IPS Inter Press Service

Paul Weinberg

TORONTO - Ottawa's refusal to repatriate a former child soldier, 23-year-old Omar Khadr, back to Canada to face justice in the country of his birth opens to the door to a trial before a controversial U.S. military commission process that has been challenged for its use of evidence gleaned from interrogation after torture.

RIGHTS-US: The Children of Guantanamo

RIGHTS-US: Indefinite Detention "Defies Common Sense"

RIGHTS-US: "New" Military Courts Still Lack Basic Safeguards

CHILE: Stop Treating Community Broadcasters as Criminals, Say Activists
Pamela Sepúlveda
SANTIAGO - Criminal law should not be used against freedom of expression, nor to silence community radio stations in Chile, say activists and journalists in response to closures of community radio outlets in this South American country.

POLITICS: Malaysia Faces Severe Test as Anwar Stands Trial
Analysis by Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s reputation as a progressive, tolerant and moderate Muslim state is now at stake as the country’s best known democratic leader Anwar Ibrahim stands trial for alleged sodomy and risks being jailed for many years if declared guilty.

DEVELOPMENT: Crisis Could Open Doors for Change, Says UNCTAD
	As the financial crisis continued to threaten world economies last year, the White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel famously declared: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."

BIODIVERSITY: Companies Push Hard to Halt Tuna Collapse

ROMANIA: Starting Early on Human Rights With School Textbook

BIODIVERSITY: Companies Push Hard to Halt Tuna Collapse
	In the Seychelles' only cannery, the din of thousands of empty tuna cans rattling on narrow metal troughs is incredible as they bustle along, soon to be filled with Skipjack tuna that only days ago were swimming freely in the inky blue Indian Ocean.

ETHIOPIA: Dam Critics Won't Go Away

ENVIRONMENT: Keeping Wetlands from Becoming Wastelands

INDIA: Lay-offs from Recession-hit Gulf Lead to New Lives at Home
	Domestic worker Beena Joy, 35, came back empty-handed after losing her job in recession-hit United Arab Emirates, but soon found that getting laid-off has given her a happier life back home here in this southern Indian city.

US-IRAN: Sanctions Are the Talk of the Day

POLITICS: Rural Thailand Simmers with Anti-gov’t Rage

GREECE: New Migrant Law Tough But Respects Rights
	The newly elected Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) government's plans to move legislation, that will greatly affect migrants and refugees, have been both welcomed and criticised by rights organisations and activists.

UKRAINE: Back Full Circle

Q&A: ''There's a Limit to Fish Harvesting''

COSTA RICA: Chinchilla to Join Club of Women Presidents
	Laura Chinchilla of the governing National Liberation Party (PLN) will be the first female president of Costa Rica and the ninth in the history of Latin America.

MUSIC-BRAZIL: 'Enchanted' Guitars for Social Change

PERU: Women Combine Invention, Tradition to Improve Rural Diets

RIGHTS: Group Urges Bahrain to Stop Torture of Detainees
	Bahrain's security forces should immediately cease the use of torture to elicit confessions from prisoners suspected of security offences, says the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

YEMEN: Development Recognised as Crucial for Stability

MIDEAST: Gazans Denied Justice as Rights Take a Beating

US-IRAN: Sanctions Are the Talk of the Day
	If there were any doubts about what exactly U.S. President Barack Obama meant when he warned Iran of "growing consequences" during his State of the Union address last month, they seem to be dispelled by recent statements from top administration officials, who are beating the sanctions drum loud and clear.

RIGHTS: Group Urges Bahrain to Stop Torture of Detainees

YEMEN: Development Recognised as Crucial for Stability

DEVELOPMENT: Crisis Could Open Doors for Change, Says UNCTAD
	As the financial crisis continued to threaten world economies last year, the White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel famously declared: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."

BIODIVERSITY: Companies Push Hard to Halt Tuna Collapse

Q&A: ''There's a Limit to Fish Harvesting''

INDIA: Lay-offs from Recession-hit Gulf Lead to New Lives at Home
	Domestic worker Beena Joy, 35, came back empty-handed after losing her job in recession-hit United Arab Emirates, but soon found that getting laid-off has given her a happier life back home here in this southern Indian city.

GREECE: New Migrant Law Tough But Respects Rights

RIGHTS: Group Urges Bahrain to Stop Torture of Detainees

PAKISTAN: Community Midwives Gain Recognition But Concerns Remain
	As Kanwal Gul, 25, lay on the delivery table a year ago, preparing to give birth to her first child, she made sure the traditional birth attendant (TBA) assisting her knew exactly what to do. Put on the gloves, she instructed her.

UGANDA: Early Diagnosis of HIV Still Elusive

HAITI: Displaced Women Face Double Jeopardy

MUSIC-BRAZIL: 'Enchanted' Guitars for Social Change
	Perfectly in tune, in spite of the off-key world of Terra Encantada ("Enchanted Land"), a shanty town in this Brazilian city, the guitars of Daniel Sant'Anna's orchestra strike up the "Ode to Joy", played by children and teenagers who are looking for a way forward in their lives.

EUROPE: Poland's Pension Cuts - Cue for Former Eastern Bloc

PERU: Women Combine Invention, Tradition to Improve Rural Diets