Interpress Service articles from October 2008

Interpress Service archives from October 2008

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: WOMEN ADVANCE IN NATIONAL ROLES.
October 1, 2008... By Mantoe Phakathi MBABANE, Oct. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - The crowd ululated, whistled and danced. Their candidate had won! Last Sunday, the people of Mbabane East returned Esther Dlamini to Swaziland's House of Assembly for a second term. ...

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: CALLS GROW TO ABOLISH ANTI-TERROR LAW.
October 1, 2008... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Public opposition is mounting against Malaysia's draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), a relic of colonialism that gives police unchallenged discretion to arrest and indefinitely...

PAKISTAN: VIOLENCE, PRICE HIKES DAMPEN JOY OF MUSLIM FEST.
October 1, 2008... By Beena Sarwar KARACHI, Oct. 1, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to a close, the shopping frenzy around Pakistan increases in preparation for Eid, the joyous three-day festival of thanksgiving to celebrate the...

ECONOMY-US: BUSH PLAN DOWN BUT NOT OUT.
October 1, 2008... By Adrianne Appel BOSTON, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Leading U.S. lawmakers and the cabinet of Pres. George W. Bush met behind closed doors Tuesday to strategize a way to win more votes for their 700-billion-dollar Wall Street bail-out plan...

U.S.: BRIEF TALKS WITH SYRIA SUGGEST POSSIBLE RAPPROCHEMENT.
October 1, 2008... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - A series of meetings between U.S. and Syrian diplomats, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterpart, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, at the United Nations over the...

EGYPT-REFUGEES: STEPPING STONES ACROSS THE DESERT.
October 1, 2008... By Aya Batrawy CAIRO, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - "When I left Darfur, I left the hell of death and entered the hell of life. That is the only difference," said Galoud*, one of the many Darfuri refugees who have escaped to Egypt. Galoud...

MEXICO: MARCHING ON THE CAPITAL.
October 1, 2008... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Dozens of indigenous people walking naked along a main avenue while demanding land, or thousands of stick-wielding teachers blocking main streets at rush hour, are not uncommon...

POLITICS-ANGOLA: RISE IN WOMEN DELEGATES PROMISES CHANGE.
October 1, 2008... By Louise Redvers LUANDA, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Something looked very different at the inauguration of Angola's newly elected parliament, held Tuesday at the Talatona Convention Centre in Luanda, the capital -- this is not a boys' club...

ECONOMY-CUBA: CRACKDOWN AIMED AT VENDORS OVER HIGH PRICES.
October 1, 2008... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - The Cuban government is seeking to curb excessive food prices in farmers' markets by cracking down on speculation and theft, which will benefit consumers but may discourage producers,...

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: DNA TESTS HELP TO ID 'STOLEN' CHILDREN.
October 1, 2008... By Sebasti n Lacunza BUENOS AIRES, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - DNA testing and court resolutions in Argentina have been key factors in speeding up the work of establishing the true identities of the children who were stolen from their...

U.S.: GREAT PLACE FOR THE OIL BUSINESS.
October 1, 2008... By Stephen Leahy UXBRIDGE, Canada, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - The annual U.S. subsidy to the oil industry averages 39 billion dollars a year, when the costs of guarding oil lanes in the Persian/Arab Gulf, and the Alaska Pipeline are...

IRAQ: IS KURDISH-ARAB "HONEYMOON" OVER?
October 1, 2008... Analysis by Mohammed A. Salih COLUMBIA, Missouri, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Tensions between Kurds and the Iraqi government over disputed territory have heightened recently, raising fears that they might lead to ethnic clashes between...

ISRAEL: A WOMAN PREPARES TO TAKE THE NATION'S HELM.
October 1, 2008... Analysis by Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Just a week after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was charged with forming a new government, it looks as if the new leader of the ruling Kadima party is on the way to cobbling...

EUROPE: NEW RESOURCE GIVEAWAY TO CORPORATIONS IN THE CARDS.
October 1, 2008... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - European Union officials are drawing up a new strategy for giving multinational companies greater access to minerals and wood located in poor countries. With Europe importing up to 80...

SOUTH SUDAN: GROWING WOMEN'S POWER IN GOVERNMENT.
October 1, 2008... By Skye Wheeler JUBA, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - When Sabrina Dario Lokolong, the Speaker of South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria State Assembly, enters or leaves Parliament, all the other members of parliament must stand up. "People,...

AFGHANISTAN: SUBSIDISED FUEL TRAIL WINDS BACK TO PAKISTAN.
October 1, 2008... By Anand Gopal* KABUL, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - In a teeming petrol market on the outskirts of Kabul, black market traders sell fuel to everyone from individual customers to large business groups. Although much of this petrol comes from...

PAKISTAN: TAX PAYERS PAY FOR SUBSIDISED FUEL TO AFGHANISTAN.
October 1, 2008... By Ashfaq Yusufzai* PESHAWAR, Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Petrol pumps in Pakistan's border regions do brisk business. Jerry cans of fuel are carried both clandestinely and openly across the porous frontier for sale in neighbouring...

Q&A: 'OIL PRICES HAVE REVIVED INTEREST IN DAMS'.
October 1, 2008... by Marwaan Macan-Markar VIENTIANE , Sep. 30, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - Concerns over the future of fisheries in the Mekong River floated to the surface at the first round of discussions held here late this month to shape a blueprint to build a...

AGRICULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: GM SORGHUM TEST APPROVED.
October 3, 2008... By Busani Bafana JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- As Africa grapples with growing food shortages, biotechnology boosters seem to have an answer: genetically modified crops to feed a continent vulnerable to famine and food deficits....

PHILIPPINES: TRIBAL LEADER DEFENDS INDIGENOUS WAY OF LIFE.
October 3, 2008... By Prime Sarmiento MANILA, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Ask Timuay Nanding Mudai how long he has been serving as traditional leader of the Subanon, one of the many indigenous groups based in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, and he will answer...

ECONOMY-US: "SWEETENED" BAILOUT GOES BACK TO THE HOUSE.
October 3, 2008... By Adrianne Appel BOSTON, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The bailout bill passed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday is nearly the same Wall Street giveaway as its original, critics say -- except that it now includes $100 billion more in tax giveaways...

Q&A: BLIX FEARS NUCLEAR BUILDUP WORLDWIDE.
October 3, 2008... by David Cronin BRUSSELS, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) --Former U.N. inspector, Hans Blix, has been asked to establish the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, an international body funded by the Swedish government. He's interviewed here by...

CARIBBEAN: BRACING FOR U.S. SNEEZE.
October 3, 2008... By Peter Richards PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- While United States lawmakers debate the pros and cons of providing a 700-billion-dollar bailout for floundering financial firms, Caribbean countries are bracing for the...

INDIA/US: SENATE PASSES NUKE DEAL OVER ESCALATION FEARS.
October 3, 2008... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- While the U.S. Senate's approval of a controversial nuclear deal with India was hailed by the White House Thursday as a major advance in Washington's "strategic relationship" with the...

PERU: MOBILIZING TO HOLD PRESIDENT TO HIS PROMISES.
October 3, 2008... By Milagros Salazar LIMA, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Social movements, trade unions, peasant farmer and indigenous organizations are holding strikes and demonstrations to demand that Peruvian President Alan Garc a fulfill the social...

ARGENTINA: GUARDIANS OF THE RIVER.
October 3, 2008... By Marcela Valente PUERTO RECONQUISTA, Argentina, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- "There is no water there are no fish," said Olga Ledesma, her skin weathered from 40 years of small-scale fishing, as the boat slowly winds its way along a branch...

MIDEAST: BREAKING THE SILENCE.
October 3, 2008... By Cherrie Heywood RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- An Israeli police commander has called them "provocateurs," "militants," and, "lawbreakers." Earlier in the year the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) decided that their presence...

CZECH REPUBLIC: COMMUNISM ALIVE, DESPITE PERSECUTION.
October 3, 2008... By Zolt n Dujisin PRAGUE, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The government's frequent use of the 'communist card' against opponents is casting a shadow on its lustration attempts in a country where an isolated but strong communist party persists....

RIGHTS: RENDITION VICTIMS "MISSING" IN ETHIOPIA.
October 3, 2008... By Wolfgang Kerler UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses the Ethiopian government of detaining at least 10 victims of unlawful rendition incommunicado and without charge since early...

HONDURAS: GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING ALLOCATION AS "SUBTLE CENSORSHIP".
October 3, 2008... By Thelma Mej a TEGUCIGALPA, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Government practices for allocating official advertising to the Honduran media include reward and punishment policies, payments to individual journalists, and even denial of access to...

SOUTH SUDAN: TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY SEEKS ITS PLACE.
October 3, 2008... By Skye Wheeler TONJ, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A lion attempted to devour Dinka chief Makom Majong Makom once. It was during the long years of Sudan's north-south conflict that also saw a militia attack nearly destroy his rural South...

ECONOMY: KENYAN COMPANIES CAUTIOUSLY VENTURE INTO REGIONAL MARKET.
October 3, 2008... By Charles Wachira NAIROBI, Oct. 2, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Dr. Manu Chandaria (79) has been lionized as East Africa's most respected chief executive officer of a company. In the late 1960s, when the indigenes of the African continent were...

IRAQ: ADVOCATES URGE U.S. TO SHELTER MORE REFUGEES FROM WAR.
October 6, 2008... By Zainab Mineeia WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The United States is being asked to admit more Iraqi refugees amid fears that returning home remains dangerous for many displaced Iraqis. While there has been a marked increase in...

SRI LANKA: POPULAR GENERAL AMONG 25 VICTIMS OF SUICIDE BOMBING.
October 6, 2008... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A suicide bombing Monday in Sri Lanka killed a former army chief and 24 other people. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were blamed for the attack after the Sri...

POLITICS-U.S.: MICHIGAN REPUBLICANS TAKE STOCK AS MCCAIN EXITS.
October 6, 2008... By Bankole Thompson DETROIT, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Michigan Republicans vowed to continue campaigning for GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain despite the candidate's withdrawal from their state. Top Republicans, conservative...

ENVIRONMENT: EU LOOKS AT OUTSOURCING GLOBAL WARMING FIGHT.
October 6, 2008... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- European Union lawmakers were to consider a proposal this week that would allow promised cuts in greenhouse emissions to be undertaken outside nations in the bloc. Warning...

ANALYSIS-EAST TIMOR: STABILITY DEPENDS ON LEADERS, NOT TROOPS.
October 6, 2008... Analysis by Setyo Budi DILI, East Timor, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- East Timor's political elite must unite and stop bickering for power instead of leaving the nation's stability in the hands of international troops, according to observers....

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: COALITION AIMS TO END 'HONOR' KILLINGS.
October 6, 2008... By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A campaign against "honor" killings in Pakistan has support from lawmakers and lawyers pressing for modifications of Islamic law to prevent perpetrators from evading justice....

SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT PLEDGES TO KEEP TRAPPED TAMILS SUPPLIED.
October 6, 2008... By IPS Correspondents COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Oct. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Sri Lankan government said it will organize weekly food convoys to 220,000 civilians trapped by fighting in an area known as the Vanni. "The plan is to move at...

DEVELOPMENT: IBSA NATIONS ARE FINDING EQUALITY IS ELUSIVE.
October 6, 2008... By Ranjit Devraj NEW DELHI, Oct. 4, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Top social scientists from India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) are sobered by the thought that large sections of their populations remain excluded from the economic growth boasted of...

LATAM-ASIA: ECONOMIC CRISIS WON'T KILL PLANS FOR INTEGRATION.
October 6, 2008... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Latin America Pacific Arc will not modify its strategy of integration with Asia "because of unfavorable financial circumstances,", Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley...

SCIENCE: REAL, BUT SILLY, RESEARCH WINS SCIENTISTS IG NOBEL PRIZE.
October 6, 2008... By Adrianne Appel BOSTON, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- If you always thought there was something oddly intelligent about that slime slithering across your garden, you can rest assured that your hunch is supported by award-winning scientific...

POLITICS: SOUTH KOREA'S PERSISTENT DREAM OF REGIONALISM.
October 6, 2008... Analysis by John Feffer WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The Six Party Talks -- involving the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan, and Russia -- offer one potential model for regional collaboration on a regional security...

POLITICS-U.S.: VOTERS SEE BUSH AS OUT OF TOUCH ON LATIN AMERICA.
October 6, 2008... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The policies of the George W. Bush administration lag public opinion on a host of issues relating to Latin America, according to a new poll of likely voters across the U.S. The poll,...

Q&A: PROSPERITY FOR LATIN AMERICA "IS IN GREEN TECHNOLOGIES".
October 6, 2008... by Stephen Leahy/Tierramrica* TORONTO, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Achim Steiner, the eloquent executive director of the United Nations Environment Program thinks Mexico could take a leadership role in the new "green" economy. "UNEP...

POLITICS-OBAMA: "SUBSIDIZING BIG OIL MAKES NO SENSE".(Interview)
October 6, 2008... by Bankole Thompson GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama spoke Thursday in Grand Rapids, Mich., where over 15,000 enthusiastic supporters turned out to hear his message of...

RIGHTS: U.N. REPORT CHASTISES ISRAEL FOR HARASSING JOURNALISTS.
October 6, 2008... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A U.N. report on the human rights situation in Palestinian territories blasts the Israeli government for its heavy-handed treatment of journalists reporting on the military...

CARIBBEAN: EDUCATED PEOPLE WISH FOR OPTION OTHER THAN LEAVING.
October 6, 2008... By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Oct. 3, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Like other developing regions, the Caribbean is no stranger to brain drain. Besides the impact on local economies, the exodus of university graduates has profound social implications, and...

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: PEOPLE STILL WAITING ON PROMISED LIBERTIES.
October 7, 2008... By Tonderai Kwidini HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- So far, the signing of a power-sharing agreement between Zimbabwe's political factions has changed little on the civil liberties front. For instance, police arrested 25...

MALAYSIA: GIRLS ARE MAIN VICTIMS AS HUMAN TRAFFICKING RISES.
October 7, 2008... By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Poverty and vulnerability are behind a rising trend in the trafficking of tribal people, mostly young girls, across Southeast Asia, researchers say. The emerging...

ANALYSIS-TURKEY: GOVERNMENT MUZZLING MEDIA THAT CRITICIZES.
October 7, 2008... Analysis by Hilmi Toros ISTANBUL, Turkey, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Many sections of Turkish media critical of the government say Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is bent on silencing them through intimidation -- or controlling them...

BELARUS: NATIONS STILL SHUN PRESIDENT AFTER TROUBLED ELECTIONS.
October 7, 2008... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MINSK, Belarus, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- European Union member states and the United States are not supporting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko following elections that international observers found to be...

SRI LANKA: OFFICIAL CALLS FOR PAYING LOANS WITH CARBON CREDITS.
October 7, 2008... By Feizal Samath COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Sri Lanka wants developing countries to be able to reduce their debts with credits against the environmental destruction and climate change attributed to the developed nations....

TRADE: FREE TRADE DEALS IN ASIA TAKING LONGER THAN EU HOPED.
October 7, 2008... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Plans to conclude free trade agreements between the European Union and several Asian nations are unlikely to be realized in the near future, a senior Brussels official has...

EL SALVADOR: POVERTY OUTPACES INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO FIGHT IT.
October 7, 2008... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - A World Food Program study finds rising food prices is pushing poverty up in Central America. According to the study, Price Rises, Markets and Food...

ENVIRONMENT: CALL ARISES FOR PUTTING NATURE FIRST IN ECONOMY.
October 7, 2008... By Julio Godoy/Terraviva * BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The financial meltdown in most of the industrialized world presents an opportunity for a new economic model that would end the short-sighted search for high returns,...

MIDEAST: SMELL HAS PALESTINIANS MISTRUSTING ISRAELI WATER.
October 7, 2008... By Ramesh Jaura/Terraviva * BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Palestinian villagers drink unsafe agricultural water rather than trusting water provided by an Israeli company, said Buthaina Mizyed, who has worked with the water...

TRADE-LATAM: DIVERSIFICATION OF MARKETS BLUNTS MONEY CRISIS.
October 7, 2008... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- South America's tendency toward trade diversification over the past few years may spare the region the worst repercussions from the U.S. financial crisis, experts say....

POLITICS-U.S.: ASIAN AMERICANS TILT HEAVILY TOWARD OBAMA IN POLL.
October 7, 2008... By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- By a margin of nearly 2 to 1, Asian-American voters favor Democratic Sen. Barack Obama over his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, in the Nov. 4 elections, according to a major poll...

POLITICS-NAMIBIA: WOMEN URGED TO PUSH GOAL OF GENDER EQUALITY.
October 7, 2008... By Moses Magadza WINDHOEK, Namibia, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Namibian gender activists applaud the goal of a 50/50 split of women and men in government by 2015, but warn that the real work is only just beginning. The goal was set by...

POLITICS: U.N. TO DECIDE ON BID TO FIGHT KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE.
October 7, 2008... By Wolfgang Kerler UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The rift between Serbia and Kosovo is deepening ahead of a U.N. General Assembly session on Wednesday, when member states will decide whether to grant Serbia's request for a...

PERU: NATIVE GROUPS DENOUNCE ENCROACHMENT OF COCA GROWERS.
October 7, 2008... By Milagros Salazar SATIPO, Peru, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Indigenous people are complaining to the government about farmers from Peru's impoverished provinces of Ayacucho moving into their land in the jungle region to grow coca. The...

CUBA: MORE BLOGGERS ARE FIRING OFF THOUGHTS FROM THE ISLAND.
October 7, 2008... By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Oct. 6, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The emergence of a Cuban community of bloggers on the island may soon be more than just wishful thinking. Blogging has finally hit Cuba despite the challenge of gaining access to the...

THAILAND-ANALYSIS: NEW VIOLENCE RAISES FEARS OF MILITARY RULE.
October 8, 2008... Analysis by Larry Jagan BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The battle for Bangkok has entered a new and violent phase, the logical end of which can only be another bout of military rule. So far, the army chiefs have been...

ECONOMY-CHINA: WATCHERS ARE GIVING BEIJING A 'BUY U.S.' SIGNAL.
October 8, 2008... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - China has taken a position of watchful caution amid a clamor from several quarters for the nation to purchase U.S. assets amid economic turmoil. The Wall Street fire-sale has...

POLITICS-THAILAND: PEOPLE ARE WEARY OF INSTABILITY, BUT SEE MORE.
October 8, 2008... Analysis by Johanna Son BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- In the wake of Tuesday's violent clashes with anti-government protesters, Noi, a Thai employee, said: "This is like a horror movie with no ending." Like her, many...

Q&A-ECONOMY: WORLD BANK OFFICIAL SEES HIT TO LATIN AMERICA.
October 8, 2008... Sabina Zaccaro interviews PAMELA COX from the World Bank ROME, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The global financial crisis and rising food prices are certain to impact Latin America despite the growth in recent years, said Pamela Cox, the World...

HEALTH-AFRICA: GROUP SAYS BEST MALARIA FIGHTERS ALREADY EXIST.
October 8, 2008... By Sarah McGregor DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- An international consortium tackling malaria has decided the key to eliminating deaths from the disease worldwide by 2015 is to widen availability of existing diagnostic...

ANALYSIS-LEBANON: RELATIONSHIP WITH SYRIA ONLY LOOKS EASIER.
October 8, 2008... Analysis by Mona Alami BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Small countries right next to one another, Syria and Lebanon seem light years apart. The two countries have shared a rocky relationship for decades, characterized mainly...

RIGHTS: TORTURE 'ROUTINE' IN JORDANIAN PRISONS, REPORT SAYS.
October 8, 2008... By Zainab Mineeia WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch accuses Jordanian authorities of routine and widespread torture of prisoners and calls for an end to the abuses. According to the...

SERBIA: STUDY FINDS WOMEN FARMERS WORK HARDER FOR LESS.
October 8, 2008... By Vesna Peric Zimonjic BELGRADE, Serbia, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Among disadvantaged women in Serbia, none seem worse off than farmers, a new study shows. Research carried out in 50 villages across Serbia indicates that two out of...

HEALTH: BIRD FLU PANDEMIC IS STILL POSSIBLE, WHO WARNS.
October 8, 2008... By Stella Gonzales MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 8, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - A World Health Organization official said people may be growing apathetic to the avian flu problem and could be letting their guard down in protecting themselves against the...

ECONOMY-U.S.: SOME CREATIVE WORDS ON CRISIS WORK, OTHERS DON'T.
October 8, 2008... Analysis by Peter Costantini SEATTLE, Washington, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Crises seem to awaken the inner poet of the commentariat, and the Crash of 2008 is no exception. In an effort to wrap the mind around a phenomenon as expansive...

ECONOMY-U.S.: HEDGE AGAINST DEBT-BASED SECURITIES FAILS.
October 8, 2008... By Peter Costantini SEATTLE, Washington, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - An obscure variety of financial derivative designed, ironically, to provide insurance against the failure of debt-based securities played a leading role in Wall Street's...

RIGHTS: JUDGE SAYS TO LET CHINESE MUSLIMS AT GUANTANAMO OUT.
October 8, 2008... By Ali Gharib WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- A federal court decision Tuesday ordered the release of 17 Muslim minority Chinese men who have been held without charges for seven years in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But despite the...

MEXICO: POLICE ARRESTED FOR KILLING INDIGENOUS PROTESTERS.
October 8, 2008... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Thirty police are under investigation or arrest in connection with the recent killings of six indigenous people and the injuries suffered by 17 others in a clash with police in the...

U.S.: PAKISTAN "GREATEST SINGLE CHALLENGE" TO NEXT PRESIDENT.
October 8, 2008... By Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Calling Pakistan the "greatest single challenge" to the next U.S. administration, a bipartisan group of South Asia experts recommends cutting aid to the Pakistani army unless it commits...

COLOMBIA: SUGAR WORKERS STRIKE FOR BASIC RIGHTS.
October 8, 2008... By Constanza Vieira BOGOTA, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- "We sugarcane cutters are neither delinquents nor terrorists; we are honest workers demanding respect for our rights," say Colombia's cane harvesters, who have been on strike since...

ECONOMY-U.S.: BAILOUT WON'T KEEP ECONOMY AFLOAT, EXPERTS SAY.
October 8, 2008... By Adrianne Appel BOSTON, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The U.S. Treasury's bonanza from Congress to hand out $700 billion to Wall Street is not what the country needs to right its shaky economy, many independent experts say. "Despite the...

LATAM-CARIBBEAN: SUMMIT AIMS TO INCREASE UNITY AMONG NATIONS.
October 8, 2008... By Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- For the first time, the heads of state and government of Latin America and the Caribbean will gather for a summit meeting in a new attempt to further regional integration....

BIODIVERSITY: POVERTY DRIVING MAMMALS' RATE OF EXTINCTION.
October 8, 2008... By Alejandro Kirk* BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 7, 2008 (TerraViva/IPS) -- One in four mammals on Earth is at risk of disappearing forever, according to the new Red List of Threatened Species released Monday by the Geneva-based International...

ENVIRONMENT: CLIMATE CHANGE FIGHT MAY SURVIVE MONEY CRISIS.
October 8, 2008... By Ramesh Jaura BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 7, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- The global financial turmoil will not push climate change action into a corner, said Pamela Cox, the World Bank's vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean. "I'm an...

FINANCE-U.S.: MODEST NEEDS SITE PULLS PEOPLE FROM BRINK OF CRISIS.
October 9, 2008... By Enrique Gili SAN DIEGO, Calif., Oct. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - The creator of a Web site called Modest Needs took his own experience of finding a helping hand and came up with a way to help others facing a financial gap. "Peer-to-peer...

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: REFORMS IN DOUBT AS ABDULLAH STEPS BACK.
October 9, 2008... Analysis by Anil Netto PENANG, Malaysia, Oct. 9, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to announced Wednesday that he would not be defending the presidency of the dominant party in the ruling coalition in party polls next year....