News stories by IPS Correspondents, page 84

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 10 (IPS) - The war on drug trafficking gangs threatened by Brazilian federal authorities in late October has thus far produced only declarations, meetings, and symbolic acts with theatrical effects.

ROME, Nov 09 (IPS) - Italy enjoyed a brief spell of good weather Wednesday after suffering more than a week of the worst storms since 1913. The disaster devastated the north of the country and left over 100 dead, dozens missing and thousands homeless.

ROME, Nov 09 (IPS) - Travelling to Rome's Fiumicino airport from the city one travels through a rural landscape which is intensely cultivated and a far cry from the urban jungle that has been left behind.

BIARRITZ, France, Nov 09 (IPS) - The proposal to form an inter- African peacekeeping force received a warm reception at the just ended summit meeting between French and African leaders in this south-western coastal town.

KINGSTON, Nov 09 (IPS) - Representatives of the member countries of the United Nations will meet in Kingston next week (Nov 16-18) to start building the foundations of an institution to oversee the orderly exploitation of the international seabed.

WASHINGTON, Nov 09 (IPS) - The Democratic administration, reeling from a stinging electoral setback, pondered the course of the Bill Clinton presidency Wednesday, with analysts expecting a shift in focus from domestic to foreign policy concerns.

WASHINGTON, Nov 09 (IPS) - Two years after U.S. voters ended more than a decade of Republican presidential rule, the same electorate Tuesday voted in the first Republican-dominated Congress since 1954.

KINGSTON, Nov 09 (IPS) - A group of Jamaican investors is launching a new lottery game this weekend with a promise of "big bucks" for lucky ticket buyers.

MEXICO CITY, Nov 09 (IPS) - The Mexican Parliament ratified the election of Ernesto Zedillo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)in power since 1929early Wednesday morning. Zedillo will replace current President Carlos Salinas on Dec. 1.

CARACAS, Nov 09 (IPS) - The Venezuelan government lost some 750 million dollars this year due to subsidies in domestic gasoline prices, oil industry executives reported Wednesday, while the state is considering postponing gas price hikes another year.