IPS Inter Press Service

Arlene Chang

UNITED NATIONS - As the first U.N. relief planes landed in Yangon early on Thursday, humanitarian officials complained that the aid flowing into cyclone-devastated Burma (Myanmar) is still encountering bureaucratic obstacles that are threatening the lives of desperate survivors.

BURMA: Junta Gives Referendum Priority Over Cyclone Relief

BURMA: Cyclone Nargis Exposes Junta's Anti-People Attitude

BURMA: Junta Holds Up Int'l Relief as Cyclone Toll Climbs

IRAQ: Running Out of Water in Rising Heat
Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail*
BAQUBA - Water supply is drying out in what was once the agriculturally rich Diyala province north of Baghdad. Baquba, the capital city of Diyala, is now running out of water both for drinking and for irrigation.

INDIA: Gov't 'Helpless' as Farmers Shylocked to Suicide
Bharat Dogra
MAHOBA - There is no let up in farmers’ suicides, say activists urging the Indian government to extend its loan waiver offer to more agriculturists in western Maharashtra and central Madhya Pradesh states where the agrarian crisis is most severe.

ENERGY CRUNCH
	ENERGY-AFRICA: From Kerosene to the LED, O-HUB and O-BOX More >>

MIGRATION AND REFUGEES
	GREECE: Migrant Workers in Historic Strike More >>

IRAN: Can P5+1 Offer Break the Nuclear Stalemate?
	The P5+1 -- the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- will present Tehran with a secret incentive package in the next few days to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment programme and enter negotiations.

BURMA: UN Aid Arrives, But Many Doors Still Closed

CHINA: Buying Farmland Abroad, Ensuring Food Security

ENERGY-AFRICA: From Kerosene to the LED, O-HUB and O-BOX
	In many of Africa's towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity -- about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank.

ANGOLA: Irish Rock Star Geldof Riles Tempers

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Small Can Be Beautiful

BURMA: UN Aid Arrives, But Many Doors Still Closed
	As the first U.N. relief planes landed in Yangon early on Thursday, humanitarian officials complained that the aid flowing into cyclone-devastated Burma (Myanmar) is still encountering bureaucratic obstacles that are threatening the lives of desperate survivors.

CHINA: Buying Farmland Abroad, Ensuring Food Security

INDIA: Gov't 'Helpless' as Farmers Shylocked to Suicide

TURKEY: Ruling Party Challenges Closure
	Facing closure by the Constitutional Court, Turkey's Islamic-rooted governing party has launched its formal defence, claiming that the case against the highly popular party and its leaders has no legal basis, and that it defends secularism despite charges that it plans to turn the country into an Islamic state.

ICELAND: Road Threatens Heritage

ANGOLA: Irish Rock Star Geldof Riles Tempers

ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Controversy Over Indigenous Land and Biofuels
	The legal status of an indigenous territory in the far north of Brazil, and biofuels, are two hot potatoes at the Third National Conference on the Environment being held in the capital city, which is focusing on climate change.

LATIN AMERICA: Food Summit Declares Regional Emergency

COLOMBIA: "Mark Him on the Ballot - The One Wearing Glasses"

IRAN: Can P5+1 Offer Break the Nuclear Stalemate?
	The P5+1 -- the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- will present Tehran with a secret incentive package in the next few days to convince Iran to suspend its enrichment programme and enter negotiations.

IRAQ: Running Out of Water in Rising Heat

TURKEY: Ruling Party Challenges Closure

BIODIVERSITY-US: Loggers, Owls Not Out of the Woods Yet
	Some wounds heal slowly, and the wounds of the logging community on the U.S. northwest Pacific coast are still smarting nearly 20 years after measures to protect a threatened species devastated their industry.

POLITICS-US: Lawmakers Seek Probe of "Media Generals"

RIGHTS-US: Hundreds Arrested Protesting Police Abuses

BIODIVERSITY-US: Loggers, Owls Not Out of the Woods Yet
	Some wounds heal slowly, and the wounds of the logging community on the U.S. northwest Pacific coast are still smarting nearly 20 years after measures to protect a threatened species devastated their industry.

ICELAND: Road Threatens Heritage

ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Controversy Over Indigenous Land and Biofuels

RIGHTS-JAMAICA: Spat Escalates Over Anti-Gay Lyrics
	Under pressure from gay rights groups and a sponsorship boycott of live dancehall shows by local beer giant Red Stripe, some Jamaican dancehall stars are offering free performances to events at which no Red Stripe products are sold or consumed.

IRAQ: Running Out of Water in Rising Heat

TURKEY: Ruling Party Challenges Closure

BURMA: UN Aid Arrives, But Many Doors Still Closed
	As the first U.N. relief planes landed in Yangon early on Thursday, humanitarian officials complained that the aid flowing into cyclone-devastated Burma (Myanmar) is still encountering bureaucratic obstacles that are threatening the lives of desperate survivors.

LATIN AMERICA: South-South Cooperation to Fight Child Malnutrition

DEVELOPMENT: U.N. Bodies Under Fire for Food Crisis

ICELAND: Road Threatens Heritage
	Environmentalists are concerned that a proposed new road will threaten the ecology of Lake Thingvallavatn, Iceland's second largest lake.

ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Controversy Over Indigenous Land and Biofuels

COLOMBIA: "Mark Him on the Ballot - The One Wearing Glasses"