Interpress Service articles from November 2007

Interpress Service archives from November 2007

EU: OFFICIAL BUTTS HEADS WITH NGOS OVER TRADE DEALS WITH AFRICA.
November 1, 2007... Analysis by Sue Scott LONDON, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson went on the offensive this week, accusing nongovernmental organizations of misrepresenting the aims of the EU's pending trade deals...

SRI LANKA: MINISTER DENIES U.N. ALLEGATIONS ABOUT USE OF TORTURE.
November 1, 2007... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Sri Lanka's minister for human rights has denied allegations by a top United Nations official that torture is "routine" in the country, but there is little doubt that the...

U.S.: SENATE COMMITTEE RATIFIES LAW OF THE SEA TREATY.
November 1, 2007... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 17-4 Tuesday to ratify an international accord that sets rules governing ocean navigation, the exploitation of seabeds and research projects...

U.S.: REPUBLICAN MAVERICK CALLS FOR DIRECT TALKS WITH IRAN.
November 1, 2007... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A senior Republican lawmaker has appealed to President George W. Bush to pursue "direct, unconditional and comprehensive talks" with Tehran. The appeal, which was sent to Bush by Sen....

U.N.: SINGAPOREAN OFFICIAL DECRIES EFFORT TO SUSPEND EXECUTIONS.
November 1, 2007... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The 192-member U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote in November on one of the most divisive political issues before the world body: a moratorium on the death penalty. The...

PERU: ACTIVISTS ACCUSE PRIME MINISTER OF SIDING WITH MINING FIRM.
November 1, 2007... By Milagros Salazar LIMA, Peru, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Peruvian Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo has signed a memorandum of understanding with mayors and governors opposed to the Majaz mining company's R o Blanco project, which the...

SPAIN: COURT DECIDES ETA WAS NOT TO BLAME FOR TRAIN BOMBINGS.
November 1, 2007... By Tito Drago MADRID, Spain, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A court in Madrid sentenced three men Wednesday to thousands of years in prison for the March 11, 2004, train bombings that killed 191 people and injured nearly 2,000 in the Spanish...

ITALY: IMMIGRANT POPULATION MAY SWELL TO 10 MILLION IN 30 YEARS.
November 1, 2007... By Sabina Zaccaro ROME, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Italy is on course to become one of the European Union countries with the highest populations of immigrants within the next 20 to 30 years, according to an annual report on migrations...

BURMA-REPORT: RECRUITERS FORCE CHILD SOLDIERS TO SERVE JUNTA.
November 1, 2007... By Abra Pollock WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Burma's military government will face another round of international scrutiny next week when a working group from the U.N. Security Council meets to consider evidence in connection...

NICARAGUA: DUE TO ABORTION BAN, DOCTORS STAND BY AS WOMEN DIE.
November 1, 2007... By Jos Ad n Silva MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Nearly 90 women have died in Nicaragua over the last year as a direct or indirect result of the repeal of legislation permitting abortions in the case of pregnancies that...

SOUTH ASIA: YOUTH SIGN OPEN LETTER DEMANDING SEX ED IN SCHOOLS.
November 1, 2007... By Zofeen Ebrahim HYDERABAD, India, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Menstrual hygiene and masturbation are comfortable discussion topics for Sahinaz Khatun, a teenage student from a village in West Bengal state. Khatun -- who for the last...

RWANDA: SUSPECT IN GENOCIDE CASE REMAINS ON THE LOOSE.
November 1, 2007... By Stephanie Nieuwoudt CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Flicien Kabuga has managed to escape justice for years, despite having a reward of several million dollars on his head. Kabuga's name is at the top of a list of...

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: OFFICIALS DENY PRESENCE OF SYSTEMIC RACISM.
November 1, 2007... By Dicentsgenes Pina SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Jos Taveras, a legislator from the Dominican Republic's governing coalition, recently asserted that anti-black racism and discrimination are not problems in...

INDIA: CONGRESS PARTY AGREES TO HONOR NUCLEAR DEAL WITH U.S.
November 1, 2007... Analysis by Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, Oct. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- India's Congress Party-led coalition government is planning to push through the civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United States, having caved in to intense pressure...

AUSTRALIA: NATION SHOULD WELCOME MIGRANTS, ANALYST SAYS.
November 2, 2007... By Shailendra Singh SUVA, Fiji, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A leading economist is urging Australia to reconsider its opposition to a migrant worker scheme that could act as a safety valve for social and political pressures in neighboring...

AUSTRALIA: STATE LAGS BEHIND IN ACCEPTANCE OF NATIVE RIGHTS.
November 2, 2007... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- When the United Nations General Assembly adopted its declaration on indigenous rights, Australia was one of just four countries to vote against it. The other...

GABON: ACTIVISTS FIGHT PLAN TO BUILD DAM NEAR KONGOU FALLS.
November 2, 2007... By Nadine Stella LIBREVILLE, Gabon, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Attempts to build a hydroelectric dam are threatening to harm Kongou Falls, which has been described as the most beautiful waterfall in Central Africa. Kongou has apparently...

BRAZIL: GUARDS SHOOT ACTIVISTS PROTESTING GENETIC MODIFICATION.
November 2, 2007... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Armed guards recently attacked a group of roughly 200 rural activists who were for the second time occupying a Swiss-owned research farm in Brazil. The attack on...

LEBANON: U.N. URGES ISRAEL TO CLEAN UP OIL RELEASED BY BOMBINGS.
November 2, 2007... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Israeli Air Force's July 2006 bombing of oil storage tanks and a power station in Lebanon caused severe environmental damage that is continuing to harm people in the area,...

SWITZERLAND: WTO DUSTS OFF HIDDEN COLLECTION OF SOCIALIST ART.
November 2, 2007... By Gustavo Capdevila LISBON, Portugal, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Works of art donated by trade unions in the first half of the 20th century will soon be displayed at the World Trade Organization headquarters, after having been deliberately...

FINANCE: STRAUSS-KAHN TAKES HELM OF TURBULENT IMF.
November 2, 2007... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn started his first day as managing director of the International Monetary Fund Thursday, stepping into a tense atmosphere rife with disagreements over the agency's...

U.S.: VILLAGE ACCUSES LOCKHEED MARTIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM.
November 2, 2007... By Mark Weisenmiller TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The quiet village of Tallevast in Florida's Manatee County traces its roots back to the 1890s, when a community of shacks was built there for African-American laborers. Back...

CUBA: REPORTERS MOURN DEATH OF BRILLIANT PHOTOJOURNALIST.
November 2, 2007... By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- One of ngel Gonz lez Baldrich's lifelong friends and colleagues at the Cuban newspaper Juventud Rebelde once wrote that the photojournalist took at least 70,000 photos and published...

Q&A-ARTS: STAN DOUGLAS EXPLORES THEMES OF MEMORY, CONFLICT.
November 2, 2007... By Am Johal VANCOUVER, Canada, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Stan Douglas -- an internationally renowned photographer, filmmaker and multimedia installation artist -- has been called "one of the most accomplished Canadian artists of the...

MEXICO: OFFICIALS BRACE FOR EXPIRATION OF TRADE DEAL WITH CHINA.
November 2, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- China has beaten Mexico hands down in terms of trade in the past few years and is likely to solidify its dominance in December, when an agreement allowing Mexico to take...

Q&A-MUSIC: SONNY ROLLINS SHARES THOUGHTS ON 9/11, RACISM, AGING.
November 2, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- New York's Carnegie Hall was akin to a pilgrimage site this September when Sonny Rollins performed on the 50th anniversary of his debut at the revered venue. Jazz musicians...

EGYPT: OFFICIALS REBUT ISRAELI ACCUSATIONS OF ARMS SMUGGLING.
November 2, 2007... By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Egypt, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Throughout October Israeli officials repeatedly accused Egyptian authorities of failing to prevent weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip, leading...

CANADA: ROCK BAND RAISES MONEY FOR HEALTH CARE IN HAITI.
November 2, 2007... By Jeb Sprague* MANCHESTER, Canada, Nov. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Arcade Fire, a rock band based in Quebec, has made raising awareness and money for Haiti's most disadvantaged residents its top priority. Last weekend the band played to...

BALKANS: LEADER'S RESIGNATION HOBBLES BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT.
November 5, 2007... By Vesna Peric Zimonjic BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The resignation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Prime Minister Nikola Spiric has shown that 12 years after a historic peace agreement put an end to wars in the region,...

KENYA: LOBBY GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT TO BLOCK TRADE DEAL WITH EU.
November 5, 2007... By Rosalia Omungo NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Two lobby groups have filed a lawsuit in Kenya to halt the signing of an economic partnership agreement that is being negotiated between the European Union and a bloc of eastern...

TURKEY: RICE PLEDGES TO HELP CONTAIN THREAT OF KURDISH REBELS.
November 5, 2007... Analysis by Jacques N. Couvas ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The United States made a decisive step Friday toward appeasing Turkish public opinion by declaring the Kurdish Workers Party to be an enemy institution. During a...

HONDURAS: RADIO REPORTER FLEES FOLLOWING DEATH THREATS.
November 5, 2007... By Thelma Mejia TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The news director of the Radio Cadena Voces radio station, Dagoberto Rodriguez, fled Honduras Thursday after police warned him that he could be killed by paid gunmen in the...

BRAZIL: SOCIAL FORUM WILL HIGHLIGHT DIVERSITY OF AMAZON REGION.
November 5, 2007... By Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The international council of the World Social Forum met this week in the northern Brazilian city of Belem to plan the eighth World Social Forum, which is to be held in...

MEXICO: U.S. AND CALDERON CRAFT ANTI-DRUG PLAN IN SECRECY.
November 5, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Doubt, mistrust and political friction have arisen over the Merida Initiative, which has been negotiated virtually in secret by the governments of Mexico and the United...

TRINIDAD: DOOKERAN BASES CAMPAIGN ON 'POLITICS OF CHANGE'.
November 5, 2007... By Peter Ischyrion PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Winston Dookeran, an economist and former Central Bank governor, is hoping that the results of the Nov. 5 election will give him the chance to lead this oil-rich twin...

U.N.: YOUTH SHARE THOUGHTS ON POVERTY WITH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
November 5, 2007... By Rajiv Fernando UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The youth contingents sent to participate in the United Nations General Assembly each September usually hail from European countries. This year, however, some youth delegates came...

AFRICA-REPORT: TUBERCULOSIS SPREADS AMONG PEOPLE WITH HIV.
November 5, 2007... By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The prevalence of tuberculosis among people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa has reached crisis levels and will escalate further if decisive steps are not taken, according...

CANADA: CITING DEATHS, CRITICS CALL FOR HALT TO USE OF STUN GUNS.
November 5, 2007... By Am Johal VANCOUVER, Canada, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A 40-year-old Polish construction worker died last month at the Vancouver International Airport, after police jolted him with an electric stun gun. Robert Dziekanski had set off...

COLOMBIA: VENEZUELA, EUROPE ATTEMPT TO EASE HOSTAGE CRISIS.
November 5, 2007... Analysis by Ana Carrigan LONDON, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A legislator being held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia sent a grim message to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Sept. 26, 2006: "Mr. President, we who are...

BANGLADESH: JUDICIARY BREAKS FREE OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH.
November 5, 2007... By Farid Ahmed DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Bangladesh's judiciary has been freed from the corrosive influence of the country's bureaucracy and the political establishment, but it remains to be seen whether it will succeed...

GUATEMALA: VIOLENT CAMPAIGNS CONCLUDE WITH RUNOFF ELECTION.
November 5, 2007... By Ines Benitez GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Retired Gen. Otto Perez, who has taken a tough stance on crime, is facing off with businessman Alvaro Colom, who has put an emphasis on extending a helping hand of...

BULGARIA: TEACHERS STRIKE FOR HIGHER PAY, MONEY FOR SCHOOLS.
November 5, 2007... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Romania, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Bulgarian teachers are continuing their collective strike, which is now in its sixth week, in an attempt to double their salaries and ensure that 5 percent of the country's...

IRAQ: GANGS AND MILITIAS ROAM BAQUBA, DESPITE U.S. CHECKPOINTS.
November 5, 2007... By Ahmed Ali* BAQUBA, Iraq, Nov. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The much touted "surge" of U.S. troops in Baquba has caused more problems than it has solved, according to residents of that city, which has long been plagued by rampant violence and...

CUBA: CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS SEEK TO PUT ASIDE THEIR CONFLICTS.
November 6, 2007... By Dalia Acosta CARDENAS, Cuba, Nov. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Various Christian denominations and ecumenical organizations in Cuba are seeking to smooth over their historical differences by using a discussion of ethics to foment mutual...

TRINIDAD: RULING PARTY EMERGES AS VICTOR OF GENERAL ELECTION.
November 6, 2007... By Peter Ischyrion PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Nov. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Early results show that Patrick Manning's People's National Movement took 26 seats in Trinidad and Tobago's 41-member parliament, giving him a margin that he described...

MIDEAST: TRAVELING MEDICAL CLINIC TREATS PALESTINIAN VILLAGERS.
November 6, 2007... By Ramsey Ben-Achour RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Israeli citizens have access to some of the most sophisticated medical care in the world. Right next door, however, hundreds of thousands of poor Palestinian villagers are...

INDIA: SANITATION EXPERTS CALL FOR ALTERNATIVES TO SEWERS.
November 6, 2007... By Aparna Srivastava Reddy NEW DELHI, Nov. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Sanitation planners must embrace a radical shift away from septic tanks and sewers to enable the global community to halve the number of people without basic sanitation by...

FIJI: HIGH COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.
November 6, 2007... By Shailendra Singh SUVA, Fiji, Nov. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Civil society organizations are still celebrating a ruling handed down last month by Fiji's High Court, which decided to give the media the right to publish a confidential audit...

COTE D'IVOIRE: IMAM, PASTOR CALL FOR END TO FEMALE CIRCUMCISION.
November 6, 2007... By Fulgence Zamble ABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Muslim communities in certain parts of Africa have been strong advocates of female circumcision, mistakenly believing that this form of mutilation is a religious...

PAKISTAN: POLICE ARREST HUNDREDS OF LAWYERS AND ACTIVISTS.
November 6, 2007... By Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has shown himself to be more interested in cracking down on progressive lawyers and judges than in scaling back the activities of...

PAKISTAN: U.S. SEEMS WILLING TO CONTINUE FUNDING PAKISTANI ARMY.
November 6, 2007... By Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule, fired the country's chief justice and suspended its constitution Saturday, effectively seizing absolute power. The...

ARGENTINA: FIRE IN CRAMPED PRISON LEAVES MORE THAN 30 DEAD.
November 6, 2007... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A riot and subsequent fire that ripped through an overcrowded prison Sunday evening in northern Argentina left at least 33 inmates dead and a dozen injured. The...

U.S.-REPORT: CLIMATE CHANGE MAY POSE SEVERE SECURITY THREAT.
November 6, 2007... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Global climate change, if left unaddressed, is on course to "destabilize virtually every aspect of modern life," according to a major new report released Monday by two influential...

CANADA: AFGHAN WOMAN RECEIVES AWARD FOR FEARLESS REPORTING.
November 6, 2007... By Stephen Leahy TORONTO, Canada, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "I am staying in Afghanistan to prove that women are brave and strong," Afghan journalist Farida Nekzad said. Nekzad received death threats even as she attended the funeral of...

SYRIA: ANALYSTS SAY ISRAELI RAID LIKELY TARGETED NUCLEAR SITE.
November 6, 2007... By Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- More than two months after Israeli warplanes conducted a mysterious raid in northeast Syria, there is a growing consensus among U.S. government officials and independent analysts that...

GUATEMALA-ELECTION: SOCIAL DEMOCRAT BEATS RIGHT-WING RIVAL.
November 6, 2007... By Ines Benitez GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "Guatemala is starting out on a path to change, and from now on I am president -- I am no longer identified with a single party," said social democrat Alvaro Colom,...

HONDURAS: CONSERVATIONISTS FIGHT TO PUT FOREST LAW INTO ACTION.
November 6, 2007... By Sonia Edith Parra* LA CEIBA, Honduras, Nov. 5 (IPS/IFEJ) -- A political battle is raging in Honduras over the establishment of a legal framework for the country's new forestry law -- long delayed in Congress -- which aims to regulate...

INDIA: SCIENTIST CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION TO AVERT WARMING.
November 6, 2007... By Imelda Abano NEW DELHI, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The world's richest countries must drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change impacts, according to the lead author of a United Nations report that is...

IRAQ: DEATH THREATS AND ATTACKS FORCE FAMILIES TO FLEE.
November 6, 2007... By Ahmed Ali* BAQUBA, Iraq, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- At least 5 million Iraqis have fled their homes due to violence under the U.S.-led occupation, but half of them have been unable to leave the country, according to well-informed...

RUSSIA: WOMEN HOPE TO DOUBLE THEIR REPRESENTATION IN DUMA.
November 6, 2007... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Several female lawmakers are hoping that women will achieve a higher representation in parliament after Russia's Dec. 2 elections. "If we judge by the selection list of...

BURMA: JUNTA ASKS U.N. ENVOY TO SHORTEN DIPLOMATIC VISIT.
November 6, 2007... By Larry Jagan BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari began holding talks this weekend with senior members of the Burmese military regime, but he seems unlikely to succeed in encouraging a...

COLOMBIA: FLOODING WORSENS SPREAD OF MALARIA THROUGH CHOCO.
November 6, 2007... By Constanza Vieira and Diana Cariboni* QUIBDO, Colombia, Nov. 3 (Tierramerica) -- The Atrato River is "full of malaria," according to a dozen men standing in the water that has inundated the village of Tangui in Colombia's northwestern...

PAKISTAN: MUSHARRAF SEIZES POWER IN RESPONSE TO COURT ACTIONS.
November 6, 2007... Analysis by Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Pakistan's Supreme Court set the stage for President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency by taking a stand on crucial constitutional issues that...

PAKISTAN: PRO-TALIBAN MILITANTS WREAK HAVOC IN SWAT VALLEY.
November 6, 2007... By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Violence has escalated this week in Swat, a valley in Pakistan where a tenuous ceasefire was recently broken by pro-Taliban militants' attacks on government targets. The...

Q&A-BOLIVIA: 'WE NEED PARTNERS, NOT MASTERS,' MORALES SAYS.
November 6, 2007... By Sabina Zaccaro ROME, Nov. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales visited Italy this week to receive a special award for his government's commitment to social and health issues, which he has declared to be a political...

SRI LANKA: INFLATION TRIGGERS CRISIS IN GARMENT INDUSTRY.
November 8, 2007... By Feizal Samath COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Nov. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Thousands of young women from Sri Lanka's garment industry are clamoring for better wages in a campaign that could potentially trigger a shift in garment production to...

BRAZIL: U.N. OFFICIAL GATHERS DATA ON POLICE BRUTALITY, KILLINGS.
November 8, 2007... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The police follow a policy of "extermination" in the shantytowns of Rio de Janeiro, according to a declaration signed by 105 artists, judges and human rights...

EU: COMMISSIONER APPROVES ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT WITH SERBIA.
November 8, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The European Union has decided to deepen its political and economic ties with Serbia, despite suggestions that authorities in Belgrade may be protecting one of the most wanted...

PORTUGAL: NATIONAL LEADERS SEEK LARGER ROLE IN IBERO-AMERICA.
November 8, 2007... By Mario de Queiroz LISBON, Portugal, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Portuguese government has decided to cease being a wallflower at Ibero-American summits and take on a more active role in relation to Spanish-speaking countries. ...

CANADA: NEW PAPER CRACKS MEDIA MONOPOLY IN NEW BRUNSWICK.
November 8, 2007... By Chris Arsenault HALIFAX, Canada, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- For more than two years, the Irvings -- the 129th richest family in the world -- owned every single English language newspaper and magazine in the Canadian province of New...

ECUADOR: U.S. BASE IS NO LONGER WELCOME IN MANTA, CORREA SAYS.
November 8, 2007... By Charles Davis WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa has announced that he will not renew the United States military's lease on an Air Force base in Manta, a move cited by some in Washington as...

DEVELOPMENT-REPORT: 162 MILLION LIVE ON LESS THAN 50 CENTS A DAY.
November 8, 2007... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Aid strategies must be retooled and bigotry stamped out if the rising tide of global wealth is to reach the poorest of the poor, according to a new report. Developing countries have...

U.N.: MEMBER COUNTRIES WRANGLE OVER EXECUTION MORATORIUM.
November 8, 2007... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- More than a dozen noncommittal United Nations member states are planning to vote neither nor against a draft resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty next week. ...

CUBA: VISIT FROM RAPPORTEUR PAVES WAY FOR MORE U.N. MISSIONS.
November 8, 2007... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A U.N. official praised Cuba's creativity in coming up with solutions to feed its people, shortly before returning to Geneva from the Caribbean island late Tuesday, after an 11-day...

PAKISTAN: MUSHARRAF USES STATE OF EMERGENCY TO STIFLE PRESS.
November 8, 2007... By Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Pakistan's television industry, save for the state-controlled Pakistan Television station, came to a grinding halt after the government blocked all transmission early Saturday...

INDIA: PUBLIC DEPLORES BLOODY END OF INTERRELIGOUS MARRIAGE.
November 8, 2007... By Sujoy Dhar CALCUTTA, India, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A spate of rallies and protests have rocked Calcutta, which has always prided itself for its intellectual and secular credentials, ever since Sept. 21, when a Muslim man was found...

U.S.: RURAL ALASKAN VILLAGES SAVE MONEY BY USING WIND POWER.
November 8, 2007... By Barbara Maynard/ IFEJ* ST. LOUIS, Mo., Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A school, an airstrip and 110 homes are clustered in the coastal village of Yup'ik, an Eskimo community of Toksook Bay. Residents in this village -- which is located...

Q&A-AFGHANISTAN: WOMEN'S RIGHTS ADVOCATE FEARS FOR HER LIFE.
November 8, 2007... By Am Johal VANCOUVER, Canada, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Malalai Joya was 4 years old when her family fled Afghanistan in 1982 to the refugee camps of Iran and later Pakistan. Her father was a medical student who lost a foot during the...

EU: EASTERN EUROPE TIGHTENS BORDERS FOR SCHENGEN EXPANSION.
November 8, 2007... By Zolt n Dujisin PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Nov. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Cigarette smuggling, illegal refugee crossing and organized crime have thrived in recent years along the eastern borders of the EU, but governments in that area are now...

MOROCCO: POPULAR SUPPORT FOR MONARCHY IN DOWNWARD SPIRAL.
November 9, 2007... By Abderrahim El Ouali CASABLANCA, Morocco, Nov. 9, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Morocco, a North African nation ruled by a king, has recently exhibited a new openness to democracy, but the public seems skeptical of such a political transformation....

PAKISTAN: INTELLIGENTSIA FINDS WAYS TO RESIST EMERGENCY RULE.
November 9, 2007... By Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov. 9, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Pakistani intellectuals and civil society activists are finding alternative ways to express dissent, now that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has imposed news blackout and used...

U.S.: FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN FORECASTS SLUGGISH ECONOMY.
November 9, 2007... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. economy will slow down and face increased inflation pressure in coming months, but it will likely be spared the crippling stagflation that occurred in the 1970s, the central bank...

AFRICA: DRUG-RESISTANT TB MAY BE MORE COMMON THAN DATA SHOW.
November 9, 2007... By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Nov. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The medical establishment has only seen the tip of the iceberg regarding the scope and prevalence of extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa,...

CANADA: POLICE DRAW CRITICISM FOR DEATHS OF INDIGENOUS INMATES.
November 9, 2007... By Am Johal VANCOUVER, Canada, Nov. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- At least 267 civilians have died while being pursued or incarcerated by policing authorities since 1992 in British Columbia alone, according to the province's Coroners Service. ...