IPS Inter Press Service

Ángel Páez

LIMA - A priest who is touring the country in his bid to run for president next year, at the head of a leftist movement, was indefinitely suspended by the Catholic Church for getting involved in politics.

Q&A: Peruvian Cardinal Does Not Want Rebel Priest as President

PERU: The Price of Mining Competitiveness - 2008

PERU: UN Mission Probes Private Security Groups - 2007

PERU: ‘Dirty War' Allegations Cast Shadow on Nationalist Candidate - 2006

WEST AFRICA: Stopping the Polio Virus
Brahima Ouédraogo
OUAGADOUGOU - The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its partners hope to eliminate the circulation of the polio virus in West Africa as soon as June by launching the first round of national synchronised immunisation days against the debilitating disease.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The U.N.'s Boys' Club
Selina Rust
UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's decision to appoint a 19-member, all-male high-level advisory group on Climate Change Financing (CCF) has triggered strong protests from women's groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) outraged by the composition of the panel.

Q&A: Tapping Women's Enterprise to Topple Rural Poverty
	Employees at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) may have cause to fear for their jobs after Yukiko Omura was appointed vice president of the United Nations' rural poverty agency in February.

WORLD CUP: But South Africa Will Win

DISARMAMENT: Japan Pushes for Progress in U.S. Nuclear Review

POLITICS-RWANDA: Woman Vies for Top Job
	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.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Unexpected Low Custom Revenue Causes Budget Shortfalls

DEVELOPMENT: Spain’s New Drive to Extend its Interests in Africa

VIETNAM: Salinisation, Drought Bring Worries to Mekong Delta
	He has worked this land for half of 64 years and is known among his fellow farmers in Kien Giang province here in the Mekong Delta as ‘lao nong’, or the old master of rice.

PAKISTAN : Attacks Bring Humanitarian Work to A Virtual Halt

US-CHINA: Trade War Heats Up

Q&A: Tapping Women's Enterprise to Topple Rural Poverty
	Employees at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) may have cause to fear for their jobs after Yukiko Omura was appointed vice president of the United Nations' rural poverty agency in February.

RIGHTS: EU Selling Torture Equipment

DISARMAMENT: Japan Pushes for Progress in U.S. Nuclear Review

LATIN AMERICA: NGOs Demand Transparency, Reforms in IDB
	Dozens of civil society organisations in the Americas are demanding greater transparency and accountability as well as structural reforms in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), ahead of the multilateral lender's annual meeting of governors that starts Friday in the Mexican resort of Cancún.

ENERGY-LATIN AMERICA: Moving Towards Renewables

COLOMBIA: Vote-Buying and Front Men

MIDEAST: 'Day of Rage' Engulfs Palestine
	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.

WORLD CUP: But South Africa Will Win

MIDEAST: Israel-U.S. Tensions Continue to Percolate

US-CHINA: Trade War Heats Up
	Relations between Beijing and Washington have been far from smooth since the beginning of the year.

HAITI: Recovery Bill Estimated at 11.5 Billion Dollars

POLITICS: Sahel Leaders Meet on al Qaeda Threat

VIETNAM: Salinisation, Drought Bring Worries to Mekong Delta
	He has worked this land for half of 64 years and is known among his fellow farmers in Kien Giang province here in the Mekong Delta as ‘lao nong’, or the old master of rice.

ENVIRONMENT: Blame on Chinese Dams Rise as Mekong River Dries Up

ENERGY-LATIN AMERICA: Moving Towards Renewables

PAKISTAN : Attacks Bring Humanitarian Work to A Virtual Halt
	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.

POLITICS-RWANDA: Woman Vies for Top Job

RIGHTS: EU Selling Torture Equipment

NAMIBIA: "If You Kiss for Five Minutes You Get It"
	"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."

SWAZILAND: Budget Cuts Ahead but More Money for Education and Health

AFRICA: Corruption Carries High Cost, World Bank Says

LATIN AMERICA: NGOs Demand Transparency, Reforms in IDB
	Dozens of civil society organisations in the Americas are demanding greater transparency and accountability as well as structural reforms in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), ahead of the multilateral lender's annual meeting of governors that starts Friday in the Mexican resort of Cancún.

RIGHTS: EU Selling Torture Equipment

MIDEAST: 'Day of Rage' Engulfs Palestine