Farhan Haq

UNITED STATES: Black Panther Expects Freedom After 25 Years

Militant black activist Elmer 'Geronimo' Pratt could gain his first taste of freedom in 25 years this week following a court ruling that his murder trial in 1972 had not been properly conducted.

EAST TIMOR-POLITICS: Timor’s Visibility Rises Slowly

By Farhan Haq

Jose Ramos Horta was eating at a Chinese restaurant in New York in the 1970s, when a waiter asked him where he was from. When he replied, "East Timor," the waiter looked confused and asked him, "You're an Eskimo?"

SUDAN-POLITICS: Opposition Leader Draws Hope from Regional Changes

By Farhan Haq

Sudan's former prime minister, who now leads the opposition National Democratic Alliance, says that changes of government in several nearby states have boosted support for the cause of democracy in Sudan itself.

GUATEMALA-HUMAN RIGHTS: U.N., OAS Push on key Cases

By Farhan Haq

The United Nations and the Organisation of American States (OAS) have both stepped up pressure on Guatemala, with reports from both bodies criticising the Central American state's human rights record.

MUSIC-USA: ‘Poptopia!’ Serves Up Fast Food Music

By Farhan Haq

Few forms of music are as prevalent throughout the world, and yet oddly so disrespected, as 'power pop.'

IRAQ-UN: U.S. Opposes Renewal of Iraq Oil-for-Food Deal

By Farhan Haq

Negotiations on renewing the "oil- for- food" deal which allowed Iraq to gather 1.5 billion dollars to pay for food and medicine are running through stormy waters at the United Nations.

CONGO: Questions of Foreign Involvement Dog Kabila’s Forces

By Farhan Haq

As Laurent Kabila's victorious Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) consolidates its hold over Kinshasa this week, diplomats here are asking if the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo will be permitted to determine its own future.

TV-BOSNIA: ‘Calling the Ghosts’ Puts Spotlight on Wartime Rapes

By Farhan Haq

A TV movie depicting the horrific incidence of rape, used to subjugate women during the conflict in Bosnia- Hercegovina, has jolted TV viewers across the United States.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH ASIA: Outlook Bright for Regional Cooperation

By Farhan Haq

South Asia, divided for 50 years by wars and religious and political tension, now has its best opportunity for regional cooperation, according to South Asian economists.

U.S.-VIETNAM: McDonald’s ‘Happy Meals’ Sad for Workers, Study Says

By Farhan Haq

Labour monitoring groups say that the health and rights of hundreds of young Vietnamese women who make toys distributed by McDonald's, the world's largest retail food chain, have been severely violated.

BOOKS-KASHMIR: Kashmiri Poet Revisits Home in Verse

By Farhan Haq

The poetry of the exile has always been one of longing, and of an ambiguous relation to home, from Osip Mandelstam's poems of St. Petersburg to Mahmoud Darwish's yearning for Palestine.

USA-TERRORISM: TWA Terror Link Disputed, Tough Security Stayes

By Farhan Haq

Federal officials say mechanical failure probably caused the crash of Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 800 last year, but tough security measures to deter terrorism continue to be enforced.

UNITED STATES-ECONOMY: Inflation Debate Sparks Fears of Cuts

By Farhan Haq

In the United States, one politician's "small technical adjustment in data collection" easily can turn into the loss of hundreds of dollars in benefits for some other citizen.

US-BUSINESS: Local Sanctions Threat Against Indonesian Dealings

By Farhan Haq

The state of Massachusetts, leader of a successful campaign to impose sanctions against U.S. firms dealing with Burma, now is taking aim at companies that do business with Indonesia.

ZAIRE-ARMS: Profit Motive Brings Outside Weapons to Conflict

By Farhan Haq

Chinese diplomats startled the U.N. Security Council recently when they strongly denied Beijing was supplying arms to the beleaguered government of Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko.

MUSIC-AMERICAS: Reconquista! Latin Rock Invades U.S.

By Farhan Haq

In North America, the inspirational figures of rock music may well have been Elvis Presley and the Beatles, but in Latin America, Mexican rebels Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata are just as much a part of the legacy of rock and roll.

/IPS ENVIRONMENT BULLETIN/ CANADA: Greenpeace Scolds Briish Columbia Forest Claims

By Farhan Haq

Canada's federal and provincial governments are spending millions of dollars to tout recent changes in forestry rules, but they are not actually practising what they preach, the environmental group Greenpeace says.

ENVIRONMENT-U.N.: Activists Slam Negotiations on Rio Follow-Up

By Farhan Haq

The United Nations has failed to

MIDEAST: U.N. General Assembly Condemns Israeli Settlements

By Farhan Haq

The United Nations has injected itself into the current Israeli-Palestinian housing dispute as the 185-nation U.N. General Assembly voted for a resolution criticising Israel Friday.

ZAIRE-U.N.: U.N. Prods Rebels on Refugees, Peace Talks

By Farhan Haq

Zairean rebels who have captured more than half of the country must accept that they cannot find a military solution and should instead opt for a transitional arrangement, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns.

KOREA-U.S.: Korea Talks Become Another Failed Opportunity

By Farhan Haq

Hopes that the latest round of talks between North and South Korea could be the start of a peace process between them have faded once more as Pyongyang and Washington haggle over whether the United States will send food aid to the North.