News stories by IPS Correspondents, page 35

LAHORE, Dic 21 (IPS) - POLITICAL INEPTITUDE AND ESCALATING SOCIO-ECONOMIC, ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS TENSIONS MAY STALL PAKISTAN'S HOPES OF A SPECTACULAR ECONOMIC RECOVERY, SAY PROMINENT ANALYSTS HERE.

ROME, Dic 21 (IPS) - "If the government falls, elections must be called," said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday at the opening of the parliamentary debate on the motions to remove him.

JOHANNESBURG, Dic 21 (IPS) - SOUTH AFRICA'S RULING AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC) WANTS A NEW CONSTITUTION THAT WILL CATER FOR DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY RULE BUT WITHOUT ENFORCED POWER SHARING.

PRETORIA, Dic 21 (IPS) - MORE THAN 800,000 TOURISTS ARE EXPECTED TO VISIT SOUTH AFRICA NEXT YEAR, BRINGING WITH THEM R8.5 BILLION (2.36 BILLION U.S. DOLLARS) TO BOOST THE LOCAL ECONOMY.

DOLEV, West Bank, Dic 20 (IPS) - The view from the 90 little houses lining the paved streets of this Israeli settlement is gorgeous, with the Mediterranean Sea shimmering beyond the horizon, throwing hues of red and orange across the turquoise waters at sunset.

NEW DELHI, Dic 20 (IPS) - FEW READERS IN INDIA COULD HAVE MISSED THE SARCASM BEHIND NEWS PICTURE CAPTIONS OF THE RECENTLY-CROWNED MISS WORLD, AISHWARYA RAI, MEETING HER COUNTRY'S PRIME MINISTER.

MOSCOW, Dic 20 (IPS) - Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin is due to arrive in India Thursday on a visit which will highlight Moscow's desire to reinforce trade and defence cooperation links with Asian and African countries.

WASHINGTON, Dic 20 (IPS) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved loans of 147 million dollars to assist Bolivia carry out economic reforms.

WASHINGTON, Dic 20 (IPS) - The western hemisphere's smallest members are uneasy about competing on equal terms with their larger neighbours as they face the challenge of forming a single continent-wide free trade area as agreed upon in the recent Miami summit.

UNITED NATIONS, Dic 20 (IPS) - The head of a U.N. commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weaponry Tuesday warned that Baghdad's sluggish cooperation has slowed the monitors' pace.