Siriel-Media

Flood-Ridden Pakistan Ineligible For Emergency Debt Relief	more
A loan deal between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and flood-stricken Pakistan announced Thursday has drawn the ire of several NGOs that claim the deal represents an "inadequate" and "cynical" response to the disaster that is estimated to have affected the lives of millions.
Tamaulipas, Mexico's Black Hole	more
Tamaulipas state has become the black hole of organised crime in Mexico. But there are few accounts of the rapid social breakdown that the northeastern border state has experienced since the start of the year, because the local press is silenced.
BRAZIL: Inequality Declines in Rio as Rich Get Poorer	more
The huge gap between the poorest and richest neighbourhoods of Brazil's most famous city shrank between 1996 and 2008. But the news is not as good as it sounds, because the decline in inequality was due to lower incomes in the richer zones, rather than to an increase in wealth in the "favelas" or shantytowns.
BOLIVIA: UN Calls for Broad Pact on Children's Needs	more
A national pact to focus on the rights of children was proposed by United Nations representative in Bolivia Yoriko Yasukawa on the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
LEBANON: Rich Feast Through Month of Fasting	more
Although not a celebration in the traditional sense, Ramadan in Lebanon is a time of joy for many, during which families reconnect and share their wealth with the poor. But in this country of extremes, not everyone has the luxury of celebrating the holy month.
MIDEAST: Pessimistic About Peace, Yet?	more
As President Obama on Wednesday initiates the ninth U.S. attempt in the last 30 years to bring about a final Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, expectations are low and pessimism is high.
U.N. Lagging on Water and Sanitation Development Goals	more
The United Nations stands accused of marginalising water and sanitation in its much-touted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at improving the lives of billions of people in the developing world.
PHILIPPINES: Criminal Ban, Stigma Drive Unsafe Abortions	more
"I felt scared. When I looked around, all the mothers had finished giving birth, while I was still there. The blood that flowed from me had already dried and caked onto my body," Lisa, a 19-year-old married mother of three, says, recounting her experience in post-abortion care at a public hospital here in the Philippine capital.
SRI LANKA: Anger Rises Over Torture Case, But Solution Unclear	more
The ordeal of a Sri Lankan domestic worker whose Saudi Arabian employer allegedly drove nails and metal wires into her body has sent alarm bells ringing among government officials and activists, but how such abuses can be stopped remain far from clear.
Further Victims Identified in DRC Mass Rapes Case	more
The number of women raped by rebel groups during last month's raid of more than a dozen villages centred around Walikale, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has risen to over 240, U.N. officials told reporters here today.
COLOMBIA: US Military Aid Contingent on Reversal of Rights Record	more
As a new administration takes over in Bogot�, some groups are hoping for change in the human rights record of Colombia - and that the U.S. will use its clout in the country to ensure that change occurs.
SOUTH AFRICA: "Xenophobia Simmering Just Below Boiling Point"	more
"Xenophobia is part of life. We do not live easy here. We only survive," says Somali shopkeeper, Abdinasir Shaikh Aden, looking tense.
Mexico Massacre Galvanises Migrant Rights Activists	more
Activists in Latin America have been galvanised by atrocities like the recent massacre of 72 migrants near the U.S. border to step up their efforts on behalf of migrant rights.
500,000 Pregnant Women at Risk in Pakistan Floods	more
Aid groups and U.N. agencies are raising the alarm over the vulnerability of pregnant women and babies in flood ravaged Pakistan.
AFGHANISTAN: Not Much Good News for the Media	more
Good news has become harder to come by these days in Afghanistan, especially as the war-ravaged country gears up for the parliamentary election scheduled on Sep. 18.
VENEZUELA: Hunger Striker Dies in Land Dispute	more
Franklin Brito, who held several long hunger strikes since 2004 to defend ownership of his farm, became the first Venezuelan to fast to the death.
RWANDA: Genocide Ideology and Sectarianism Laws Silencing Critics?	more
Among its unstable and conflict-ridden neighbours, Rwanda stands out. It has been pegged as a model of development and one of Africa's success stories: Since the 1990's, when a civil war ravaged the country, average incomes have doubled, its people have become healthier and less hungry and it has the highest proportion of women parliamentarians worldwide. Yet, maintaining this stability is a government accused of muzzling its opponents and committing human rights abuses.
Secret ?Kill Lists' Fly in the Face of US and Int'l Law	more
Two of the nation's most influential human rights organisations have filed a lawsuit challenging the government's authority to carry out "targeted killings" of U.S. citizens located far from any armed conflict zone.
DEVELOPMENT: South-east Asian Highway Hits Roadblock in Burma	more
With its thick forest cover and abundant wildlife, the Dawna mountain range in south-eastern Burma is coming in the way of a flagship highway project being pushed by one of Asia's premier financiers of roads.
MIDEAST: Netanyahu Ignores President, and Wife	more
Thousands of Israelis have protested in a central park here demanding that their government revoke its decision to deport 400 children of migrant workers.
EGYPT: Military Court Sentences Civilian Workers	more
An Egyptian military court handed down sentences Monday in the trial of eight civilian factory workers who led a protest against deteriorating safety conditions in an army-owned factory. Rights groups say the trial should never have taken place.
INDIA: Kashmiri Youngsters Wage Online Struggle	more
Rasik Rasheed's (not his real name) hefty Internet bills hardly bother his family. Cooped up at home due to curfews and strikes here for nearly three months now, youngsters like him have been busy not just with their studies but with waging what they call the Kashmir struggle on the Internet.
JAPAN: Househusbands Giving Birth To More Gender Equality	more
Since their first child was born 16 years ago, Hiroyuki Ozaki has taken care of the household, relinquishing his traditional role as the main breadwinner while his wife held on to her career in the travel industry.
MINING-CHILE: Make Good on Concern for Worker Safety, Say Unions	more
While efforts get underway to try to rescue the 33 miners who are trapped 700 metres underground in a mine in northern Chile, trade unions are calling on the country's political leaders to tackle the underlying problems of worker safety.
FBI: No Probable Cause Required For Surveillance	more
The bitter controversy over the building of a Muslim community centre and mosque near the site of the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001, is sparking new fears of government snooping on Islamic holy places - which it now claims it can do without a warrant.
Embattled U.N. Chief on Charm Offensive, Says Press Corps	more
When an Asian ambassador hosted a sumptuous lunch for more than a dozen U.N. correspondents in his swanky New York apartment many moons ago, he confessed he had a hidden agenda.
RIGHTS-CHINA: Environment Lawsuits Often Become Lonely Fights	more
Feng Jun's fight against a local government and the steel mills he believes polluted the water that killed his daughter has cost him nearly everything.
RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Mob Brutality Raises Painful Questions	more
A breakdown in Pakistan's justice system, a sign of a society desensitised to violence, an example of mob brutality.
BURMA: Military Shake-up Reveals Junta's Plans for New Gov't	more
As the November general election in Burma approaches, the country's junta is revealing the political designs underway in order to place the powerful military under civilian authority after a lapse of 22 years.
Q&A: Capital Punishment in Canada, Revisited	more
Thirty-four years ago, Canada was one of the first Western countries to abolish the death penalty. In 1987, the question of capital punishment and whether it should be reinstated resurfaced in the House of Commons.