Interpress Service articles from March 2009

Interpress Service archives from March 2009

RIGHTS-U.S.: WOMEN OF COLOR FINDING FEW SAFETY NETS, DATA SHOW.
March 2, 2009... By Dominique Haoson UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Women of color are bearing a heavier load in the U.S. economic crisis, statistics show. That issue and others will be on the agenda as hundreds of activists from around the...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: NATIONS SEEK WAYS TO AID GAZA AND NOT HAMAS.
March 2, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- British former Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the Gaza Strip on Sunday amid a flurry of activity around Israeli-Palestinian issues and spoke about the...

ENERGY-CHINA: LEADERS SECURE FUEL IN OIL SHOPPING FRENZY.
March 2, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Beijing's energy diplomacy, deployed to secure long-term resources for the country's power-hungry economy, recently entered a new phase, according to analysts here. The analysts...

SOUTHEAST ASIA: NEIGHBORS LOOK TO U.N. FOR HELP WITH BURMA.
March 2, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar CHA-AM, Thailand, Mar. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Southeast Asian leaders ended a summit here Sunday by placing greater faith in the United Nations than their regional bloc in dealing with a member -- military-ruled...

ANALYSIS-KOREAS: SOUTH TELLS NORTH MISSILE THREATS WON'T WORK.
March 2, 2009... Analysis by Ahn Mi-Young SEOUL, South Korea, Mar. 1, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak warned leaders in North Korea on Sunday that it would be counterproductive for Pyongyang to pursue a path involving the development...

Q&A: AFRICAN ACTIVIST SAYS THE PEOPLE SHOULD SET MINING CODE.
March 2, 2009... Terna Gyuse interviews Abdulai Daramani, ACCRA, Ghana, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Resource extraction in West Africa has often coincided with environmental degradation and brutal conflict. Activists further charge that the agreements...

BOTSWANA: RULING PARTY MEMBER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST MEDIA LAWS.
March 2, 2009... By Sello Motseta GABORONE, Botswana, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Dissent is growing in the ruling Botswana Democratic Party over laws that enable the government to regulate the media. Member of Parliament Keletso Rakhudu broke ranks...

SOUTHEAST ASIA: PLANS FOR ASEAN RIGHTS BODY HIT REALITIES.
March 2, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar CHA-AM, Thailand, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Plans for a regional human rights body for the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc are threatening to expose the gulf that separates countries that seek to respect political...

POLITICS: DUTCH FOE OF ISLAM ALIGNS WITH FAR-RIGHT U.S. GROUPS.
March 2, 2009... By Daniel Luban and Eli Clifton* WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Fiercely anti-Islam Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders has been in the United States this week to meet with politicians, promote his controversial film Fitna, and...

SOUTHEAST ASIA: BALI PROCESS EYED AS ANSWER TO ROHINGYA CRISIS.
March 2, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar CHA-AM, Thailand, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Southeast Asian governments are examining the possibility of using a regional mechanism, the "Bali Process," to find a solution to minority Muslim Rohingyas fleeing...

SRI LANKA: U.N. URGED TO HELP PROTECT CIVILIANS IN WAR ZONE.
March 2, 2009... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The dire humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka demands immediate action on the part of the United Nations, a leading international human rights organization said Friday. The...

U.S.: DIPLOMATIC, AID SPENDING SET TO RISE UNDER OBAMA'S BUDGET.
March 2, 2009... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- While most mainstream media's reaction to President Barack Obama's $3.5 trillion 2010 budget has naturally focused on its far-reaching -- even historic -- implications for the U.S....

ANALYSIS-U.S.: DRAWDOWN PLAN MAY LEAVE COMBAT TROOPS IN IRAQ.
March 2, 2009... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- President Barack Obama has given military commanders a free hand to determine the size and composition of a residual force in Iraq of up to 50,000 troops. Their choices...

COLOMBIA: INDIGENOUS TRIBE HEMMED IN BY WAR WITH REBELS.
March 2, 2009... By Constanza Vieira* BOGOTA, Colombia, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Aw Indians' formation of "self-defense" groups figured in Colombia's FARC guerrillas' admitted killing of eight Aw , whom FARC accused of being army informants. ...

ANALYSIS-SRI LANKA: INDIA COULD HELP END CIVILIAN KILLINGS.
March 2, 2009... Analysis by Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, India, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As Sri Lanka's armed forces battle rebels in their last stronghold, the island country's influential neighbor, India, is weighing diplomatic options to goad the...

CLIMATE CHANGE: ACTIVISTS AMASS TO TURN UP HEAT ON WASHINGTON.
March 2, 2009... By Stephen Leahy PICTOU, Nova Scotia, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A boiling point over government inaction on climate change may have been reached in the United States. More than 12,000 mainly young people are planning to gather in...

ENVIRONMENT: AFRICAN NATIONS MISSING OUT ON CARBON MARKET.
March 3, 2009... By Wambi Michael KAMPALA, Uganda, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Lack of money and technical know-how makes it difficult for poor farmers to participate in the Kyoto Protocol's carbon trading mechanism aimed at reversing global warming. ...

Q&A: 'TIME HAS COME,' ADVOCATE SAYS, FOR A U.N. WOMEN'S AGENCY.
March 3, 2009... By Nergui Manalsuren UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- After being blind for years to the needs and rights of women, the United Nations is finally well on its way to creating a "fully-resourced" women's agency, said Stephen Lewis,...

LABOR: U.N. NOTES UNPAID VALUE IN WOMEN'S HOUSEHOLD CHORES.
March 3, 2009... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations has complained that household chores are handled predominantly by women who are unremunerated for their productive work. "In many parts of the world, work at...

RIGHTS-U.S.: DETAINEE'S LAWYERS TO PUSH SUPREME COURT REVIEW.
March 3, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Lawyers for imprisoned "enemy combatant" Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri are vowing to press the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case even though al-Marri was suddenly transferred to the...

ENVIRONMENT: BULGARIA GOING DOWN A SLIPPERY SLOPE.
March 3, 2009... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Romania, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The World Ski Cup for women last weekend was organized in Bulgaria at a ski resort whose development is partially illegal, and which is damaging a world heritage site. A...

MIDEAST: BOYCOTT MOVEMENT AGAINST ISRAEL GAINING ENERGY.
March 3, 2009... By Mel Frykberg RAMALLAH, West Bank, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- "Standing United with the People of Gaza" is the theme of Israel Apartheid Week, which kicked off in Toronto and 39 other cities across the globe Sunday. A movement to...

EGYPT: THIRD PERSON SERVING TIME IN PRISON OVER VISIT TO GAZA.
March 3, 2009... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The last of three people charged with "infiltrating" into the Gaza Strip has received the longest prison sentence over his visit. Magdi Hussein,...

WATER-NAMIBIA: POOR PAY FOR DECENTRALIZATION, STUDY NOTES.
March 3, 2009... By Servaas van den Bosch KAVANGO, Namibia, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- What if a well-intended program to democratize water management is really a poverty trap? That is a question a soon-to-be-published study on Namibian rural water...

ECONOMY: NEOLIBERALISM GASPING, NOT DEAD YET, AUTHOR SAYS.
March 3, 2009... By Christi van der Westhuizen CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Economist and author Patrick Bond warns that the optimism about the dawn of a post-neoliberal era is premature. He foresees that "a more dangerous and...

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: DOCTORS FEAR INCREASE IN DRUG-RESISTANT TB.
March 3, 2009... By Stanley Kwenda HARARE, Zimbabwe, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Because of Zimbabwe's crumbling health system, doctors say they suspect the country has large numbers of unidentified cases of multi-drug resistant (MDR) as well as extensively...

CUBA: SHAKEUP WILL BRING NO MAJOR CHANGES, OBSERVERS SAY.
March 3, 2009... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- President Ra[pounds sterling]l Castro announced Monday the biggest Cabinet shuffle in decades in Cuba, merging several ministries and firing more than 10 senior officials. Those he...

COLOMBIA: SAME-SEX PARTNERS GAIN EQUAL RIGHTS IN COURT RULING.
March 3, 2009... By Helda Mart nez BOGOTA, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A recent landmark decision by the Constitutional Court recognized equal rights for heterosexual and same-sex partners in common-law unions. Members of the gay civil rights advocacy...

CLIMATE CHANGE: SHIP EXPERIMENTS WITH CARBON-CUTTING METHOD.
March 3, 2009... By Maricel Drazer/Tierramrica* DSSELDORF, Germany, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The German oceanography ship Polarstern is stirring up controversy with its experiment of seeding the oceans with iron in order to absorb carbon dioxide, the...

VENEZUELA: RIOT OVER BUS FARES 20 YEARS AGO STILL 'HUGE WOUND'.
March 3, 2009... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 27, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Twenty years ago, a sudden increase in bus fares set off deadly rioting and looting that ended in a bloody military crackdown, and its aftermath is still being felt. ...

ENVIRONMENT-PAKISTAN: PEOPLE STILL TRY TO LIVE IN DYING DELTA.
March 3, 2009... By Zofeen Ebrahim* KHARO CHAAN, Sindh, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Sitting on a rickety bench outside the dispensary of Abdul Jalil at Deh Bublo, Issa Mallah, a centenarian, watches the world go by. He said he comes to this "city" everyday...

MINING-LIBERIA: WORKERS DISPUTE COMPANY'S CLAIMS OF LARGESSE.
March 3, 2009... By Rebecca Murray YEKEPA, Liberia, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Three exhausted railroad workers sip beer and talk on the back porch of a makeshift bar in Liberia's rural Nimba County, concealed by nightfall and the deafening din of...

INDIA-PAKISTAN: TRADE, TRAVEL ACROSS DIVIDED KASHMIR STALLS.
March 3, 2009... By Athar Parvaiz SRINAGAR, India, Feb. 28, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Trade and travel between the Indian and Pakistan parts of Kashmir appear to have become a casualty of the Nov. 26-29 terror attacks on the port city of Mumbai. The border...

ECONOMY: FAIR TRADE GOODS GAINING MARKET SHARE, GROUPS SAY.
March 4, 2009... By Julio Godoy BERLIN, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The economic decline has not touched trade in products from developing countries that certify respect for social and labor fairness, human rights and environmental standards, according to...

ANALYSIS-ISRAEL: STUDY FINDS FEWER MAINTAIN PERSECUTION PSYCHE.
March 4, 2009... Analysis by Daan Bauwens TEL AVIV, Israel, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A new study shows that Israelis are moving toward an understanding of the Palestinian position on the conflict, even though a vast number still hold on to simplistic...

CORRUPTION-U.S.: STUDY TELLS HOW WALL STREET HELPED ITSELF FALL.(Report)
March 4, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A new report said Wall Street has only itself to blame for the misguided deregulation that led to the current deepening financial crisis. Issued Wednesday by Essential...

LABOR-PHILIPPINES: WOMEN MOST VULNERABLE IN BAD ECONOMY.
March 4, 2009... By Prime Sarmiento MANILA, Philippines, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Women -- more than men -- will lose their jobs and remain jobless as manufacturing firms shut down or "streamline" their operations amid the economic downturn, analysts say....

ASIA PACIFIC: AUSTRALIANS URGED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INDONESIA.
March 4, 2009... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite their obvious differences, close neighbors Australia and Indonesia are seeking to forge stronger ties. The differences are stark. One is cohesive, has a...

U.S.-SYRIA: WASHINGTON ENDS DIPLOMATIC EMBARGO, SENDS ENVOYS.
March 4, 2009... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Ending a four-year diplomatic embargo on Damascus, the administration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday confirmed it is sending two high-level officials to Syria this week for...

DEVELOPMENT-U.N.: RECESSION THREATENS WOMEN'S MEAGER GAINS.
March 4, 2009... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The spreading global financial crisis is having a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society, including women and children. The crisis...

RIGHTS: PERU DECLINES GERMANY'S DONATION FOR MEMORIAL MUSEUM.
March 4, 2009... By Blanca Rosales LIMA, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A cartoonist was one of the first to lash out at the government's decision to turn down a $2 million donation offered by Germany for the construction of a museum to commemorate the victims...

RIGHTS-U.S.: SUIT FILED OVER GOVERNMENT'S BLACKLISTING CHARITIES.
March 4, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Human rights lawyers in two lawsuits are challenging the government's right to use information obtained through warrantless wiretapping as evidence and to shut down charitable...

ANALYSIS-IRAQ: KURDS PROTEST AS U.S. PREPARES TO LEAVE.
March 4, 2009... Analysis by Mohammed A. Salih COLUMBIA, Mo., Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- When President Barack Obama announced his plan last week to pull out all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by September 2010, the news did not generate much enthusiasm among...

SOUTH ASIA: TERRORISTS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INTERNAL TURMOIL.
March 4, 2009... Analysis by Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- South Asia seems to be caught in a vortex of violence as the countries that form this region deal with internal nightmares that their governments routinely blame on...

BRAZIL: PROJECT BRINGS HEALTH, HAPPINESS TO AMAZON JUNGLE.
March 4, 2009... By Mario Osava SANTARM, Brazil, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A planned royal visit in the Amazon jungle is expected to give a successful development project some much-needed exposure to donors. On his fourth trip to Brazil, Prince Charles...

DEVELOPMENT: NEW PIGEONPEA GROWS FOR DROUGHT-HIT FARMERS.
March 4, 2009... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Agricultural researchers reported a major breakthrough in the development of a new, high-yielding variety of pigeonpea, a protein-rich legume that can be grown in marginal lands and is...

ECONOMY-JAPAN: CREDIT CRUNCH SQUEEZES SMALL, MEDIUM FIRMS.
March 4, 2009... By Catherine Makino TOKYO, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Credit has dried up for small- and medium-sized businesses in Japan, even for applicants who normally would breeze through the process. Hiro Tanaka said he was left devastated and...

NEPAL: FEMALE EVEREST-CONQUERING TEAM TALKS GENDER EQUALITY.
March 4, 2009... By Keya Acharya KATMANDU, Nepal, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Seven young women have started a unique program of video presentations at schools in this mountainous Himalayan country. The video describes the achievements of a 10-member,...

TRANSPORT-ZIMBABWE: PRIVATE SECTOR ROLLS IN WITH RATTLING RIDE.
March 4, 2009... By Ignatius Banda BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite the crater-sized potholes that fill Bulawayo roads, Desmond Hikwa is not slowed down as he speeds across this city of more than 2 million, transporting commuters from...

WATER-NAMIBIA: POLICY TO CREATE A WATER SCARCITY?
March 4, 2009... By Servaas van den Bosch KAVANGO, Namibia, Mar. 2, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Several 5-gallon buckets of water are crammed inside the small enclosure around the only tap in Epingiro, a small gathering of kraals in the Kavango woodlands in northern...

ENERGY-INDIA: PLANT STANDS AT CENTER OF CONFUSION OVER BIOFUEL.
March 4, 2009... By Keya Acharya/IFEJ* ZAHEERABAD, Andhra Pradesh, Mar. 3, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A cactus-like plant spread over acres of red, tropical soils in the Tree Oils research farm here is at the center of huge divisions over India's ambitious biofuel...

TRADE: CROSS-BORDER ENTREPRENEURS BOOST ZIMBABWE'S ECONOMY.
March 5, 2009... By Tonderai Kwidini HARARE, Zimbabwe, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Border officials are seeing an increase in a particular type of crosser -- middle-aged women who return to Zimbabwe in cars laden with goods as they make money supplying...

Q&A: WOMAN POLITICIAN TOUTS NETWORK AS SOURCE OF STRENGTH.
March 5, 2009... By Nergui Manalsuren UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Ruby Dhalla, a Liberal member of Canada's Parliament, is part of the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics). The joint project by the U.N....

MIDEAST: NATIONS PLEDGING AID TO GAZA POINTEDLY CUT HAMAS OUT.
March 5, 2009... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A conference held this week in Cairo devoted to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip raised more than $5 billion from international donors. Some critics...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: ALL POLITICAL ROADS LEAD TO TEHRAN.
March 5, 2009... Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler JERUSALEM, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- During the recent meeting in Cairo, envoys from across the globe met to raise aid for the Gaza Strip, but issues surrounding Iran were arising from every...

RUSSIA: PIPELINE PLANS ADD FUEL TO GAS WAR WITH UKRAINE.
March 5, 2009... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Ukraine-Russia gas dispute has boosted plans for construction of gas pipelines that would eventually reroute Russian gas supplies to European consumers. But the plans have...

RIGHTS-TURKEY: ATTACKS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IMPERIL HOPES.
March 5, 2009... By Hilmi Toros ISTANBUL, Turkey, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As it aspires for full European Union membership, Turkey still struggles with freedom of expression, raising questions whether it can ever join the EU or will remain a suspended...

POLITICS-JAPAN: DONATION SCAM INJURES MAIN OPPOSITION PARTY.
March 5, 2009... By Catherine Makino TOKYO, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The arrest of a top aide to opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa on Tuesday, for allegedly accepting illegal political donations, could not have come at a worse moment for his Democratic Party...

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: DEMOCRACY CARRIES ON UNDER A TREE.
March 5, 2009... By Anil Netto PENANG, Malaysia, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- It has already been dubbed "Pokok Demokrasi" or Democracy Tree, and it is set to enter the annals of folklore in Ipoh, capital city of Perak state. In an open space beneath this...

POLITICS-U.S.: INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL CHOICE INFLAMES ISRAEL LOBBY.
March 5, 2009... By Daniel Luban and Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The appointment of a top-ranking retired diplomat and vocal critic of Israel to a key intelligence post has triggered an intense backlash from hawkish Israel supporters in...

POLITICS-CUBA: SPECULATION ABOUNDS ABOUT CABINET SHAKEUP.
March 5, 2009... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The people of Cuba are speculating about the extent of the recently announced changes in Cabinet ministries and hoping they will bring improvements to their lives and to living standards...

HAITI: DONORS' POCKETS HOLD KEYS TO SHORING UP SHAKY STABILITY.
March 5, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A series of crises in 2008 have pushed more Haitians into poverty and increased the potential for serious instability in the Caribbean nation of nearly 9 million, the latest update...

ANALYSIS-ECONOMY: FURTHER MELTDOWN HITTING POOREST NATIONS.
March 5, 2009... Analysis by Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The world's poorest people had nothing to do with the financial gimmickry that has brought the global economy to its knees, but they are paying a heavy price for it and relief...

POLITICS-MALAWI: MORE WOMEN JOIN CONTESTS FOR TOP POSTS.
March 5, 2009... By Pilirani Semu-Banda LILONGWE, Malawi, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Whether forming their own political parties or gaining support from men in existing ones, the faces on political ballots in Malawi are increasingly female. Loveness...

Q&A: NURSE DISCUSSES SHAPE OF HEALTH CARE FOR KENYAN WOMEN.
March 5, 2009... By Joyce Mulama NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- With two understaffed and ill-equipped public clinics serving 600,000 people, it is in neighborhoods like Dandora that the battle to reduce maternal mortality is won or lost. ...

LABOR-MEXICO: THOUSANDS OF WORKERS LEARNING THEIR JOB IS GONE.
March 5, 2009... By Ioan Grillo*AJ/IPS MEXICO CITY, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Mario Verdugo heard his job had just vanished after finishing an exhausting 12-hour shift making Jettas at the sprawling Volkswagen plant in central Mexico. The action was...

TRANSPORT-SOUTH SUDAN: YOUTHFUL BIKERS GOING NOWHERE, FAST.
March 5, 2009... By Skye Wheeler JUBA, Sudan, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Motorcycles have sprung up on the streets of Juba as hundreds of young men have fun, some of them while making money, but the pavement claims many of them. The motorcyclists have...

SUDAN: RIGHTS GROUPS LAUD WARRANT FOR BASHIR ON WAR CRIMES.
March 5, 2009... By Nigar Hacizade UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir faces an arrest warrant issued Wednesday on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Bashir is the first head of state to...

ARGENTINA: COUNTRY LIFE NO LONGER MEANS LIVING HEALTHY.
March 5, 2009... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Once a serene refuge from urban pollution and chaos, the Argentine countryside has become a place fraught with risks for many local residents. The massive use of pesticides on...

POLITICS-U.S.: SENATE PANEL WEIGHS 'TRUTH COMMISSION' ABOUT BUSH.
March 5, 2009... By William Fisher NEW YORK, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- In a preview of the heated divisions likely be triggered by the formation of a "truth commission" to investigate alleged violations during the George W. Bush administration, witnesses...

SPAIN: ECONOMIC COLLAPSE FILLING UNEMPLOYMENT LINES.
March 5, 2009... By Carlos Rubio* AJ/IPS MADRID, Spain, Mar. 4, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- At one of the busiest unemployment offices in central Madrid, people have been standing in line since 6 a.m. It is a cold and rainy winter morning in the Spanish capital,...

LABOR-THAILAND: WOMEN WORKERS BEAR BRUNT OF MARKET CRISIS.
March 6, 2009... By Lynette Lee Corporal -- Asia Media Forum* BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A growing number of Thai workers are reaching desperate straits as layoffs mount amid the global economic crisis, and the situation is affecting women...

CHILE: GROUPS SEE PARTIAL PROGRESS FOR WOMEN UNDER BACHELET.
March 6, 2009... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- With one year to go in office, women's groups and civil society organizations report positively on Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's government policies to promote gender...

ANALYSIS-MIDEAST: EAST JERUSALEM SETTLEMENTS TURN UP TENSIONS.
March 6, 2009... Analysis by Helena Cobban* JERUSALEM, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- As the fires of human misery continue to smolder in Gaza, the situation in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem is emerging as another potentially explosive issue in, and far...

SOUTHEAST ASIA: AGENCIES SEE POWERFUL ALLY IN THAI GOVERNMENT.
March 6, 2009... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The Thai government is being showered with rare praise from a traditional adversary, Southeast Asian civil society, for the diplomatic high note it struck during a...

MEDIA-GHANA: REGULATOR, JOURNALISTS JOIN TO PROTEST CHANGES.
March 6, 2009... By Francis Kokutse ACCRA, Ghana, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- There has been a clamor to tighten up oversight and regulation of Ghana's broadcasters from unusual bedfellows -- the state-sponsored National Media Commission (NMC) and the Ghana...

ECONOMY-CHINA: MELTDOWN SILENCES HUMAN RIGHTS CRITICS.
March 6, 2009... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Critics of China's human rights record have been silenced by the need to cooperate with Beijing on overcoming the recession. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent remarks en...

MIDEAST: ISRAELIS DRIVE UP WITH BULLDOZERS, EVICT PALESTINIANS.
March 6, 2009... By Eva Bartlett BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Palestinians from this city are telling of how the Israel Defense Forces bulldozed their homes just hours before declaring a ceasefire in January. Manwa Tarrabin, 56,...

ENVIRONMENT-ISRAEL: GROUPS WANT BRIDGE TOSSED FOR TUNNEL.
March 6, 2009... By Ido Liven/IFEJ* TEL AVIV, Israel, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- If all goes as environmental groups hope, passengers will not get to see the beautiful Yitla Stream, or what is left of it, on the train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv because they...

IRAQ: THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU -- NOW -- IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY.
March 6, 2009... By Dahr Jamail BAGHDAD, Iraq, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Prompt medical care is at last on offer in Iraq, for those who can find the dollars for it. "Why would I want to go to government-run hospitals where there is no care, no...

GREECE: VIOLENCE REMAINS ON SIMMER SINCE POLICE KILLED TEEN.
March 6, 2009... By Apostolis Fotiadis ATHENS, Greece, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- A wave of violent attacks has been rocking Athens ever since the December 2008 riots that broke out after a policeman shot and killed a 15-year-old boy. The riots...

RIGHTS-INDIA: KASHMIR LOOKS AT SCRAPPING REVILED SECURITY LAWS.
March 6, 2009... By Athar Parvaiz SRINAGAR, Mar. 6, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- Civil rights activists in Indian Kashmir hope debate about the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act will result in the withdrawal of the sweeping powers given to armed forces in...

GHANA: REPORT WARNS ABOUT OIL MONEY DROWNING DEMOCRACY.
March 6, 2009... By Marina Litvinsky WASHINGTON, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The recent discovery of oil in Ghana could undermine its democratic development, warns the international aid agency Oxfam America and the Integrated Social Development Center...

ANALYSIS-U.S.: MILITARY POWER IN MIDEAST PROVEN A COSTLY MYTH.
March 6, 2009... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Mar. 5, 2009 (IPS/GIN) -- The arguments for maintaining a major U.S. combat force in Iraq at least through 2011, escalating U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and assuming a confrontational...