Global News Blog / IPSMonday, May 19, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, May 19 (IPS) – Even before Cyclone Nargis tore through Burma’s populous Irrawaddy Delta, the country’s public health system was ailing. It struggled to survive on a slow drip of funds from the state’s coffers. [...]
TRADE-AFRICA: EPA Threatens to Tear Apart Oldest Customs Union
May 17, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPSSaturday, May 17, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Aileen Kwa* GENEVA, May 17 (IPS) – The fate of the world’s oldest customs union, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), is hanging in the balance as a result of the economic partnership agreements that most SACU countries [...]
MIDEAST: Amid Rocket Attacks, Israel Ponders Peace
May 16, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPSFriday, May 16, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Peter Hirschberg JERUSALEM, May 16 (IPS) – A rocket attack on the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon this week has again ignited calls in Israel for an invasion of Gaza, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert still seems more [...]
IRAQ: Nature Adds to Occupation Blows
May 14, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPSWednesday May 14, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail* BAQUBA, May 15 (IPS) – Farmers in the Diyala province in Iraq have been hit by just about every crisis possible. First the security disaster dried up supplies and markets, then lack of [...]
POLITICS: Gulf Seen Between Democracy in Theory and Practice
May 12, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPSMonday, May 12, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. JimLobe WASHINGTON, May12 (IPS) – The basic democratic principle that ”the will of the people should be the basis for the authority of government” is supported by overwhelming majorities throughout the world, according to a major new survey [...]
ENVIRONMENT-ASIA: Mekong Commission Fends Off Credibility Charges
May 11, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPSSunday, May 11, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Andrew Nette PHNOM PENH, May 11 (IPS) – The head of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has defended the regional body against charges that it faces a crisis of credibility arising from inability to guide hydropower development on [...]
BRAZIL: Sugarcane Alcohol Tarnished by U.S. Maize Ethanol
May 9, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPSFriday May 9, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, May 9 (IPS) – Recent efforts by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to clearly mark the difference between Brazilian ethanol and the agrofuels produced by the United States are an admission that [...]
UZBEKISTAN: New Independence Demand Raised
May 5, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPS Monday, May 05, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Kuban Abdymen BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, May 5 (IPS) – A new demand has been made for the independence of Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region in the north-west of Uzbekistan. Karakalpakstan had a status similar to that of Kyrgyzstan at [...]
EAST TIMOR: No Solution In Sight For Army Deserters
May 4, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPS Sunday, May 04, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Setyo Budi DILI, May 5 (IPS) – While Gastao Salsinha — leader of the group of renegades accused of attempting to assassinate President Jose Ramos-Horta on Feb. 11 — has surrendered, there is little sign of amicable [...]
DEVELOPMENT: Food Crisis Rises To Forefront At AsDB Sessions
May 4, 2008 By
Global News Blog / IPS Sunday, May 04, 2008 All rights reserved, IPS – Inter Press Service, 2008. Marwaan Macan-Markar MADRID, May 4 (IPS) – Three words—high food prices—emerged like a gatecrasher at an event hosted by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) here that was originally billed as a celebration of the bank’s new vision [...]
