IDEX Newsflash, June 1, 2009

Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Burma Work to Resolve Rohingya Repatriation 6-1-09, Irrawaddy
The influx of Rohingya refuges into Bangladesh will not stop until there is a change in Arakan State and Burmese officials agree to repatriation, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said at a press conference on Friday.

JS Body to Decide on Tipaimukh 5-31-09, bdnews24.com
An all-party parliamentary committee will take a decision on whether to send a team of experts to the site of the proposed Indian Tipaimukh dam and hydropower project over the cross-boundary river Barak, the water resources minister said Sunday.

Guatemala
Taiwan President Visits Guatemala 5-30-09, AFP
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on Friday arrived in Guatemala for a three-day visit in a bid to boost relations in a region where support for Taiwan has reduced in recent years.

Guatemalan murder mystery threatens government 5-27-09, AP
A slain lawyer's taped accusations that the president wanted him dead threaten to topple Guatemala's first leftist government in more than 50 years and have sharpened the political divide between rich and poor.

India
Indian Rights Activist, Freed on Bail, Vows to Continue Work 1-6-09, The Wall Street Journal
Doctor and human-rights activist Binayak Sen, released on bail last week had been held on charges of aiding Maoist insurgents, said he will continue treating patients from Indian tribal areas and fighting for their rights, despite weak health and threats to his life.

Expectations increasing from Indian Corporates on CSR 6-1-09, India PR Wire
A greater need for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India has brought companies who initiate and participate in CSR activities into the limelight and increased public expectations of them.

Mexico
Indigenous rape victims fight military impunity 6-1-09, IPS
Inés Fernández and Valentina Rosendo, both 23, have suffered death threats and have been stigmatized as rape victims. This month Fernández managed to take her case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and Rosendo may achieve the same in the near future.

Mexico Heads World Violence on Journalists 5-31-09, Prensa Latina
Mexico is heading a world list regarding the attacks against journalists, the most vulnerable in the exercise of their profession, the director of the Center of Human Rights reported Sunday.

Mexico offers $380,000 reward in journalist murder 5-28-09, AP
Mexico's top prosecutor on Thursday offered a $380,000 reward for information in the kidnapping and murder of a newspaper reporter who was found beaten and dead in an irrigation canal in northern Mexico this week.

Nepal
PM Nepal finds OHCHR insignificant 5-27-09, eKantipur
Newly elected Prime Minister Madhav Kumar opined that the role of Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal is insignificant. He accused the UN rights body of “paying attention to political events and neglecting major incidents of human rights violation” and said renewing its tenure is unnecessary.

Sons of Soil Shut Down Kathmandu Valley 6-1-09, IANS
A community that has been residing in the Kathmandu Valley shut down the capital and 10 more districts, demanding an autonomous state for themselves and the scrapping of a reviled urban development plan. Nearly two dozen people were injured.

South Africa
Rush Job on NHI? 29-5-09, Health-e.org.za
An ANC task team is trying to convince the ANC and government to hastily implement a National Health Insurance (NHI) plan that many believe spells disaster for the buckling public health system.

HIV-Prevention Policy Not Working in South Africa 6-1-09, BusinessDay
A visiting US congressman has expressed concern about SA’s inability to significantly reduce the level of new HIV infections despite education and prevention campaigns.

Decriminalizing Sex Work Only Half the Battle 6-1-09, BuaNews
Proposals to decriminalize sex work in South Africa have been moved back to the front burner after a provincial premier remarked that the issue should be addressed "objectively and with an open mind".

Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean Journalists and Lawyers Brought before the Courts 28-5-09, SW Radio Africa
Two editors from the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper will stand trial on June 16th. The two are accused of writing a story that would undermine public confidence in law enforcement agents.

EU not ready to resume ties with Zimbabwe: letter 28-5-09, AFP
The European Union is not yet ready to establish normal ties with Zimbabwe or resume aid despite a "positive evolution" in politics there, according to a letter made public Thursday.

General
Large-scale foreign land acquisitions could harm local people, says UN-backed report 26-5-09, UN News Service
A United Nations-commissioned study shows that land acquisitions are on the increase in the developing world, raising the risk that poor people will lose access to land, water, and other resources.

Africa’s Growth to fall to 2% in 2009 28-5-09, Africa News
African growth will fall to 2% in 2009 from 5.1% in 2008 and agriculture will prove the continent's best chance of pulling itself from poverty. Most African economies had been growing steadily but the global economic crisis has caused aid flows to fall, slashed demand and prices for its agricultural exports.

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