News stories by IPS Correspondents, page 5

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 16 (IPS) - A judicial order to halt construction of the Belo Monte dam in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest may be just one more battle in a long-drawn-out war in the courts over the controversial hydroelectric project.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 15 (IPS) - In conflict-ridden Syria, both government forces and  rebels have committed crimes against humanity concludes the latest report  by the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

LOS ANGELES, California, Aug 14 (IPS) - “The war on drugs is endangering the best thing that the United States has given the world: democracy,” Javier Sicilia, the Mexican poet who heads the movement of victims of the violence unleashed by the war on drugs in his country, said upon reaching the United States this week.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 14 (IPS) - Brazil leads global production of biopolymers, an industry that generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel-based plastic manufacture. But “green plastics” made from sugarcane have a sour aftertaste.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Aug 13 (IPS) - The nine-member Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is pushing harder for regional integration with the launch of a new parliamentary forum that it says will play a major role in its efforts to establish an economic union.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 13 (IPS) - A peacekeeper from the African Union/United Nations hybrid mission ion Darfur (UNAMID) was killed and another injured on Sunday in line of duty in Nyala, South Dafur. The incident took place during late night. A gang appeared at the Otash camp for internally displaced people and fired at the staff. The peacekeeper was from Bangladesh's Formed Police Unit.

MEXICO CITY, Aug 11 (IPS) - “The United States should stop producing so many weapons, which cause us so much harm. That country also suffers from so much violence, as billions of dollars go into manufacturing guns.”

JaKARTA, Aug 10 (IPS) - When four men were sentenced to eight months in jail in March for the ‘murder’ of orangutans, it was the first time that people associated with Indonesia’s booming palm oil industry were convicted for killing man’s close relations in the primate family.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 (IPS) - The United Nations announced Thursday that eight countries, currently  facing emergencies, will receive 55 million dollars for humanitarian operations.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 09 (IPS) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Thursday announced the  launch of a new independent global network of research centres, universities and technical institutions to help find solutions for some of the world’s most pressing environmental, social and economic problems.