HAITI: U.S. Lawmakers, NGOs Call for Debt Cancellation
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (IPS) - Three weeks after Haiti's devastating
earthquake, nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers joined with key civil
society groups here Thursday to urge the Group of Seven (G7)
leading western nations to commit to cancelling all of the
Caribbean country's multilateral debt.
HAITI: Displaced Women Face Double Jeopardy
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 3 (IPS) - Women's rights and development activists
working in Haiti say that greater attention must be paid to the
immediate needs of women and girls, as well as their role in the
long-term reconstruction of the devastated country.
JORDAN: Palestinians Unfairly Stripped of Citizenship - Report
WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (IPS) - The Jordanian government should halt the arbitrary
revocation of nationality
from its citizens of Palestinian
origin, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW)
report released
Monday.
HAITI: Universities Feel Strain After Earthquake
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Feb 1 (IPS) - Astride Auguste was late for an exam at Quiskeya
University on that fateful Tuesday, Jan. 12, when the earthquake
- or "the event", as Haitians have come to call it -
struck this capital city.
HAITI: Time to Build a Just Society, Rights Groups Urge
NEW YORK, Feb 1 (IPS) - In the wake of last month's catastrophic
earthquake in Haiti, prominent advocacy groups are calling on the
U.S. and the international community to reverse decades of racial
and political discrimination and build relief and reconstruction
efforts on human rights principles, transparency, and respect for
the dignity of all Haitians.
BALKANS: Moderate Patriarch Sets New Course for Serb Church
BELGRADE, Feb 1 (IPS) - The enthronement of a moderate as patriarch of the
influential Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has raised hopes for
the planned integration of the country with the European Union
(EU) and for Serbs coming to terms with the bloody Balkans wars
of the 1990s.
MIGRATION: Fortress Europe Starts With Greece
ATHENS, Jan 31 (IPS) - When Michalis Chrisohoidis, Greek minister of
citizens' protection announced that FRONTEX, the European
Agency for Border Control and Protection, would double its
representation in this country in spring, it was clear that
Greece is being charged with special responsibilities to
apprehend and repatriate illegal migrants into Europe.
Q&A: "Being Poor and White Is Not the Same as Being Poor and Black" in Cuba
HAVANA, Jan 29 (IPS) - The elimination of racism remains unfinished
business in Cuba today. "We have to admit that the problem
exists, determine its impact on the social model that we defend,
and tackle it in depth," says Esteban Morales, an Afro-Cuban
economist, political scientist and author of numerous articles
and essays on the
subject.
INDIA: Mobilised by Old Clothes, Poor Folk Stand Up, Take Action
NEW DELHI, Jan 29 (IPS) - Salidhana village, a mere blip on the vast and arid
landscape of India?s central state of Madhya Pradesh, was devoid
of life?s most basic necessity ? water. Until last year, there
was no well in this hamlet of about a hundred families. Women
would trudge hours daily to fetch water from distant areas, often
losing their balance on the hilly village?s treacherous slopes.
HAITI: Local Leaders Shut Out of Military-Run Relief Efforts
GRAND GOAVE, Jan 28 (IPS) - Two gray 23-million-dollar hovercrafts sitting in
the middle of a sandy tropical beach look like they are from
another world. A pair of 15-foot-wide propeller fans sticks out
from the back of each behemoth.
PARAGUAY: Afro-Descendants Affirm Their Identity
ASUNCIÓN, Jan 28 (IPS) - Black communities have for the most part remained
out of sight and out of mind in Paraguay, but now they are
organising and claiming equal economic and social rights, while
building an Afro-Paraguayan identity.
AFGHANISTAN: Officials? Optimism on Economy Belies Deep Poverty
KABUL, Jan 28 (IPS) - Afghanistan may be one of the poorest countries in
the world, but official figures do not quite paint a picture of a
country deep in the throes of poverty and underdevelopment.
MIGRATION: Haitians in U.S. See Chance for Better Life
NEW YORK, Jan 27 (IPS) - More than a decade ago, Marie Elisemonde left
Haiti, fleeing threats of rape and murder by thugs, or zengledo
in Creole, who could only be appeased with money. She paid 700
dollars for her seat on a boat to the United States, without any
guarantees of a safe arrival or entry.
HAITI: Military Playing Large Role in Relief Efforts
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 25 (IPS) - As international attention turns to the long-term
reconstruction of earthquake-stricken Haiti, U.N. officials
pledged that the Haitian government would have full involvement
and authority over the process.
HAITI: Sending Hope over the Airwaves
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jan 25 (IPS) - Throughout the earthquake's aftermath, the
voices of many Port-Au-Prince radio stations have been loud and
clear.