Paraguay Opens Doors to Unregulated Foreign Investment
In his first month as president of Paraguay, Federico Franco has thrown open the doors of his country to foreign investments that have raised questions about environmental safety. Among the measures...
View ArticleChildren Injured in Police Crackdown on Chile’s Mapuche Indians
“We have been trampled by this racist Chilean state, which oppresses us. The police force represses all Mapuche people…they shoot at us in cold blood.” This comment came from a 16-year-old boy...
View ArticleHezbollah Losing its Grip
Since its inception, Hezbollah’s clout within its community has been solid. However, in recent weeks, the Party of God has been facing increasing difficulties controlling its support base and stymieing...
View ArticleAIDS Meet Ends with Talk of Cure, But Realities of Scourge Persist
As the International AIDS Conference ended in Washington on Friday, organisers unveiled groundbreaking new research on the promise of early anti-retroviral (ARV) drug therapy. The announcement came...
View ArticleSchoolgirls Beat Taliban
Far from fears that female education is on the decline after the Taliban campaign against girls’ schools, female students outclassed their male counterparts in the secondary school examination for...
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U.N. Chief Recounts Poverty and Plenty in South Korea
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former foreign minister of South Korea, is visibly emotional whenever he speaks about the striking political and economic achievements in his home country. The...
View ArticlePERU: Fujimori’s Lawyers See Opportunity in Reduction of Death Squad Sentences
Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori’s defence lawyers said the Supreme Court decision to reduce the prison sentences of army intelligence agents found guilty of human rights abuses is “relevant”...
View ArticleAnd How Muslims Hold the Key to Christ
“A prayer knocks till the door opens,” a songster from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre sings from outside the door. Inside the Church, Abuna Nicholas, the Greek monk on duty, limps towards the door,...
View ArticleIsraeli Group Maps Palestinian Removals
Sitting in an airconditioned car along Road 60 in the heart of the occupied West Bank, Ovad Arad explained how he goes about his job: driving unannounced into Palestinian towns and villages, taking...
View ArticleHurricane Isaac Highlights Vulnerabilities in the Caribbean
The impact of Hurricane Isaac as it made its way through the Caribbean region highlighted both the fragility of some countries in the face of extreme meteorological events, which are expected to become...
View ArticleKnocking on an Uncertain Gateway to the World
“I waited from 10 am till 5 pm for my wife to cross from Egypt. She was among many hundreds who were coming into Gaza. Some waited since 6 am, some since the day before.” Jaber (who requested anonymity...
View ArticleKashmir’s Roads Turn Militant
The violence that killed thousands in Kashmir during the turbulent 1990s has eased; now killer roads are taking their toll. “Daily police reports about road accidents present a horrible scenario; and...
View ArticleDespite Possible Attacks, Gaza Plans Half-Billion-Dollar Desalination Plant
Last May the European Commission reported that scores of infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip, financed mostly by the European Union, have been damaged or destroyed, wittingly or unwittingly, by...
View ArticleBiomass Plant Lights up Rural Senegal
A new power plant in the eastern Senegalese village of Kalom is generating more than just electricity. Powered by agricultural waste, the station has lit up homes, lightened women’s domestic burdens...
View ArticleFarming Among the Waste in Cameroon
Cameroonian urban famer Juliana Numfor has six plots of land where she grows maize, cassava, sweet potatoes and leafy vegetables, including cabbages, wild okra and greens. The soil in which her crops...
View ArticlePeru Identifies Civil War Victims – at Snail’s Pace
Of the 69,000 people killed during the 1980-2000 armed conflict in Peru, at least 16,000 were buried in secret unmarked graves. So far, only 2,064 of these bodies have been recovered, and just 50...
View ArticleAustralian Detention Centres Risk Violating Human Rights
Australia’s recent decision to move asylum seekers to offshore detention facilities has alarmed human rights organisations. “Re-opening offshore detention centres could result in human rights...
View ArticleInternational Food Prices Again at Record Levels, World Bank Warns
After decreasing somewhat in recent months, international food prices have again risen dramatically, according to figures published on Thursday by the World Bank. Statistics for July indicate a 10...
View ArticleKashmir’s Melting Glaciers May Cut Ice With Sceptics
Jowhar Ahmed, an air-conditioner dealer in Srinagar, is pleased at a spurt in business this summer caused by temperatures soaring over 35 degrees Celsius – unusual in this alpine valley ringed by...
View ArticleQuestions Linger as U.S. Cedes Detention Power in Afghanistan
Continued tensions over U.S. detention power in Afghanistan are highlighting issues related to the country’s sovereignty. A day after the New York Times reported on U.S. efforts to transfer its...
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