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PAKISTAN: Attacks Bring Humanitarian Work to A Virtual Halt
By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Mar 18 - Bomb attacks and threats to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have brought development work to a virtual halt in the lawless, volatile environment that is the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), located near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
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POLITICS-RWANDA: Woman Vies for Top Job
By Stanley Kwenda
KIGALI - On average women constitute 18.8 percent of representatives in parliaments across the world according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). This gender imbalance has been subject to much feminist criticism and many campaigns for change have been staged to address the status quo. The situation is however different in Rwanda.
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RIGHTS: EU Selling Torture Equipment
By David Cronin
BRUSSELS - Equipment designed for torturing prisoners is still being exported from European Union (EU) countries despite a four-year-old ban on such trade, according to a new report by Amnesty International.
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ENVIRONMENT: Blame on Chinese Dams Rise as Mekong River Dries Up
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - As the water level in the Mekong River dips to a record 50-year low, a familiar pattern of fault-finding has risen to the surface. China, the regional giant through which parts of South-east Asia’s largest waterway flows through, is again at the receiving end of verbal salvoes from its neighbours.
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MIDEAST: 'Day of Rage' Engulfs Palestine
By Mel Frykberg
QALANDIA, West Bank - On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper.
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EDUCATION-SIERRA LEONE: Government Ignores Demands for Additional Teachers
By Lansana Fofana
FREETOWN - Ismail Conteh has been teaching for the past year-and-a-half at a primary school in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown – without receiving a single cent. He is one of hundreds of teachers recruited by schools to match the ever-growing number of pupils.
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PAKISTAN: In More Ways Than One, Bollywood Dancing Creates Waves
By Zofeen Ebrahim
KARACHI, Pakistan - Saleha Firdaus, a mother of two teenage children, has been moving to the Bollywood beat at a dance studio for over a year now and "loves every moment" of this personal time. For her part, 22-year-old Maheen Jafri was a "bedroom dancer" until she discovered a Bollywood and hip-hop dance studio and "shed my inhibitions totally."
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JAMAICA: The Other Side of Paradise
By Kathy Barrett
NEGRIL - It's just before midnight, and the music pulsates through the massive speakers perched under the ceiling, scantily clad girls in their five-inch heels moving closer to the iron poles.
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COLOMBIA: Vote-Buying and Front Men
By Javier Darío Restrepo*
BOGOTÁ - During Sunday's legislative elections in Colombia - in which rightwing President Álvaro Uribe's allies were the big winners - polling stations in one-third of the country's municipalities were at risk of violence, corruption or fraud, according to the ombudsman's office and election observers, who reported vote-buying and pressure on voters.
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MIDEAST: Israel-U.S. Tensions Continue to Percolate
By Jim Lobe*
WASHINGTON - Despite assurances by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday that the United States and Israel share a "close, unshakeable bond", the week-old crisis between the two allies continued to percolate here Tuesday.
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NAMIBIA: "If You Kiss for Five Minutes You Get It"
By Servaas van den Bosch
WINDHOEK - "At home we have a bar," says grade seven learner David Bravo* (14). "When my mother puts on the music I cannot concentrate on (my) schoolwork anymore. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I just sit there and watch the people."
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MIDEAST: Israeli Raids Target Children
By Nora Barrows-Friedman
SILWAN, EAST JERUSALEM - Three thousand heavily armed Israeli security service forces locked down large parts of the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday, as battalions of police fired rounds of tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian protesters in the occupied eastern part of the city. Nearly 40 Palestinians were wounded and treated at nearby hospitals, as 25 were arrested during intense clashes.
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THAILAND: With Blood Spilt, Political Wounds Far from Healed
Analysis – By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - A nearly four-kilometre arc of road that cuts through the historic part of the Thai capital, the site of the largest anti-government protests the country has seen in years, has brought into sharp relief a political wound that is far from being healed in this kingdom.
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RIGHTS-BAHRAIN: Weak Laws Let Rapists Off the Hook
By Suad Hamada
MANAMA - Cunning rapists in Bahrain can avoid victimising virgins so they could escape the maximum penalty provided by law, and those who force themselves on young girls can evade punishment by promising to marry their victims.
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SRI LANKA: Managing Overseas Workers A Tough Balancing Act
By Feizal Samath
COLOMBO - The extent of Sri Lanka’s dependence on its one million citizens who work abroad can be gauged from officials who gleefully count the dollars that come in to sustain the country’s economy.
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ICELAND: They Also Serve Who Wait For a Prison Seat
By Lowana Veal
REYKJAVIK - After a nail-biting wait of more than a year Jon Palsson (not real name) is happy to have secured a place in the city jail and get an early enough chance to serve out a four-month sentence for drunk driving.
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CUBA: Human Rights at the Eye of the Storm
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA - Cuba stepped up its state-controlled media offensive Monday in response to what the government calls a well-orchestrated international campaign of misinformation carried out in the last few weeks against this socialist island nation.
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Q&A: Wanted in Latin America: Responsible Credit
Daniela Estrada interviews JUAN TRÍMBOLI of Consumers International
SANTIAGO - Improving access to financial services and achieving "responsible credit" require ongoing dialogue on the part of companies, states and consumers, Juan Trímboli, regional coordinator of the Consumers International office in Latin America and the Caribbean, told IPS.
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POLITICS: Policy Battle over Afghan Peace Talks Intensifies
Analysis by Gareth Porter*
WASHINGTON - The struggle within the Barack Obama administration over Afghanistan policy entered a new phase when the president suggested at a meeting of his "war cabinet" Friday that it might be time to start negotiations with the Taliban, according to a report in the New York Times Saturday.
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MALAWI: Rural Communities Jointly Care for Orphans
By Claire Ngozo
LILONGWE - At the age of 66, village headman Kamwala of Dedza district in central Malawi is starting to feel the effects of ageing. He gets tired easily and needs frequent naps but says he cannot afford this luxury. He and his wife are caregivers to a one-year-old orphan.
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DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: Rapid Population Growth Threatens Development
By Susan Anyangu-Amu
NAIROBI - Margaret Atieno, a 38-year-old mother of six, says she wanted to avoid her last pregnancy. But consistent stock-outs of contraceptive devices at her health care centre in rural Siaya, western Kenya, gave her no choice but to fall pregnant once again, albeit the fact that she did not want another child.
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Human Rights - News in RSSOne world, one humanity, now one court to defend its rights. Another step towards universal human rights, but not remotely a step far enough. The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights more than half a century ago, but that has done little to stop violations the world over, just as the Geneva Convention has not protected prisoners of war enough. Democracy itself and the freedom it presupposes has not been protective enough. This is the century to move from politicisation of human rights towards humanising political ways. IPS keeps an eye on that difficult path.

Bitter Pill - Obstacles to Affordable Medicine
Roxana Saberi Charged With Spying
Colombia Hostage Emergency
Flare-Ups In Sri Lanka
Guns and Roses: IPS's Reporting On Global Armed Conflicts and Resolution Efforts
The Dark Side - IPS's coverage of terrorism
Cluster Bombs
Women: Leading the Way
Children Under Siege
Dictatorships Meet Justice, Decades On
Development Deadline 2015
Religion in the News
News in RSS
Q&A: Tapping Women's Enterprise to Topple Rural Poverty
VIETNAM: Salinisation, Drought Bring Worries to Mekong Delta
PAKISTAN : Attacks Bring Humanitarian Work to A Virtual Halt
US-CHINA: Trade War Heats Up
HAITI: Recovery Bill Estimated at 11.5 Billion Dollars
POLITICS-RWANDA: Woman Vies for Top Job
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Unexpected Low Custom Revenue Causes Budget Shortfalls
LATIN AMERICA: NGOs Demand Transparency, Reforms in IDB
RIGHTS: EU Selling Torture Equipment
DEVELOPMENT: Spain’s New Drive to Extend its Interests in Africa
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Tribune des Droits Humains /  Geneve 2006
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