DEVELOPMENT:Frustration Builds in Iraq, Afghanistan
    on 09/11/2005 21:58:34 GMT
Isaac Baker UNITED NATIONS, Nov 9 (IPS) - Despite increased funding to reconstruct the war-ravaged nations of Iraq and Afghanistan, a lack of security and severely damaged infrastructure are crippling rebuilding efforts in the two countries, two former diplomats said at a discussion in New York Tuesday.... (continue)

HEALTH:Tobacco Treaty Gains Hard-Fought Ground
    on 25/10/2005 19:25:46 GMT
Isaac Baker UNITED NATIONS, Oct 25 (IPS) - Despite reports of interference from tobacco corporations and a lack of participation by the United States, supporters of a tobacco control treaty are optimistic that it will break new ground in global health.... (continue)

DEVELOPMENT:Time for a "Decisive Breakthrough", UN Urges
    on 07/09/2005 10:06:14 GMT
Isaac Baker UNITED NATIONS, Sep 7 (IPS) - World leaders received a grim assessment of the pace of global human development Wednesday as the United Nations released its annual development report, which chronicles the sluggish progress towards reaching internationally agreed upon goals in poverty reduction.... (continue)

POLITICS-US:After 10-Year Hiatus, Pentagon Eyes New Landmine
    on 03/08/2005 14:10:28 GMT
Isaac Baker UNITED NATIONS, Aug 3 (IPS) - The George W. Bush administration may soon resume production of antipersonnel land mines in a move that is at odds with both the international community and previous U.S. policy on the weapons, says a leading human rights organisation.... (continue)

RIGHTS-US:Subway Hell Just Got a Little Hotter
    on 26/07/2005 22:11:04 GMT
Isaac Baker NEW YORK, Jul 26 (IPS) - The New York Police Department's new security policy of subjecting passengers on the city's mass transit system to "random searches" is coming under fire from activist groups, who allege that the searches are not only unconstitutional but also unjustly target immigrants and people of colour.... (continue)

RIGHTS:Censorship Chills University Life, Report Charges
    on 09/06/2005 23:01:14 GMT
Isaac Baker NEW YORK, Jun 9 (IPS) - Academic freedom in Egypt is being constantly undermined by both the government and private groups through censorship, intimidation of students and professors, and even threats and physical violence, according to a report by a leading human rights organisation released Thursday.... (continue)

CORRECTED REPEAT/DEVELOPMENT:Making Every Drop Count
    on 19/04/2005 23:04:28 GMT
Isaac Baker UNITED NATIONS, Apr 19 (IPS) - For years, the Yellow Quill First Nation, a small indigenous community of 1,000 people located in the south-central region of Canada's Saskatchewan province, was forced to boil all its drinking water because the local water sources were limited and despicable.... (continue)

DEVELOPMENT:Isaac Baker
    on 19/04/2005 22:49:22 GMT
Making Every Drop Count... (continue)

POLITICS-US:Power to the People?
   By Isaac Baker on 01/04/2005 23:17:12 GMT
NEW YORK, Apr 1 (IPS) - A group of lobbyists representing five leading energy companies is stepping up efforts to persuade the U.S. Congress to enact further industry deregulation before a key energy bill is introduced on Apr. 5.... (continue)

HEALTH:TB and AIDS an Increasingly Deadly Combo
   By Isaac Baker on 25/03/2005 00:35:22 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 24 (IPS) - Despite the fact that it is a curable disease, tuberculosis killed more people than all wars, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, airline accidents, terrorist acts and murders worldwide in the past year, according to a report released Thursday to mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day.... (continue)

RIGHTS-IRAN:The Fearless Voice of Taqi Rahmani
   By Isaac Baker on 08/03/2005 23:04:12 GMT
NEW YORK, Mar 8 (IPS) - Iranian dissident author Taqi Rahmani, who has spent over 17 years in prison, is the winner of a prestigious award from a leading human rights organisation for his writings criticising the repressive fusion of religion and politics in Iran.... (continue)

DEVELOPMENT:Clock Ticks For Twin Aims of Equality and Prosperity
   By Isaac Baker on 04/03/2005 01:17:44 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 3 (IPS) - Making faster progress on gender equality is essential if states are to reach the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their deadline, U.N. officials and women's rights experts said during the first week of the world body's international women's conference.... (continue)

RIGHTS-US:Requiem for an American Dream
   By Isaac Baker on 18/02/2005 15:55:20 GMT
NEW YORK, Feb 18 (IPS) - Harsh U.S. immigration and anti-terrorism laws have had a devastating effect on many Muslim communities in the U.S., leaving a legacy of fear and disillusionment, especially among young people, Asian activists said Thursday.... (continue)

POLITICS:Embedded in the Spin Cycle...
   By Isaac Baker on 15/02/2005 20:37:48 GMT
NEW YORK, Feb 15 (IPS) - An incisive new documentary is taking aim at the U.S. media's one-sided coverage of the war in Iraq, arguing that its collective complicity deceived the populace and made the war possible.... (continue)

HEALTH-ASIA:Region Primed for an AIDS Disaster, Experts Warn
   By Isaac Baker on 10/02/2005 20.45.48 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 10 (IPS) - Asia is poised on the brink of an HIV/AIDS explosion unless governments take radical steps to rein in the disease, as well as the social and economic problems fuelling its spread, a prominent AIDS expert said Wednesday in New York.... (continue)

RIGHTS:Ending Poverty Means Empowering the Disabled
   By Isaac Baker on 03/02/2005 23.50.52 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 3 (IPS) - U.N. member states and disabled advocacy groups finalised a draft agreement Thursday to defend basic rights like independent living, employment and equality, paving the way for the first-ever international treaty guaranteeing the rights of the disabled.... (continue)

RIGHTS-NEPAL:Children Victimised in Escalating War
   By Isaac Baker on 26-01-2005 21:57:34 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 26 (IPS) - Children are being increasingly killed, injured, recruited as soldiers and subjected to other abuses by both government and rebel forces in the armed conflict in Nepal, according to a report released Wednesday by a children's rights group.... (continue)

FINANCE:U.N. Sees Loans Lifting Poor From Poverty
   By Isaac Baker on 18/11/2004 23:46:52 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 18 (IPS) - The United Nations launched the International Year of Microcredit (2005) Thursday, a 12 month-long focus on increasing financial services for poor and low-income households around the globe.... (continue)