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Thursday, August 21, 2008   19:38 GMT    
Latest News
BRAZIL: Setting an Important Precedent for Indigenous Lands
By Marta Caravantes*
BOA VISTA, Roraima, Brazil, Aug 21 (IPS) - An imminent decision by Brazil’s Supreme Court on the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reservation in the Amazon jungle region has the country’s native communities on edge, because of the precedent it will set.
MORE >>

CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Crafts That Steal Hearts All Over the World
By Stephanie Nieuwoudt
CAPE TOWN, Aug 21 (IPS) - It is early on a Monday morning and Margret Woermann is late for her interview with IPS. The owner and creative force behind the Heartworks shops is at a meeting discussing a project with a clothing designer.
MORE >>

POLITICS-COTE D'IVOIRE: Anti-Xenophobia Law Gets Lukewarm Reception
By Fulgence Zamblé
ABIDJAN, Aug 21 (IPS) - Human rights organisations are wary of a new law against xenophobia, racism and tribalism adopted by the Ivorian parliament. Certain organisations fear it will lead to infringements on freedom of speech.
MORE >>

SOUTH AFRICA: Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Fruit and Wine
By Stephanie Nieuwoudt
CAPE TOWN, Aug 21 (IPS) - In an effort to stay competitive in a global market where increasing demands are made by consumers for 'green' products, South African fruit and wine farmers have launched an initiative to determine the environmental impact of their industries. The research could challenge the idea that exported products from the developing world have a higher environmental cost.
MORE >>

ASIA: Rock Star's Expulsion Says No to Child Sex Tourists
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Aug 21 (IPS) - When a British rock star, convicted on paedophilia charges, was turned away at two Asian airports, this week, it was seen by child rights activists as a sign that this region will no longer tolerate sex tourism that exploits minors.
MORE >>

POLITICS-US: McCain's Plan to Privatise Veterans' Health Care
Analysis by Aaron Glantz*
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 21 (IPS) - If John McCain is elected the next U.S. president, wounded veterans could be in for a world of hurt.
MORE >>

CHINA: Agony Turns Ecstasy as Gold Medals Pile Up
By Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING, Aug 21 (IPS) - As China piles up gold medals, even the host nation has been watching in bewilderment. Despite popular expectations that China’s athletes would shine on home turf, the medal bonanza has surprised usually skeptical Chinese people.
MORE >>

MIDDLE EAST: In the Race for Renewable Energy Sources
By Meena Janardhan
DUBAI, Aug 21 (IPS) - As the world scrambles to develop renewable energy resources (RES), the oil-rich Gulf countries that benefit from high prices on fossil fuels are making sure that they do not get left behind.
MORE >>

BOLIVIA: Businesses Take On the Green Challenge
By Bernarda Claure*
LA PAZ, Aug 20 (Tierramérica) - What do Bolivia's largest textile mill, an organic cacao cooperative and an indigenous-run tourist hostel in the Amazon have in common? The answer lies in the path, shaky but inspiring, that they are all taking towards sustainable production.
MORE >>

PORTUGAL: Easing Food Safety Standards for Traditional Products
By Mario de Queiroz
LISBON, Aug 20 (IPS) - As the only alternative for preventing the disappearance of small-scale farming, farmers’ markets, rural slaughterhouses, taverns and traditional food products, Portugal has decided to interpret the strict European Union regulations on food safety with a domestic slant.
MORE >>

Global Affairs
HEALTH: Global Agenda Increasingly Disease-Driven
By Michael J. Carter
SEATTLE, Washington - At the end of last month, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a global health package that effectively tripled U.S. spending over the next five years to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in poor countries, to 48 billion dollars.
MORE >>
 		 
DEVELOPMENT: South Africa Beats Deadline on Water, Sanitation
By Thalif Deen
STOCKHOLM - South Africa and Madagascar, two African nations participating in the Stockholm International Water Conference currently underway in the Swedish capital, provide a contrasting picture of where they stand -- or fall -- in achieving the U.N.'s heavily-trumpeted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
MORE >>
 		 
DEVELOPMENT: Wastewater Crops Feeding Millions
By Thalif Deen
STOCKHOLM - Vegetables, rice and other cereals in at least 53 cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America may someday come with warning labels that read "this is a byproduct of raw sewage".
MORE >>
 		 
Q&A: 'If You Feed the Land, It Will Feed You Back'
Interview with UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja
BONN - Luc Gnacadja, who took over as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) last October, is a man with a mission -- a mission that goes beyond explaining that his job is not to battle deserts.
MORE >>
 		 
DEVELOPMENT: Water Progresses, Sanitation Regresses
By Thalif Deen
STOCKHOLM - The world's poorest nations are making halting progress in water, but little or no tangible improvement in sanitation -- two of the basic necessities of life.
MORE >>
 		 
MDGs
BRAZIL: Setting an Important Precedent for Indigenous Lands
By Marta Caravantes*
BOA VISTA, Roraima, Brazil - An imminent decision by Brazil’s Supreme Court on the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reservation in the Amazon jungle region has the country’s native communities on edge, because of the precedent it will set.
MORE >>
 		 
CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Crafts That Steal Hearts All Over the World
By Stephanie Nieuwoudt
CAPE TOWN - It is early on a Monday morning and Margret Woermann is late for her interview with IPS. The owner and creative force behind the Heartworks shops is at a meeting discussing a project with a clothing designer.
MORE >>
 		 
KENYA: Gathering Storm of Expectations in Nairobi Slum
By Najum Mushtaq
NAIROBI - For the first time in its 60 years of existence, there is a ray of hope for the one million inhabitants of Kibera, one of the world's most densely-populated slums. After spending most of his life on opposition benches -- or in prison -- as a champion of the poor, the member of parliament for this desperately poor constituency is now the prime minister of Kenya.
MORE >>
 		 
HEALTH: Global Agenda Increasingly Disease-Driven
By Michael J. Carter
SEATTLE, Washington - At the end of last month, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a global health package that effectively tripled U.S. spending over the next five years to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in poor countries, to 48 billion dollars.
MORE >>
 		 
DEVELOPMENT: South Africa Beats Deadline on Water, Sanitation
By Thalif Deen
STOCKHOLM - South Africa and Madagascar, two African nations participating in the Stockholm International Water Conference currently underway in the Swedish capital, provide a contrasting picture of where they stand -- or fall -- in achieving the U.N.'s heavily-trumpeted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
MORE >>
 		 
Environment
BRAZIL: Setting an Important Precedent for Indigenous Lands
By Marta Caravantes*
BOA VISTA, Roraima, Brazil - An imminent decision by Brazil’s Supreme Court on the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reservation in the Amazon jungle region has the country’s native communities on edge, because of the precedent it will set.
MORE >>
 		 
CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Crafts That Steal Hearts All Over the World
By Stephanie Nieuwoudt
CAPE TOWN - It is early on a Monday morning and Margret Woermann is late for her interview with IPS. The owner and creative force behind the Heartworks shops is at a meeting discussing a project with a clothing designer.
MORE >>
 		 
SOUTH AFRICA: Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Fruit and Wine
By Stephanie Nieuwoudt
CAPE TOWN - In an effort to stay competitive in a global market where increasing demands are made by consumers for 'green' products, South African fruit and wine farmers have launched an initiative to determine the environmental impact of their industries. The research could challenge the idea that exported products from the developing world have a higher environmental cost.
MORE >>
 		 
MIDDLE EAST: In the Race for Renewable Energy Sources
By Meena Janardhan
DUBAI - As the world scrambles to develop renewable energy resources (RES), the oil-rich Gulf countries that benefit from high prices on fossil fuels are making sure that they do not get left behind.
MORE >>
 		 
BOLIVIA: Businesses Take On the Green Challenge
By Bernarda Claure*
LA PAZ - What do Bolivia's largest textile mill, an organic cacao cooperative and an indigenous-run tourist hostel in the Amazon have in common? The answer lies in the path, shaky but inspiring, that they are all taking towards sustainable production.
MORE >>
 		 
Human Rights
BRAZIL: Setting an Important Precedent for Indigenous Lands
By Marta Caravantes*
BOA VISTA, Roraima, Brazil - An imminent decision by Brazil’s Supreme Court on the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reservation in the Amazon jungle region has the country’s native communities on edge, because of the precedent it will set.
MORE >>
 		 
POLITICS-COTE D'IVOIRE: Anti-Xenophobia Law Gets Lukewarm Reception
By Fulgence Zamblé
ABIDJAN - Human rights organisations are wary of a new law against xenophobia, racism and tribalism adopted by the Ivorian parliament. Certain organisations fear it will lead to infringements on freedom of speech.
MORE >>
 		 
ASIA: Rock Star's Expulsion Says No to Child Sex Tourists
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - When a British rock star, convicted on paedophilia charges, was turned away at two Asian airports, this week, it was seen by child rights activists as a sign that this region will no longer tolerate sex tourism that exploits minors.
MORE >>
 		 
CHINA: Agony Turns Ecstasy as Gold Medals Pile Up
By Antoaneta Bezlova
BEIJING - As China piles up gold medals, even the host nation has been watching in bewilderment. Despite popular expectations that China’s athletes would shine on home turf, the medal bonanza has surprised usually skeptical Chinese people.
MORE >>
 		 
AFRICA: Proving Ground For International Criminal Court?
By Miriam Mannak
CAPE TOWN - The International Criminal Court (ICC) is using Africa as a guinea pig, and is too selective when it comes to arresting, indicting and prosecuting perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This was one of the opinions raised during a recent seminar in Cape Town organised by the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR).
MORE >>
 		 
Health
POLITICS-US: McCain's Plan to Privatise Veterans' Health Care
Analysis by Aaron Glantz*
SAN FRANCISCO - If John McCain is elected the next U.S. president, wounded veterans could be in for a world of hurt.
MORE >>
 		 
HEALTH: Global Agenda Increasingly Disease-Driven
By Michael J. Carter
SEATTLE, Washington - At the end of last month, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a global health package that effectively tripled U.S. spending over the next five years to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in poor countries, to 48 billion dollars.
MORE >>
 		 
NICARAGUA: US Fourth Fleet Treads Fine Line
By José Adán Silva
BILWI, Nicaragua - The newly reactivated U.S. Fourth Fleet began its operations in Latin American waters with a humanitarian mission that made its first stop in Nicaragua, before heading on to six other countries of the Caribbean and Central and South America.
MORE >>
 		 
DEVELOPMENT: South Africa Beats Deadline on Water, Sanitation
By Thalif Deen
STOCKHOLM - South Africa and Madagascar, two African nations participating in the Stockholm International Water Conference currently underway in the Swedish capital, provide a contrasting picture of where they stand -- or fall -- in achieving the U.N.'s heavily-trumpeted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
MORE >>
 		 
TRADE-TANZANIA: Cheap Imitation Goods Are Flooding Markets
By Sarah McGregor
DAR ES SALAAM - The mishmash of shops in Tanzania's central Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam stock an infinite array of brand name fakes. Throngs of customers snap up mobile phones, designer gear, high-tech electronics and gadgets -- all imitations being sold at unbelievably low prices.
MORE >>
 		 
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