLIN, Colombia, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Speaking in the Colombian city of Medellin, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told reporters on Monday that Colombia is "an outstanding example" of what can be...

U.S.: IRAQ VETERANS LEAD ANTI-WAR PROTEST IN SEATTLE.
June 4, 2008... By Dahr Jamail SEATTLE, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- In a clear change of strategy aimed at energizing public anti-war sentiment, Iraq veterans led a demonstration of hundreds through downtown Seattle last Saturday, following regional Winter...

NICARAGUA: ECONOMIC WOES CAUSE ORTEGA'S RATINGS TO PLUMMET.
June 4, 2008... By Jos Ad n Silva MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Economic problems and persistent poverty have plunged Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's approval ratings to a new low, according to analysts. Ortega's unconditional...

Q&A: U.N. SHOULD RECOGNIZE ASIA AS A GLOBAL POWER, AUTHOR SAYS.
June 4, 2008... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations and its sister institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, may begin to lose their credibility if they continue to ignore the...

EU: LISBON TREATY MAY DRAW IRELAND DEEPER INTO ARMS TRADE.
June 4, 2008... By David Cronin DUBLIN, Ireland, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- It is ironic that Ireland may be deepening its involvement in the arms trade, even as it basks in the praise it received last week for brokering a ban on cluster bombs during an...

WORLD BANK: SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS WATER SCARCITY, POLLUTION.
June 4, 2008... By Tarjei Kidd Olsen OSLO, Norway, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Millions of people are threatened by poor, unreliable, or nonexistent water resources, and climate change could make things worse. A World Bank conference on water and...

Q&A: AUTHOR CALLS FOR RADICAL ALLIANCE TO SAVE ENVIRONMENT.
June 4, 2008... By Sabina Zaccaro FLORENCE, Italy, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A global alliance of human rights activists, environmentalists and ethically run small enterprises is needed to save the planet from self-destruction, according to Susan George,...

OP-ED: AIDS EDUCATION MUST BE LESS PRESCRIPTIVE, MORE RESPONSIVE.
June 4, 2008... Analysis by David Dickinson* JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- I live in a country where it has become normal to bury men and women in their thirties. At least it is so at township funerals. At the cemetery the...

VIETNAM: BIRD FLU VACCINE FOR HUMANS MAY BE AVAILABLE BY 2009.
June 4, 2008... By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam -- Newsmekong* HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Jun. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Vietnamese researchers have announced significant progress in their effort to develop a prototype vaccine for the H5N1 avian influenza. The...

BOLIVIA: TWO NORTHERN PROVINCES TAKE STEPS TOWARD AUTONOMY.
June 4, 2008... By Franz Ch vez LA PAZ, Bolivia, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Bolivia's leftist government has responded cautiously to the approval of two new regional autonomy statutes, this time in the northern provinces of Beni and Pando. Meanwhile...

U.S.: MCCAIN TOUTS HARD-LINE APPROACH TO IRAN AT AIPAC SUMMIT.
June 4, 2008... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Jun. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- In a major address on Middle East policy Monday, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, pledged to maintain the Bush administration's hard line against Iran....

RUSSIA: STUDENTS INCREASINGLY RELOCATE TO 'SIBERIAN ATHENS'.
June 5, 2008... By Apostolis Fotiadis TOMSK, Siberia, Jun. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Ludmila Nikolovna, an ethnic Russian woman from Moldova, has no misgivings about her decision to study economics at Tomsk State University, even though she had to leave her...

IRAQ: ONGOING WAR TAKES DEADLY TOLL ON FARM ANIMALS.
June 5, 2008... By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail* FALLUJAH, Iraq, Jun. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Faced with the huge and growing death toll of humans in Iraq, it has been easy to forget that farm animals are also finding it hard to survive in this destabilized...

GAZA: ISRAELI RULES PREVENT HUNDREDS FROM STUDYING ABROAD.
June 5, 2008... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Seven Palestinian Fulbright scholars now appear more likely to get their chance to study in the United States. But hundreds of other Palestinian university students who have also received...

U.S.: OBAMA CALLS FOR DIPLOMACY IN MIDEAST AT PRO-ISRAEL SUMMIT.
June 5, 2008... By Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Speaking last year before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Sen. Barack Obama received scattered boos. But as the presidential candidate strode toward the podium at the...

KENYA: LOW PAY DRIVES TEACHERS TO QUIT, EXACERBATING SHORTAGE.
June 5, 2008... By Kwamboka Oyaro NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Roughly 600 teachers have quit working in Kenyan schools in just the past six months, according to the Head Teachers Association and the Kenya National Union of Teachers. That...

IRAQ: KURDS SIGNAL WILLINGNESS TO COMPROMISE OVER KIRKUK.
June 5, 2008... By Mohammed A. Salih WASHINGTON, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A possible breakthrough concerning the contentious Iraqi province of Kirkuk appears likely, much to the relief of the United States, which is trying hard to stabilize the country....

SOMALIA: HIGH FOOD PRICES ADD TO WOES OF PIRACY, COUNTERFEITING.
June 5, 2008... By Abdurrahman Warsameh MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jun. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Ali Yusuf, a porter at Mogadishu's main Bakara market, often works 12 hours a day, ferrying people's shopping from the market to their homes to earn a living and support...

MEXICO: CONCERNS ABOUT SOVEREIGNTY DERAIL U.S. ANTI-DRUG PLAN.
June 5, 2008... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Merida Initiative -- a U.S. anti-drug aid plan for Mexico and to a lesser extent Central America -- is floundering, with some in Mexico arguing that the initiative would...

Q&A: WARMING OF OCEANS MAY MAKE CLIMATE CHANGE UNSTOPPABLE.
June 5, 2008... By Stephen Leahy GIJON, Spain, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Melting sea ice and glaciers, rising water levels and water temperatures, storm intensification, changes in ocean currents, the growth of "dead zones" and ocean acidification are...

BURMA: MONASTERY TAKES IN CHILDREN ORPHANED BY CYCLONE.
June 5, 2008... By Moe Yu May RANGOON, Burma, Jun. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Ko Ko Aung vividly remembers the moment when he thought he lost his older brother, Wai Yan Soe, to the powerful waters that tore through their house when Cyclone Nargis struck. ...

IRAN: LARIJANI'S ELECTION MAY OPEN DIPLOMATIC CHANNELS TO U.S.
June 5, 2008... Analysis by Trita Parsi* WASHINGTON, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Iranian Nobel prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has long argued that the United States and Iran need to have a dialogue with each other at three different levels: between their...

COLOMBIA: PEACE CARAVAN SPARKS HOPE IN WAR-TORN PROVINCE.
June 5, 2008... By Constanza Vieira SAN JOS DEL GUAVIARE, Colombia, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Halfway between the towns of San Jos and El Retorno in the war-torn Colombian province of Guaviare, a young "ceiba" tree has taken root. The tree is growing...

U.S.: OBAMA MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST BLACK PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE.
June 5, 2008... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- "Tonight I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States of America," Sen. Barack Obama told a crowd of supporters in St. Paul,...

LATIN AMERICA: ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGNS REMAIN UNDERFUNDED.
June 5, 2008... By Diego Cevallos / Tierramrica * MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Latin American governments are receiving generous tax revenues from the tobacco industry, and they are only pouring a tiny percentage of that bounty into the...

LATIN AMERICA: REPORT URGES REGION TO UNIFY AGAINST FOOD CRISIS.
June 5, 2008... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Regional cooperation is needed to contend with soaring food prices, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System, which has identified 13 structural and...

JAPAN: FEW AFRICAN LEADERS AGREE TO BACK SECURITY COUNCIL BID.
June 5, 2008... Analysis by Ramesh Jaura YOKOHAMA, Japan, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Japanese government may be a bit disappointed with the outcome of last week's development conference, seeing as most participating African nations did not agree to...

U.N.: GENERAL ASSEMBLY TAKES ON PROBLEM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
June 5, 2008... By Nergui Manalsuren UNITED NATIONS, Jun. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Human trafficking remains a crime with low risks and high profits, despite the numerous international and regional treaties that ban it, experts and diplomats said Tuesday at...

CHINA: GOVERNMENT SPONSORS APOLITICAL DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL.
June 10, 2008... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Jun. 10, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A mixture of pride and prickle pervaded the first public celebration of "Duanwu," the Dragon Boat festival, that China has held in more than half a century. The festival used to...

INDIA: FORUM FOCUSES ON STOVES, SOLAR LAMPS FOR RURAL WOMEN.
June 10, 2008... By Prime Sarmiento MANILA, Philippines, Jun. 10, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The majority of poor rural women in India lack access to a non-polluting stove and lantern, so they end up spending much of their time and energy collecting firewood and...

UGANDA: PEACE PROCESS FALTERS, EVEN AS DISPLACED RETURN HOME.
June 10, 2008... By Joshua Kyalimpa KAMPALA, Uganda, Jun. 10, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Alfred Bogomin returned to his ancestral home in northern Uganda last month, after 20 years of living in a displaced persons camp. He had fled Paicho village with his...

PERU: HIGH COURT ACQUITS LAWMAKERS ACCUSED OF TAKING BRIBES.
June 10, 2008... By Angel P ez LIMA, Peru, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A court in Peru has acquitted nine former lawmakers accused of taking bribes from former President Alberto Fujimori's intelligence chief. Vladimiro Montesinos, Fujimori's former...

SOUTHEAST ASIA: NEW DAMS IN LAOS MAY DISRUPT CAMBODIAN FARMS.
June 10, 2008... By Andrew Nette PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Jun. 10, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- An explosion of dam building projects along the Sekong River in Laos could pose a danger to fisheries, riverbank agriculture and animal husbandry downstream in Cambodia. ...

COLOMBIA: SUMMIT PROMOTES SAFETY OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS.
June 10, 2008... By Helda Mart nez BOGOTA, Colombia, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Women's rights activists in Colombia remain as vulnerable to human rights abuses as ever after nearly six years of President lvaro Uribe's "democratic security" policy,...

EL SALVADOR: EFFORTS TO QUELL GANG VIOLENCE FALL SHORT.
June 10, 2008... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Salvadoran government's efforts to prevent gang violence have done little to cut down on crime, according to experts and residents of the nation's...

AUSTRALIA: TASMANIAN PULP MILL LOSES CHIEF FINANCIER.
June 10, 2008... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Recent developments in an ongoing controversy over a proposed pulp mill in Tasmania's Tamar Valley appear to have swung the issue in favor of the mill's opponents....

MEDIA: NEWSROOMS REMAIN HOSTILE TO WOMEN'S ADVANCEMENT.
June 10, 2008... By Miren Gutierrez* ROME, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- "We should not be all that surprised that we are stalled," said Jane Ransom, executive director of the International Women's Media Foundation, referring to the absence of women leaders in...

CHINA: NATION'S WIND POWER CAPACITY IS SET TO TRIPLE IN 2 YEARS.
June 10, 2008... By Prime Sarmiento MANILA, Philippines, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- China plans to triple its wind power capacity over the next two years, according to a senior policy development official. The plan is in line with the central...

LEBANON: CELEBRATORY GUNFIRE PUTS BYSTANDERS IN DANGER.
June 10, 2008... By Mona Alami BEIRUT, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Light streams from behind the drapes of a first-floor apartment in Lebanon's capital. A politician's speech blaring from a TV resonates loudly in the night. As music cues the closing credits...

SLOVAKIA: HUNGARIAN GROUPS DECRY PLANNED EDUCATION REFORMS.
June 10, 2008... By Zolt n Dujisi PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Jun. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Members of the sizeable Hungarian minority in Slovakia say the government's plan to change the country's education laws is casting doubt on the Slovak state's commitment to...