Here are some of the most-read stories of the past week — and stories you shouldn’t go without reading:
PAKISTAN: Voters Get Carrots, Sticks in Lacklustre Polls
Analysis by Beena Sarwar
KARACHI – Voter apathy marked Monday?s general elections that were accompanied by allegations of massive manipulations and violence on the one hand and lofty promises of development and cash gifts by some candidates on the other.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41239
Massive Manipulation of Poll Process Alleged
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41230
*****
KOSOVO: Serbia Finds It Hard to Live With the Loss
Vesna Peric Zimonjic
BELGRADE – Frustration over the Sunday declaration of independence of Kosovo is spreading all over Serbia, with protest rallies being organised around the country.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41240
Independent, But Not for All – By Zoltán Dujisin
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41234
*****
KENYA: Giving Ethnic Divisions the Boot
Kwamboka Oyaro
NAIROBI – Anthony Njoroge passes the ball to David Onyango, whose shot makes it past the goalkeeper to a thunderous cheer from spectators at Huruma Stadium, in Nairobi’s Eastlands slum area.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41200
Kenya – Elections and Aftermath
www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/kenya/index.asp
*****
Q&A: Journalist on Death Row
Interview with Mumia Abu-Jamal
BOSTON – Mumia Abu-Jamal, a journalist and black activist who exposed corruption in the Philadelphia police department, is among the best known of the 3,500 U.S. death row inmates. For years, lawyers have been fighting to overturn his 1982 murder conviction. They argue that Abu-Jamal was condemned due to his skin colour and undue influence from the powerful Fraternal Order of Police.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41202
*****
MIDEAST: No Lovers Got These Flowers
Mohammed Omer
RAFAH – After generations of occupation, Valentine’s Day has meant little in the Gaza Strip. But the flowers that lovers presented in Europe have.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41198
For the World, Gaza Is Reality TV
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41178
*****
Can the U.S. Brace Its Fall?
Analysis by Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON – “Is the American era over?” That was the big question that launched a lengthy analysis by veteran international affairs reporter James Kitfield in the influential ‘National Journal’ last May. Significantly, the article — which featured interviews with an all-star cast of former top U.S. policy-makers — was titled “The Decline Begins.”
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41232
*****
EAST TIMOR: Reinado Buried Amidst Flurry of Questions
Setyo Budi
DILI – Hundreds of people gathered Thursday for the funeral of Alfredo Reinado, the rebel soldier who was slain in an alleged coup bid against the government of President Jose Ramos-Horta.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41195
*****
MEXICO: Invisible Indigenous Communities in the Heart of the Capital
Diego Cevallos
MEXICO CITY – Chapultepec Avenue 380: the address leads to a downtown section of the Mexican capital full of the usual office buildings, restaurants and heavy traffic. Few people know that it is actually home to an indigenous community, made up of kids who clean windshields or panhandle for a few coins, construction workers and street vendors.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41197
*****
TRADE: EPA Damages Regional Cooperation in Southern Africa
Brigitte Weidlich
WINDHOEK – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) should engage in serious discussions to prevent the economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union from destroying its regional integration efforts.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41212
*****
CUBA: State-of-the-Art Centre Minimises Trauma of Sexual Abuse
Dalia Acosta
HAVANA – The young boy speaks in barely audible tones and hardly looks up from the stuffed animal that he turns over and over in his hands. The counsellor helps him, repeating his words, prompting him to continue, but without ever asking “what happened?” or “how did you feel?” Despite the boy’s visible anxiety, the story slowly emerges.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41211
And much more global news at: www.ipsnews.net/
Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS), the world’s leading provider of information on global issues, is backed by a network of journalists in more than 100 countries. Its clients include more than 3,000 media organisations and tens of thousands of civil society groups, academics, and other users.
IPS focuses its news coverage on the events and global processes affecting the economic, social and political development of peoples and nations.
Visit Inter Press Service at www.ipsnews.net