News stories by IPS Correspondents, page 9

DOHA, Qatar, Jul 18 (IPS) - (Al Jazeera) - Syria’s defence minister and interior minister are among those who were killed after a suicide bomber struck the National Security building in Damascus during a meeting of cabinet ministers and senior security officials, state media reported.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 18 (IPS) - The 193-member U.N. General Assembly Wednesday commemorated International Nelson Mandela Day in honour of the former South African president.

, Jul 17 (IPS) - UNITED NATIONS July 16 2012 (IPS) – “Transnational Organized Crime: Let's put them out of business,” is the new campaign by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) aimed at raising global awareness of the size and cost of this illicit network.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 17 (IPS) - Efforts to ensure the UN's continued relevance in global development took centre stage on Monday, as executive heads of UN funds and programmes, including UNDP, UNICEF, UN-Women, WFP, UNOPS, UNFPA and ESCAP assembled in the ECOSOC Chamber to reviewed successes and challenges in integrating development missions across a plethora of UN agencies.  

, Jul 16 (IPS) - With ever increasing sanctions against Iran, escalating violence in Syria and the continuing political struggles in Egypt, a new dynamic has been added to the long-standing policy challenges in the Middle East.

, Jul 16 (IPS) - SANTIAGO DE CHILE, Jul 15 2012 (IPS) - The Chilean government’s decision to invite companies to tender offers for mine lithium resources has been widely rejected by mining trade unions and legislators of the opposition.

, Jul 16 (IPS) - PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Jul 13 2012 (IPS) - Ordinarily they live for at least half a century. But at least 20,000 leatherback sea turtle hatchlings never made it past their nesting ground at Grand Riviere, a stretch of shoreline along Trinidad’s north coast, in what’s been described as “an engineering disaster” last weekend.

, Jul 13 (IPS) - WASHINGTON, Jul 12 2012 (EurasiaNet) - When it comes to the brewing arms race in the Caspian Sea region, no one can accuse Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of navel-gazing. Ashgabat is now able to back its claims to some energy-rich patches of the sea with considerable firepower.

, Jul 13 (IPS) - UNITED NATIONS July 12 (IPS) – Eighteen  years after the genocide,  Rwanda demonstrates that rebuilding a nation is possible. On Thursday the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the world premiere of the short documentary: “Rwanda - Reaching New Heights”  which  was followed by an online  discussion with film-maker Zak Mulligan and UNDP Rwanda Country  Director Auke Lootsma, who was on video call from Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

WASHINGTON DC, Jul 13 (IPS) - The Uganda Scouts Association, described as a youth development organization, is spearheading a nation-wide campaign to reach young people in schools and out of school through their programmes targeting  the health of students and their  households, according to Cleopatra John Byarugaba,director of the U Report in Uganda.