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Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Jan 7 2006 (IPS) – When United States negotiators fly into Thailand to thrash out a bilateral free trade deal next week, they will be greeted with jeers rather than this country s famed smile of welcome.
When United States negotiators fly into Thailand to thrash out a bilateral free trade deal next week, they will be greeted with jeers rather than this country s famed smile of welcome.

Activists opposed to the free trade agreement (FTA) view the sixth round of talks in the northern city of Chiang Mai from Jan. 9-13 as a defining moment, and in a bid to raise the ante will bring 10,000 people on to the streets to protest against the talks.

Thailand stands to lose much if the FTA with the U.S. is signed, Saree Ongsamwong, general s…

Diego Cevallos*

MEXICO CITY, Apr 18 2006 (IPS) – Although many countries in Latin America have laws stating that sex education must be made available in primary and secondary schools, these are implemented in a haphazard way, and in some cases not at all.
An informal survey by IPS correspondents in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela shows that sex education is patchy or nonexistent in the region, with the exception of Cuba.

There are girls who get pregnant because they get sick, so they need help, said Sara, a seven-year-old Mexican girl, in a conversation with her private school classmates.

The conclusion reached by Sara, based on a television ad not designed with children in mind, is an illustration of the lack of adequate information abou…

Stephen Leahy* – Tierramérica

TORONTO, Nov 11 2006 (IPS) – Skin cancer, eye lesions and other infections are on the rise, a reminder that the Antarctic ozone hole continues to be a serious problem, especially for southern Argentina and Chile, where ultraviolet radiation during the spring months increases 25 percent.
The ozone layer covers the entire planet at an altitude of between 15 and 30 kilometres, and protects living organisms from the sun s harmful rays.

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the dramatic thinning of the ozone layer over the Antarctic an annual phenomenon sprawled to an average of 29.5 million square kilometres Sep. 21 to Sep. 30.

This year s Antarctic ozone hole is the largest on record, said Ac…

Apostolis Fotiadis

ATHENS, Sep 7 2007 (IPS) – The small black device that Panagiotis Vovos holds in his hands can measure the voltage produced by mobile phone network transmission antennas. It can detect voltages up to 7(Volt/metre).
This would be many times above the legally allowed limit in most European countries (between 0.2 and 6 V/m), China 6(V/m) or Russia 1(V/m); still it is much below the limit in Greece, which reaches up to 33(V/m). If the indicator is constantly on red it means that an antenna is installed in one of the buildings around, which also means that some people are probably bombarded with radiation for many hours per day, Vovos told IPS.

In many cases the appearance of an antenna is usually followed by complaints by inhabitants of headaches, diffi…

Patricia Grogg* – IPS/IFEJ

HAVANA, Nov 29 2007 (IPS) – With equal doses of caution and hope, Cuban researchers are moving forward with studies to test the cancer-fighting properties of the toxin produced by the blue scorpion (Rhopalurus junceus), a species endemic to this Caribbean island.

Extraction of venom from blue scorpion. Credit: Randy Rodríguez

We are concluding the studies of pre-clinical research in order to obtain registration and approval from Cuba s regulatory entities to begin clinical trials on humans, said m…

WASHINGTON, Sep 8 2011 (IPS) – The fight against oil and gas giants is heating up in the U.S., with new waves of protest and civil disobedience springing up across the country.
Empty Threats Unraveled
“It is deeply disconcerting that the industry not only has a swarm of lobbyists here in Washington, as well as in all the state legislatures where decisions about drilling are made, they’ve also got multimillion dollar advertising campaigns pushing their agenda and commissioning think tanks to put out reports in support of the industry,” Mitch Jones of FWW told IPS.
Dangling potential economic destruction and mass job losses as a result of clean energy practices is an old industry tactic.
In 1997, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was attempting to secure …

A woman sits in front of a camp after receiving oil and wheat from a U.N. distribution centre in Peshawar. Sixty percent of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 2013 (IPS) – The World Bank has raised some 52 billion dollars, a record amount, for its fund for development in the world’s poorest countries, though some are expressing concerns over the terms under which some of this money is being offered by donor governments.

The bank made the announcement Tuesday in Moscow, where donors wrapped up a two-day pledging summit to top up funding for the International Development Association (IDA), the …

Photo: OpenStreetMap and MapQuest

ROME, Jan 8 2016 (IPS) – The Syrian government says it will allow humanitarian aid into the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya, according to the United Nations, following reports and horrific pictures of residents starving to death. Aid is expected to reach the area by Monday, but for some it is too little and too late.

The plight of Madaya’s citizens only came to the world’s attention when residents somehow managed to get video out to Britain’s independent television network, ITV. The images of skeletal children and babies rocked the world’s conscience. The report said many were reduced to eating dirt and grass. Some, it sai…