IPS Inter Press Service

Omid Memarian

SAN FRANCISCO, U.S. - Fears that the state apparatus controlled by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is laying the groundwork for possible fraud in Friday’s presidential election appear to be growing among his two reformist challengers and their supporters.

POLITICS: Iranians Keen on Improved Ties with U.S.

MIDEAST: Lebanese Polls Closely Watched by U.S. and Region

U.S.: Obama Appeals to Muslim World for "New Beginning"

ENVIRONMENT: Mexico Yet to Cross Clean Energy Threshold
Emilio Godoy*
MEXICO CITY - Despite its great potential for energy from the sun, wind and water, Mexico has not taken advantage of the Clean Development Mechanism laid out in the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

RIGHTS: Saro-Wiwa Settlement Latest Vindication of 1789 Law
Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON - Monday's settlement of a long-pending case by Royal Dutch Shell marks the latest successful use by human rights groups of a 1789 anti-piracy law to gain redress in U.S. courts on behalf of foreign victims of serious abuses committed overseas – in this case, Nigeria.

NORTH KOREA: China Dismissive of Prospects for War
	Dismissive of warnings that the Korean peninsula stands on the brink of war, China contends North Korea’s recent provocative actions are yet another illustration of brinkmanship aimed at attracting the U.S. attention. Beijing decried the North’s nuclear tests in late May, but remains uncommitted to tougher sanctions against the impoverished Stalinist nation.

DEVELOPMENT: ‘‘19th WEF on Africa Just About Elite Agendas’’

DISARMAMENT: U.N. Big Powers World's Top Military Spenders

RIGHTS: Saro-Wiwa Settlement Latest Vindication of 1789 Law
	Monday's settlement of a long-pending case by Royal Dutch Shell marks the latest successful use by human rights groups of a 1789 anti-piracy law to gain redress in U.S. courts on behalf of foreign victims of serious abuses committed overseas – in this case, Nigeria.

GHANA-ECONOMY: Credit Crunch Starts To Bite

DEVELOPMENT: ‘‘19th WEF on Africa Just About Elite Agendas’’

INDIA: Farm Suicides Turn Children Into Farmers
	Eleven-year-old Digambar Rathod looks older than his age. Shy and uncertain, he stares disconcertedly at the garlanded photograph of his father Jaideep, a 42-year-old cotton farmer who committed suicide on Jan. 1, 2009 in Tiwsala village, in eastern Maharashtra state’s suicide-torn Yavatmal district.

NORTH KOREA: U.S. Urges Release of Jailed Journalists

IRAN: Reformist Candidates Complain of Too Many Ballots

TRADE: EPA Signing Threatens Southern African Customs Union
	Fears that accession to an economic partnership agreement (EPA) in Southern Africa will destroy regional integration seem to be coming true after Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (BLS) ignored a key provision of the Southern African Customs Union when they initialled their trade deal with the European Union last week.

ENVIRONMENT-EUROPE: The Light Could Go All Green by 2050

EUROPE: The East Casts a Shadow

ENVIRONMENT: Mexico Yet to Cross Clean Energy Threshold
	Despite its great potential for energy from the sun, wind and water, Mexico has not taken advantage of the Clean Development Mechanism laid out in the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

GUATEMALA: A Candle in the Darkness of Impunity

MILLENNIUM GOALS: Nicaragua Can't Afford to Cut Poverty Rate

US: Washington Heaves Sigh of Relief After Allies Win in Lebanon
	The victory of the Western-backed coalition in Lebanon’s Sunday elections will likely allow the U.S. to avoid making tough decisions about how to deal with the country had the opposition, led by an armed Islamist militia, won.

LEBANON: March 14 Marches Ahead

MIDEAST: Israel Cracks Down on Minority Rights

NORTH KOREA: U.S. Urges Release of Jailed Journalists
	The harsh prison sentence given to two U.S. journalists found guilty of grave crimes against the North Korean state is eliciting concern from human rights groups and analysts.

RIGHTS: Saro-Wiwa Settlement Latest Vindication of 1789 Law

IRAN: Reformist Candidates Complain of Too Many Ballots

RIGHTS: Saro-Wiwa Settlement Latest Vindication of 1789 Law
	Monday's settlement of a long-pending case by Royal Dutch Shell marks the latest successful use by human rights groups of a 1789 anti-piracy law to gain redress in U.S. courts on behalf of foreign victims of serious abuses committed overseas – in this case, Nigeria.

ENVIRONMENT: Mexico Yet to Cross Clean Energy Threshold

HAITI: Recruiting Far and Wide for Great Young Minds

INDIA: Farm Suicides Turn Children Into Farmers
	Eleven-year-old Digambar Rathod looks older than his age. Shy and uncertain, he stares disconcertedly at the garlanded photograph of his father Jaideep, a 42-year-old cotton farmer who committed suicide on Jan. 1, 2009 in Tiwsala village, in eastern Maharashtra state’s suicide-torn Yavatmal district.

NORTH KOREA: U.S. Urges Release of Jailed Journalists

RIGHTS: Saro-Wiwa Settlement Latest Vindication of 1789 Law

DEVELOPMENT: ‘‘19th WEF on Africa Just About Elite Agendas’’
	The 19th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, which kicks off tomorrow, is a space ‘‘for the rich and powerful elites who control the global economy and who seek to further open Africa’s economy in collaboration with a tiny minority of corrupt elites in Africa.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Mental Illness in HIV-Positive Patients Largely Ignored

DEVELOPMENT: Thousands March as Food Crisis Deepens

RIGHTS: Saro-Wiwa Settlement Latest Vindication of 1789 Law
	Monday's settlement of a long-pending case by Royal Dutch Shell marks the latest successful use by human rights groups of a 1789 anti-piracy law to gain redress in U.S. courts on behalf of foreign victims of serious abuses committed overseas – in this case, Nigeria.

MILLENNIUM GOALS: Nicaragua Can't Afford to Cut Poverty Rate

DEVELOPMENT: ‘‘19th WEF on Africa Just About Elite Agendas’’