POLITICS: Thai-Cambodia Diplomatic Row Bares Decades-Long Rift
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Thailand’s swift and strong response to Cambodia’s decision to appoint ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser exposed an emotional faultline rooted in decades of mutual suspicion and hatred.
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SRI LANKA: Colombo’s Diplomatic Sparring Games with EU, U.S.
Analysis by Amantha Perera
COLOMBO - One thing that has set apart the current administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa from those of his predecessors is its diplomatic duels with international heavyweights.
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HONDURAS: Unilateral "Unity Government" Announced; Deal "Dead"
By Thelma Mejía*
TEGUCIGALPA - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said Friday that the agreement reached last week to solve the four-month crisis triggered by a coup d'etat was "dead."
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RIGHTS-NICARAGUA: Mudslinging Match Between Gov't, Activists
By José Adán Silva
MANAGUA - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has been accused before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of responsibility for a series of violent incidents, which in the view of some analysts and civil society organisations have harmed democracy in the country.
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AFRICA: We Are the Government
By Jessie Boylan
LAGO DISTRICT, Mozambique - As if they were going to the races, Emma Musako and Monica Mhango showed up in their finest outfits to attend a meeting on the health, social and environmental impacts of uranium mining. They came because they, like the other attendees, no longer want to remain uninformed citizens.
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POLITICS: U.S. Seeks to Limit Warlords in Karzai Cabinet
By Gareth Porter*
WASHINGTON - The Barack Obama administration is talking tough to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the need for decisive action on corruption and governance reform, but its main objective is to prevent particularly corrupt and incompetent warlords from getting plum ministries as rewards for helping clinch his fraudulent reelection, IPS has learned.
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MIDEAST: Abbas Produces a Dubious Twist
Analysis by Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH - U.S. and Israeli failure to take either Palestinian rights or Israeli settlement expansion seriously has placed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority (PA) in an untenable situation, which could seriously damage peace prospects.
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HEALTH: Uganda’s Counterfeits Bill Threatens Access to Medicine
By Wambi Michael
KAMPALA - Uganda is considering an anti-counterfeit bill which analysts say will impair the country’s ability to import and export cheap but effective generic medicines. Activists fear that the bill, once enacted, will deny Ugandans access to safe, effective, quality and affordable generic medication which currently forms the bulk of Uganda’s medicine imports.
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NEPAL: Hopes High for Environmental Rights in New Constitution
By Mallika Aryal
KATHMANDU - As the new federal republic of Nepal forges ahead with writing a new constitution, activists are demanding that environmental rights be enshrined in this important document.
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POLITICS: U.N. Affirms Israeli-Hamas War Crimes Report
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - A 575-page blistering report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last December is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign to kill it.
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