Month: February 2008

By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Feb 29 (IPS) – The United States’ hostile policy towards Cuba will remain a hurdle to recognition and respect for certain rights enshrined in the first two international treaties signed by the government of Raúl Castro.… Continue Reading →

Baltazar Pinguel * A month from now, the US-led war on Iraq will enter its sixth year. On March 19, 2003, the United States and its willing allies invaded Iraq. It was the second time that Iraq, a sovereign nation,… Continue Reading →

Opinion – Daphne Antachopoulos * Germany’s highest court ruled that authorities may use computer spyware to secretly collect data from personal computers, but only under strict conditions. Basic rights aren’t disposable, says DW’s Daphne Antachopoulos. The court decision follows the… Continue Reading →

By Apostolis Fotiadis PRISTINA, Feb 28 (IPS) – After the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo on Feb. 17, ethnic tensions are rising dangerously again in the region, especially in Northern Kosovo and the other Serbian enclaves scattered around the… Continue Reading →

WHO – News release 26 FEBRUARY 2008 | WASHINGTON DC /GENEVA — Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has been recorded at the highest rates ever, according to a new report published today. The report presents findings from the largest survey to date… Continue Reading →

By Claudia Ciobanu SOFIA, Feb 27 (IPS) – Croatia, Macedonia and Albania are hoping to become the newest members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in April this year. But the better chances a country has of entering NATO,… Continue Reading →

Julian Borger, diplomatic editor The Guardian, Tuesday February 26 2008 Huge budget deficit means millions more face starvation The United Nations warned yesterday that it no longer has enough money to keep global malnutrition at bay this year in the… Continue Reading →

By Miriam Mannak CAPE TOWN, Feb 25 (IPS) – The economic partnership agreements (EPAs) currently being negotiated between Europe and its former colonies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions are not about equal partnerships but about enabling ‘‘big… Continue Reading →

Walden Bello “We have to pay for the sins of the past.” – Klaus Schwab, key organizer of the Davos elite jamboree Skyrocketing oil prices, a falling dollar, and collapsing financial markets are the key ingredients in an economic brew… Continue Reading →

KOSOVO: Challenged State Faces an Uncertain Future By Zoltán Dujisin PRISTINA, Feb (IPS) – As the euphoria over the proclamation of independence slowly dissipates, Kosovars will have to focus on the enormous political and economic challenges corruption, poverty and an… Continue Reading →

IRIN ROME, 21 February 2008 (IRIN) – The lack of political will to invest in agriculture has affected the chances of halving poverty and hunger in Africa by 2015, according to a senior United Nations official. “Investment in agriculture, more… Continue Reading →

By Ángel Páez LIMA, Feb 22 (IPS) – Teófila Ochoa and Cirila Pulido, survivors of a 1985 massacre in Peru, said that seeing retired Peruvian army officer Telmo Hurtado in prison-issue clothing and shackles was the closest they have come… Continue Reading →

By Anne Mugisa New Vision (Kampala) 21 February 2008 . UGANDA is now free of the deadly Ebola disease, the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health declared yesterday. They announced a memorial slated for February 27, in Bundibugyo… Continue Reading →

By Zoltán Dujisin TIRANA, Feb 21 (IPS) – Albanians are optimistic they will join NATO and draw closer to the dream of EU membership. Albania, together with Macedonia and Croatia, is expected to receive an invitation for membership in the… Continue Reading →

By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Feb 20 (IPS) – A large majority of Cubans have never lived under any system but the government of Fidel Castro, but one-quarter of the population grew up over the last two decades of economic crisis,… Continue Reading →

Daniel Denvir A growing movement for “net neutrality”, as a key to preserve a free and open Internet, scored a major step forward this past Wednesday when U.S. Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat introduced a bill in the House… Continue Reading →

Aalok Mehta National Geographic News Boston, Massachusetts, February 18, 2008 More than half of the sunlike stars in the galaxy could have terrestrial planets with the potential to harbor life, a new study suggests. The research, announced yesterday at a… Continue Reading →

By Dalia Acosta HAVANA, Feb 19 (IPS) – In a decision that could be described as unexpected from someone who has spent nearly 50 years in power, Fidel Castro announced Tuesday that he was resigning the presidency of Cuba and… Continue Reading →

IRIN NIAMEY, 15 February 2008 (IRIN) – The prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in Niger fell dramatically between 1998 and 2006, according to a recent government survey. The practice, which involves removing and sewing-up parts of the female genitalia,… Continue Reading →

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic BELGRADE, Feb 18 (IPS) – Frustration over the Sunday declaration of independence of Kosovo is spreading all over Serbia, with protest rallies being organised around the country. Kosovo is being taken away, protesting Serbs say, as… Continue Reading →