News stories by IPS Correspondents, page 33

UNITED NATIONS, Dic 22 (IPS) - The head of the U.N. humanitarian aid programmes Thursday said that aid agencies will have to rely more greatly on local leaders in Somalia once U.N. troops depart the country.

WASHINGTON, Dic 22 (IPS) - The International Monetary fund (IMF) praised on Thursday a Mexican government decision to loosen exchange rate controls and raise interest rates to curb the drop in the exchange and financial markets that resulted from Tuesday's devaluation of the peso.

UNITED NATIONS, Dic 22 (IPS) - The U.N. Security Council Thursday asked all sides in Burundi's fragile ethnic political stew to refrain from violence amid a political crisis.

ROME, Dic 22 (IPS) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned on Thursday after it became clear he would lose a vote of no confidence and be removed from office.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Dic 22 (IPS) - Some Haitians are letting their hair down this festive season, while others pick up placards.

VIENNA, Dic 22 (IPS) - One odd result of Austria's entry into the European Union (EU) next month will be that foreigners married to other EU citizens will find it easier to settle here than those wedded to Austrians, say migrant counsellors.

PARIS, Dic 21 (IPS) - Traditions that immigrants from Africa bring with them to France, like the wearing of Muslim veils or the practices of polygamy and excision challenge some of this society's deepest convictions and have naturally sparked heated debate here.

BANDA, INDIA, Dic 21 (IPS) - AS DAWN BREAKS OVER AMACHER NERUVA VILLAGE IN NORTHERN INDIAN UTTAR PRADESH STATE, SUMITRA, 40, BEGINS A LONG TRUDGE INTO THE SURROUNDING FORESTS IN SEARCH OF FIREWOOD.

MOSCOW, Dic 21 (IPS) - Russia's military intervention in the breakaway republic of Chechnya poses dangers to the political leadership if army and interior ministry troops get bogged down in a protracted war, analysts warn.

PARIS, Dic 21 (IPS) - A French pressure group running a nationwide public opinion drive against anti-personnel mines, won a court battle Wednesday against an arms manufacturer who had sought to put an end to the campaign.