IPS Inter Press Service

Kanis Dursin

JAKARTA - Battling the pain from a boil on his left thigh, 45-year-old Inggit Tukino pulled his two-wheeled cart through the overcrowded alleys of a slum in Rawabebek, Penjaringan hamlet in here North Jakarta.

POLITICS:Indonesians Complain About 'Noise' of Democracy

POLITICS:Indonesia Mourns the Passing of a Beloved Leader

CHILE: Aftershocks Rock Inaugural Ceremony
Daniela Estrada
SANTIAGO - While Chile's new rightwing President Sebastián Piñera, who announced that he would lead "a government of reconstruction," was being sworn in Thursday, the earthquake-ravaged country was shaken by major aftershocks.

RIGHTS: U.S. Concerned Over Curbs on NGOs, Press, Internet
Jim Lobe*
WASHINGTON - Releasing its annual report on the state of human rights around the world, the U.S. State Department Thursday said it was increasingly concerned about curbs imposed by foreign governments on civil society groups, the press, and Internet use.

RIGHTS: Africa's Success Stories in Gender Empowerment
	Whenever gender empowerment is a vibrant topic of discussion internationally, some of the countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America are invariably singled out for their success stories in politics, education, health care or civil liberties even as Africa is mostly left out of political reckoning - and wrongly so.

ASIA: Religious Advocates Heed the Call of New Media

FINANCE: Self-Policing of Extractive Industries a "Dismal" Failure

RIGHTS: Africa's Success Stories in Gender Empowerment
	Whenever gender empowerment is a vibrant topic of discussion internationally, some of the countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America are invariably singled out for their success stories in politics, education, health care or civil liberties even as Africa is mostly left out of political reckoning - and wrongly so.

KENYA: New Bill to Improve State Witness Protection, If Passed

EDUCATION-TANZANIA: Pregnant Teens Forced Out of School

INDONESIA: Waste Composting Project Blazes Cleaner Path
	Battling the pain from a boil on his left thigh, 45-year-old Inggit Tukino pulled his two-wheeled cart through the overcrowded alleys of a slum in Rawabebek, Penjaringan hamlet in here North Jakarta.

VIETNAM: Reports of Child Abuse A Wake-up Call for Parents, Gov't

ASIA: Religious Advocates Heed the Call of New Media

Q&A: 'Israeli Siege Causing De-development of Gaza'
	For the first time since September 2006, Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a leading figure in the Palestinian human rights group Al Mezan, has been granted permission to travel outside Gaza.

EUROPE: Green Finance Wise, or Otherwise

US-TURKEY: Armenian Genocide Vote Threatens Ties at Key Moment

EDUCATION-URUGUAY: Gardens of Knowledge
	"Nature is wise, and if we take the time to observe it, we can learn so much" is the underlying philosophy of a number of innovative programmes being carried out in Uruguayan schools that are using gardens as a teaching resource, explained Edith Moraes, director of the national Primary Education Board.

LATIN AMERICA: Abortion - Still Illegal, Still Killing, Despite Growing Awareness

ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities

MIDEAST: Iran, Israel Spoiling for a Fight?
	Iran and Israel appear to be spoiling for a fight, going by recent belligerent statements emanating from several regional capitals.

RIGHTS: Middle East Women Ahead But Not Home

MIDEAST: Israeli Left Emerges From Coma Amid Atrocities

POLITICS: U.S. Lifts Restrictions on Web Services
	After U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's January address on the role of internet freedom in U.S. foreign policy, the Barack Obama administration appears to be taking the first steps to introduce specific legislation and policies to exploit the role of the internet in opening up those countries ruled by oppressive or authoritarian governments.

FINANCE: Self-Policing of Extractive Industries a "Dismal" Failure

ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities

INDONESIA: Waste Composting Project Blazes Cleaner Path
	Battling the pain from a boil on his left thigh, 45-year-old Inggit Tukino pulled his two-wheeled cart through the overcrowded alleys of a slum in Rawabebek, Penjaringan hamlet in here North Jakarta.

EDUCATION-URUGUAY: Gardens of Knowledge

TANZANIA: Weather Changes Turn Farming into Gamble with Nature

VIETNAM: Reports of Child Abuse A Wake-up Call for Parents, Gov't
	Vietnamese parents think of day care centres and kindergartens as safe, happy places to leave their children in, given the pressures of work and harder times. But they are no longer so sure now, after a series of incidents about mistreatment of young children that has shocked the public.

RIGHTS: Africa's Success Stories in Gender Empowerment

KENYA: New Bill to Improve State Witness Protection, If Passed

INDONESIA: Waste Composting Project Blazes Cleaner Path
	Battling the pain from a boil on his left thigh, 45-year-old Inggit Tukino pulled his two-wheeled cart through the overcrowded alleys of a slum in Rawabebek, Penjaringan hamlet in here North Jakarta.

LATIN AMERICA: Abortion - Still Illegal, Still Killing, Despite Growing Awareness

ENVIRONMENT-UGANDA: Landslides - Experts Warn Worst is Yet to Come

ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities
	Science fiction blockbuster Avatar was the big loser in the Oscar awards ceremony - not only a blow for director James Cameron but also seen as a symbolic reverse in the struggle to recover Amazon rainforest areas in Ecuador from the effects of oil pollution.

MIDEAST: Israeli Left Emerges From Coma Amid Atrocities

Q&A: 'Israeli Siege Causing De-development of Gaza'