Interpress Service articles from September 2007

Interpress Service archives from September 2007

PERU: MAYOR OF PISCO FACES CORRUPTION CHARGES AFTER QUAKE.
September 4, 2007... By Angel P ez PISCO, Peru, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Mayor Juan Mendoza seems perfectly at home as residents of Pisco clamor and cluster around him. "Juanito, I need a coffin," one says. "Juanito, we need tents in my barrio," another...

INDIA: 10 YEARS LATER, NUNS CARRY ON MOTHER TERESA'S WORK.
September 4, 2007... By Sujoy Dhar CALCUTTA, India, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Sex workers hang around on the seedy street that leads to Nirmal Hriday, the home for the dying founded by Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa. Ten years after Mother Teresa's own...

ISRAEL: POLICE DEMOLISH HOMES IN BEDOUIN VILLAGE.
September 4, 2007... By Nora Barrows-Friedman AMRA, Israel, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Israeli police and security forces invaded the small Bedouin village of Taweel abu Jabral in the Negev desert last week, backed by bulldozers and dump trucks. Residents...

AUSTRALIA: TASMANIAN PULP MILL SPARKS CONTROVERSY.
September 4, 2007... By Neena Bhandari /IFEJ SYDNEY, Australia, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A proposal to build a pulp mill in the scenic Tamar Valley of the island state of Tasmania has become a contentious issue between environmentalists and pro-development...

BRAZIL: SUGAR FACTORY POLLUTES TOWN, DAMAGES LOCAL ECONOMY.
September 4, 2007... By Mario Osava MAURILANDIA, Brazil, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Sugarcane workers in the small Brazilian town of Maurilandia mourned as they ate 200 little roasted wild birds. The workers did not hunt the birds -- they merely collected the...

SPAIN: ENVIRONMENTALISTS ATTEND U.N. SUMMIT ON DESERTIFICATION.
September 4, 2007... By Tito Drago MADRID, Spain, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The prince and princess of Asturias inaugurated the Eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Monday in Spain's capital. Teo...

RUSSIA: ACTIVISTS QUESTION ARRESTS IN POLITKOVSKAYA CASE.
September 4, 2007... By Kester Kenn Klomegah MOSCOW, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Human rights advocates remain unconvinced as to whether the recent arrest of 10 suspects in connection with the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya is anything more than a...

FRANCE: UNION DECRIES SARKOZY'S SUPPORT FOR NEW TRANSIT LAW.
September 4, 2007... By Michael Deibert PARIS, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Members of one of France's two largest labor unions recently accused the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy of attempting to "disarm" French workers through a new law aimed at...

FINANCE: EU AND RUSSIA NOMINATE CANDIDATES FOR TOP JOB AT IMF.
September 4, 2007... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Sep. 2, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Two candidates are vying to become managing director of the International Monetary Fund: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister nominated by the European Union, and...

PAKISTAN: ABDUCTIONS BY TALIBAN EXPOSE MUSHARRAF'S WEAKNESS.
September 4, 2007... By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sep. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Taliban captured 180 soldiers in two separate incidents this week, drawing attention to the deterioration of Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's authority in the...

EU: PARLIAMENT LEADER SEEKS TO SUSPEND TRADE PACT WITH ISRAEL.
September 4, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Sep. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A vice president of the European Parliament recently reiterated her call for the European Union to suspend its free trade agreement with Israel, in protest of human rights...

PERU: POOREST DISTRICTS STRUGGLE TO RECOVER FROM EARTHQUAKE.
September 4, 2007... By Angel P ez PISCO, Peru, Aug. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "God told us to go where the suffering was greatest, and here we are," said Pastor Pedro Leyva D az, distributing food, clothes and sweets in dozens of poor communities devastated by...

COLOMBIA: CHAVEZ BROKERS TALKS BETWEEN URIBE AND GUERRILLAS.
September 4, 2007... By Constanza Vieira HATO GRANDE, Colombia, Aug. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Leaders from the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia announced Friday that they have agreed to hold talks in Caracas regarding a...

U.S.: CUBAN FATHER FIGHTS FOR CUSTODY OF DAUGHTER IN MIAMI.
September 4, 2007... By Jonathan Bell WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Seven years after the Elian Gonzalez case, a custody battle is once again raging in Miami over the fate of a Cuban child. The case is eerily similar to Elian's: A Cuban father is...

LEBANON: PALESTINIAN REFUGEES INCREASINGLY EMBRACE HAMAS.
September 5, 2007... By Anand Gopal BADDAWI CAMP, Lebanon, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Near the entrance of Baddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, a huge Hamas banner covers the side of a house. Down the road, more Hamas flags flutter in the...

MOLDOVA: FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC SEEKS DISTANCE FROM RUSSIA.
September 5, 2007... By Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Romania, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Moldova's Communist President has been trying to make his country more independent from both Russia and Romania, but Moscow's grip on the former Soviet republic remains...

IRAQ: MISERY UNDERLIES PEACEFUL VENEER, FALLUJAH RESIDENTS SAY.
September 5, 2007... By Ali al-Fadhily* FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- High unemployment rates, soaring food prices and the continuation of a U.S.-imposed ban on motor transportation are making life in Fallujah increasingly difficult, according to...

ITALY: FLORENCE CRIMINALIZES INFORMAL WINDSHIELD WASHING.
September 5, 2007... By Stefania Milan FLORENCE, Italy, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Fifteen windshield washers were reported to authorities in Florence, Italy, last week, following the passage of a bylaw that made windshield cleaning into a criminal offense....

CHINA: SEVERE DROUGHT LEADS TO RUNAWAY INFLATION.
September 5, 2007... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Chinese leaders are beginning to fear that runaway inflation may ignite social unrest throughout the country, as food prices continue to soar. Efforts to combat price hikes by...

EL SALVADOR: POLICE STAND ACCUSED OF OPERATING DEATH SQUADS.
September 5, 2007... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Numerous police officers in El Salvador have recently been arrested and accused of committing extrajudicial executions. Police Sergeant Nelson...

KENYA: FEMALE PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES SCRAPE FOR FUNDS.
September 5, 2007... By Joyce Mulama NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Many female candidates in Kenya are having difficulty raising the money necessary to pay for posters, campaign appearances, radio spots and television advertisements, which are all...

SPAIN: SELF-IMMOLATION HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF TRAFFICKING VICTIMS.
September 5, 2007... By Tito Drago MADRID, Spain, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A Romanian immigrant set himself alight in Spain Tuesday, expressing his despair and frustration at being unable to take his wife and children back to their home country. The man,...

AGRICULTURE: U.S. IMPORTS DRIVE AFRICAN LIVESTOCK TO EXTINCTION.
September 5, 2007... By Anuradha Kher UNITED NATIONS, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Wild and exotic animals aren't the only creatures facing imminent extinction -- many breeds of indigenous livestock in Africa, Asia and Latin America are also at risk of...

CLIMATE CHANGE: ANALYSTS URGE EU TO CURB AIRPLANE EXHAUST.
September 5, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The European Union must incorporate air travel into its program for addressing climate change in order to keep its pledge to curb the release of greenhouse gases, a new study has...

BRAZIL: DISABLED CHILDREN GAIN CONFIDENCE THROUGH SPORTS.
September 5, 2007... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Andrea, 10, began swimming as a toddler and trains twice a month in the ocean. Her mother said she has never been given special treatment, even though she has been...

INDONESIA: YOUNG ACTIVISTS PROTEST MALAYSIAN POLICE VIOLENCE.
September 5, 2007... By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The shoddy treatment of Indonesian workers in Malaysia has soured relations between the Southeast Asian neighbors. Political commentators see the clash as one arising from...

U.S./IRAQ: HADITHA SQUAD LEADER FACES MURDER CHARGES.
September 5, 2007... By Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Sep. 4, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A preliminary hearing for Marine Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich is finally underway at Camp Pendelton in California. Charged with 13 counts of murder in connection with the deaths of 18...

BRAZIL: ACTIVISTS SEEK TO RETURN MINING COMPANY TO STATE HANDS.
September 5, 2007... By Fabiana Frayssinet RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Some 200 civil society organizations are attempting to undo the much-criticized privatization of Brazil's largest mining company, which is also facing a number of...

Q&A-INDIA: PRIZEWINNING JOURNALIST DENOUNCES MASS MEDIA.
September 5, 2007... By Paranjoy Guha Thakurta NEW DELHI, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Palagummi Sainath, winner of this year's Ramon Magsaiday award in the category for journalism, literature, creative communication and arts, believes that monopolistic trends...

Q&A: HEAD OF TRANSPORT UNION DISCUSSES MARITIME LABOR ISSUES.
September 5, 2007... By Miren Gutierrez ROME, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- David Cockroft sent shock waves through the shipping business in 2001 when he paid $4,500 for a first officer's certificate. Lacking both training and skills, he was able to procure the...

GLOBAL WARMING: SHRUBS SET TO GAIN FROM RISING CO2 LEVELS.
September 5, 2007... By Stephen Leahy BROOKLIN, Canada, Sep. 1, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to climb, shrubs and other woody plants may start taking over grassland areas, according to a recent study. Published Aug. 28 in...

ARGENTINA: LAWMAKERS CONSIDER PLAN TO PROTECT COASTAL PARK.
September 6, 2007... By Marcela Valente /Tierramrica BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Sept. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A proposal to protect the rich biological diversity in the southern province of Chubut, is awaiting legislative approval. If passed, the legislation...

BOOKS: MEARSHEIMER AND WALT RELEASE BOOK ON PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY.
September 6, 2007... Analysis by Khody Akhavi WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt have expanded their controversial article on pro-Israel lobby groups in the U.S. into a 355-page book called "The Israel Lobby and U.S....

IRAN: GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS CONTROL BY SENDING DISSIDENTS AWAY.
September 6, 2007... By Kimia Sanati TEHRAN, Iran, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The Iranian establishment appears to be encouraging dissident academics, artists and political activists to leave the country and go into self-exile. Activists say this informal...

IRAQ: SAMARRA RESIDENTS FLEE ONSLAUGHT AGAINST CIVILIANS.
September 6, 2007... By Ali al-Fadhily* BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Residents are fleeing the Iraqi city of Samarra in the face of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and resistance groups. The fleeing residents said military attacks on...

EU: CARMAKERS APPEAR UNLIKELY TO MEET ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS.
September 6, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Carmakers in Europe are missing their targets for reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released by their vehicles, according to new data from the European Commission. In...

MALAYSIA: ENVIRONMENTALISTS DECRY STATE LOANS TO TIMBER FIRMS.
September 6, 2007... By Anil Netto PENANG, Malaysia, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Malaysian critics have alleged that the government's plan to give a dozen timber firms soft loans to finance reforestation projects will in fact translate into logging subsidies for...

AUSTRALIA: SECURITY CRACKDOWN PRECEDES ECONOMIC FORUM.
September 6, 2007... By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Australian police and military officers are preparing to maintain tight security measures during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney. Activists and civil...

MEXICO: VIDEO EVIDENCE DISAPPEARS DURING PEDOPHILIA TRIAL.
September 6, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Prosecutors in a case involving the sexual abuse of children in Mexico have failed to hand over to the courts 10 video recordings and 70 photos that show the accused in...

U.S./SUDAN: ACTIVISTS ASK U.S. FUNDS TO DIVEST FROM PETROCHINA.
September 6, 2007... By Abid Aslam WASHINGTON, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Activists are seeking to shame some of the world's largest mutual fund companies into dumping Chinese oil majors, whom they accuse of complicity with mass killings in western Sudan's...

U.N.: LEADERS ARRANGE EXTRA CLIMATE CHANGE MEETING.
September 6, 2007... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations has organized an extraordinary meeting of world leaders to discuss climate change, amid growing concern about the slow pace of international negotiations. ...

CHILE: 30 YEARS LATER, COURTS PROSECUTE PINOCHET'S HIT MEN.
September 6, 2007... By Daniela Estrada SANTIAGO, Chile, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Human rights groups in Chile are celebrating legal rulings in favor of victims of the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, but they are nevertheless critical of...

U.S.: ONCE HOME, SOME REPATRIATED GITMO DETAINEES FACE TORTURE.
September 6, 2007... By Jonathan Bell WASHINGTON, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Repatriated Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoners have once again been mistreated at the hands of their home countries, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday....

DEATH PENALTY: U.N. REPRIMANDS IRAQ FOR EXECUTING PRISONERS.
September 6, 2007... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The government in Baghdad has continued to execute prisoners, despite appeals by the United Nations and its human rights bodies for a moratorium on capital punishment in Iraq. A...

DEVELOPMENT: U.N. TRADE GROUP CALLS FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION.
September 6, 2007... By Gustavo Capdevila GENEVA, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Developing countries should engage in regional financial cooperation to safeguard poor countries from financial crises, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development asserted...

U.S.: BUSH APPOINTEE APPEARS ON EVANGELICAL FUNDRAISING VIDEO.
September 6, 2007... By Aaron Glantz SAN FRANCISCO, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The head of the Department of Veterans Affairs has come under fire for saying on an evangelical Christian fundraising video that Bible study is more important to him than doing his...

THAILAND: MTV AIRS DOCUMENTARY ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
September 6, 2007... By Lynette Lee Corporal BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Harrowing accounts of human trafficking victims will soon make their way onto MTV, the most popular music channel in the Asia-Pacific region. Nestled between the glam...

EL SALVADOR: VOTERS HAVE BECOME DISILLUSIONED, STUDY SHOWS.
September 6, 2007... By Ra[pounds sterling]l Gutirrez SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- El Salvador's political parties "don't represent the wishes of the people," said Ana Menj var, a Salvadoran shopkeeper. Nelson Recinos, a lawyer, said...

AUSTRALIA: PROTESTERS FLOCK TO ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC FORUM.
September 6, 2007... By Neena Bhandari SYDNEY, Australia, Sep. 5, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Progressive activists have informed participants in this year's Asia Pacific Economic Forum that they will settle for no less than a stringent and immediate commitment to...

THAILAND: POULTRY, NOT WILD BIRDS, SPREAD FLU, EXPERTS SAY.
September 6, 2007... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- No clear evidence exists to link wild birds to the cases of avian influenza that have infected poultry populations throughout the world. Indeed, some studies have shown...

MEXICO: MAYOR OF CAPITAL SEEKS TO BUILD 70-STOREY SKYSCRAPER.
September 6, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The tallest skyscraper in Latin America may tower over Chapultepec Park in Mexico City by the fall of 2010, if Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has his way. The city's leftwing...

RIGHTS: SATELLITE DATA AID HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS.
September 6, 2007... By Sabina Zaccaro ROME, Sep. 3, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The confluence of satellite data and virtual mapping technologies is providing a new array of tools to humanitarian watchdogs and human rights advocates. Earlier this year Google Earth...

POVERTY: CELEBRITIES HOLD GLOBAL FAST FOR DEBT CANCELLATION.
September 7, 2007... By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A group of celebrities from several countries have joined a rolling 40-day fast to call on rich nations to cancel the foreign debts of the world's poorest countries. ...

EU: PROPOSED TRADE DEAL NEGLECTS CONCERNS OF ISLAND STATES.
September 7, 2007... By David Cronin BRUSSELS, Belgium, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Governments from island states in the Pacific have accused the European Union of failing to take their development needs into account while drawing up its latest free trade...

GREECE: HEALTH ACTIVISTS MOBILIZE AGAINST HAZARDOUS ANTENNAS.
September 7, 2007... By Apostolis Fotiadis ATHENS, Greece, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Antennas in Greece often exceed the voltage limits observed by other countries, and residents who live near them have started complaining of side effects commonly produced by...

ASIA: CHINA OBJECTS TO U.S.-INDIA-JAPAN SECURITY TALKS.
September 7, 2007... By Antoaneta Bezlova BEIJING, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- China's display of economic clout and diplomatic assertiveness at the Asia Pacific leaders' forum in Sydney this week was overshadowed by a concurrent show of power orchestrated by...

MOROCCO: WOMEN FACE TOUGH ODDS IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION.
September 7, 2007... By Amina Barakat RABAT, Morocco, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A parliamentary election got underway Friday in Morocco, a country that still has a long way to go to bring gender parity to its Chamber of Representatives. Just two women were...

INDIA: FIVE-NATION NAVAL DRILL STRENGTHENS TIES WITH U.S.
September 7, 2007... Analysis by Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Large-scale military exercises led by the United States are underway in India, where they are triggering spirited protests by the left-wing parties that prop up the country's...

AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN PLANTS NEW LANDMINES IN SOUTH.
September 7, 2007... By Ahmad Khalid Moahid* KABUL, Afghanistan, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- New landmines planted since the Taliban returned to challenge the Afghan government and the United States-led coalition in Afghanistan have killed hundreds of civilians...

GUATEMALA: COURT CONSIDERS DECLASSIFYING GENOCIDE PLANS.
September 7, 2007... By Ins Ben tez GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Guatemala's Constitutional Court has five working days to decide whether to declassify documents that would shed light on the genocide committed in this country during the...

IRAN: LEADERS MAY SEEK DIPLOMATIC DEAL ON NUCLEAR PROGRAM.
September 7, 2007... Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Two pieces of evidence suggest that the Iranian government may be positioning itself for another bid for a diplomatic solution regarding its nuclear program: Tehran's...

VENEZUELA: VENGEANCE ATTACK KILLS MOURNERS AT WAKE.
September 7, 2007... By Humberto M rquez CARACAS, Venezuela, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Hooded gunmen on motorcycles fired a hail of bullets into the Zambrano funeral parlor Sunday, killing three people and wounding another five who were mourning at the wake of...

COLOMBIA: FOSTER PROGRAM ENABLES TEENAGE GUERRILLAS TO HEAL.
September 7, 2007... By Gloria Helena Rey VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- "I took in a 14-year-old boy. I did it for Colombia, for peace. These children need another chance, to be able to live and grow up as decent citizens," said Maria, a...

CANADA: SUMMIT RELOCATION PERMITS CUBAN ACADEMICS TO ATTEND.
September 7, 2007... By Patricia Grogg HAVANA, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Organizers of the 27th Latin American Studies Association (LASA) International Congress relocated the event from the United States to Canada, thereby enabling 138 Cuban academics to take...

PHILIPPINES: MILITARY ATTACKS DELAY PEACE TALKS WITH REBELS.
September 7, 2007... By Stella Gonzales MANILA, Philippines, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- A major military offensive against separatist rebels in the southern provinces of Basilan and Sulu is displacing residents and causing setbacks to the local peace process....

IRAQ: EDUCATION FALLS BY THE WAYSIDE AS VIOLENCE CONTINUES.
September 7, 2007... By Ahmed Ali* BAQUBA, Iraq, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Only two provincial schools and one private kindergarten school are functioning in Baquba, a city of 280,000. Most small children in the city, which is located 50 kilometers north...

BRAZIL: DESCENDANTS OF FUGITIVE SLAVES RECEIVE LAND GRANTS.
September 7, 2007... By Fabiana Frayssinet /Tierramrica RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- More than a century after the abolition of slavery, Brazil still has small, remnant "quilombos" -- free settlements created by fugitive African slaves in...

AUSTRIA: U.N. OFFICIALS DISCUSS WAYS TO IMPLEMENT EMISSION CAPS.
September 7, 2007... Analysis by Julio Godoy VIENNA, Austria, Sep. 6, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Utopian visions have inspired human societies frequently throughout history, from the utopian vision of enlightenment during the Middle Ages to utopian visions for...

CAMBODIA: FORMER KING INTENDS TO SKIP KHMER ROUGE TRIALS.
September 10, 2007... By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep. 10, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk has emerged as a central figure in the latest controversy to plague the special tribunal established to prosecute the surviving...

IRAQ: U.S.-LED OCCUPATION HAS VAULTED CLERICS TO POWER.
September 10, 2007... By Ali al-Fadhily* BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sep. 10, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Many Iraqis have begun to fear that the growing power of religious clerics is endangering human rights and religious freedom in Iraq, which was once a largely secular country....

INDIA: DOW SEEKS TO ESCAPE LIABILITY FOR BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY.
September 10, 2007... By Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI, Sep. 10, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Dow Chemical has offered to partially bear the cost of cleaning the site of a lethal pesticide plant leak in Bhopal, India, but the multinational company in turn wants to be freed of...

JAPAN: PRIME MINISTER ABE MAY RESIGN OVER REFUELING CONFLICT.
September 10, 2007... Analysis by Suvendrini Kakuchi TOKYO, Sep. 9, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has threatened to resign if his country's parliament does not extend refueling support for the United States-led coalition in Afghanistan....

AFRICA: WILDLIFE PARKS FAIL TO PROTECT LARGE ANIMALS.
September 10, 2007... By Stephen Leahy BROOKLIN, Canada, Sep. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Africa's once-abundant wildlife is experiencing a sharp decline even inside the continent's protected areas, according to a new analysis. Africa's world-renowned parks are...

PAKISTAN: JIRGA POSTPONES CLOSURE OF AFGHAN REFUGEE CAMP.
September 10, 2007... By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Sep. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Afghan refugee leaders heaved a sigh of relief Friday after the Pakistan government agreed to postpone the closure of the Jalozai refugee camp until April. The decision was taken...

BRAZIL: LEADERS IN RIO VERDE OPPOSE GROWTH OF ETHANOL INDUSTRY.
September 10, 2007... By Mario Osava /IFEJ RIO VERDE, Brazil, Sep. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The ethanol-driven expansion of sugarcane farming in Brazil has run into unexpected resistance in Rio Verde, a prosperous town in the central state of Goi s. The local...

AUSTRALIA: GLOBAL LEADERS ADOPT 'ASPIRATIONAL' CLIMATE GOALS.
September 10, 2007... By Neena Bhandari SYDNEY, Australia, Sep. 8, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum leaders agreed on Saturday to adopt "aspirational goals" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental agencies, which had hoped...

U.S./IRAQ: AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE PROMOTES TROOP SURGE.
September 10, 2007... By Eli Clifton WASHINGTON, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Supporters of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq are busily trying to set the stage for U.S. General David Petraeus' final report on Iraq, which is due on Sept. 15. On Thursday, the...

U.N.: NGO DELEGATES ADOPT DECLARATION ON CLIMATE CRISIS.
September 10, 2007... By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Roughly 2,500 delegates from more than 80 countries affirmed Friday that climate change "is potentially the most serious threat humanity and our environment have ever faced." ...

GUATEMALA: CANDIDATES ADDRESS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.
September 10, 2007... By Ins Ben tez GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The leading candidates for Sunday's presidential elections in Guatemala have taken a tough stance on crime, but activists say they have not proposed enough measures to...

POLL: TURKISH RESIDENTS VIEW U.S. AS MOST SERIOUS THREAT.
September 10, 2007... By Jonathan Bell WASHINGTON, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Nearly two-thirds of Turkish respondents named the United States as the greatest threat to their country in a recent Pew Global Attitudes Project survey. The survey, which was also...

U.N.: GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONSIDERS INDIGENOUS RIGHTS TREATY.
September 10, 2007... By Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- The United Nations General Assembly seems poised to adopt the Universal Declaration of Indigenous Peoples' Rights later this month, despite continued opposition from the United...

AMERICAS: SERIOUS STORMS ARE ON THE WAY, SCIENTISTS SAY.
September 10, 2007... By Diego Cevallos MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Five large cyclones are expected to materialize in the tropical zone of the Americas before the storm season is over. Hurricanes Dean, Felix and Henriette have already...

PARAGUAY: OVIEDO'S RELEASE MAY WEAKEN OPPOSITION CANDIDATE.
September 10, 2007... By David Vargas ASUNCI N, Paraguay, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Paraguay's Supreme Court of Military Justice decided Thursday to release former army chief Lino Oviedo, who attempted to overthrow the country's president in April 1996. ...

Q&A: CHRISTIAN DOMINIONISM SPREADS THROUGH U.S. MILITARY.
September 10, 2007... By Eli Clifton WASHINGTON, Sep. 7, 2007 (IPS/GIN) -- Last month, the Pentagon pulled the plug on a plan to distribute Bibles, proselytizing materials in English and Arabic, and an apocalyptic computer game to U.S. troops in Iraq. ...