HONG KONG April 2003

As the world-wide battle against the SARS virus continues, the Chinese – controlled administration in Hong Kong is showing its worst approval ratings ever in opinion polls with 61 per cent saying they are unhappy with the government. SARS has been traced to neighboring Guongdong province, but China has been accused of covering up the disease for months and Hong Kong has suffered more deaths per head of population than any other community in China. […]

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ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN, February 2003

Within the frantic diplomacy over Iraq and the campaign on the War on Terror, one question is being repeatedly asked – to what extent is President George W Bush’s view of the Islamic world driven by his Christian beliefs. The attempt to spread Christianity and Western culture through developing countries has long been an issue of debate. […]

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SIKASSO, MALI May 2002

A major charity working to end child slavery in the chocolate industry says the problem could be solved within a month if the will was there to act. Just over a year ago – after repeated allegations – the chocolate companies admitted that child slaves could be used in the growing of cocoa – the raw product for chocolate. They went on to sign a protocol saying that all chocolate would be free of the taint of slavery by 2005. […]

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TALLIN, ESTONIA January 2002

In the Baltic state of Estonia, a trial resumes this week of a former KGB officer accused of crimes against humanity – one of a series of war crimes trials being pursued there since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in the early nineties. During the Second World War, Estonia was occupied both by German and Soviet troops – but unlike in most of Europe, many of those who sided with Hitler against Stalin were seen as heroes.  Now, with its imminent membership of both the European Union and NATO, Estonia is tracking down those who carried out Stalin’s dirty work. […]

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CUIDAD DEL ESTE January 2002

One of the least known battles in the war against terror is being waged in a confined area in the depths of Latin America, where the US believes Islamic fundamentalism has been able to grow unchecked. […]

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RHODES, GREECE September 2001

The Council Europe – set up partly to eradicate genocide and racism – has launched a blistering condemnation on the way Roma gypsies are being treated. They are Europe’s biggest single minority – but, says the Council, subject to violence, racism, and exclusion from society. The European Roma Rights Centre has called it a European apartheid. […]

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ASUNCIUN, PARAGUAY, March 2001

In Paraguay, the small ethnic Indian community has vowed to make a stand against the government – which has been recently accused by the US of violating their basic human rights, of shelter, medicine and schooling. Traditionally, the Paraguayan Indians were among the most accommodating in Latin America to Spanish colonizers, but recently they’re have been an increasing number of incidents involving land rights and other disputes. The Indians make up less than a 100,000 of the 5 million population. […]

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ACCRA, GHANA January 2000

Human rights groups in West Africa are meeting in Ghana to try to stamp out a ritual slavery called Trokosi which is widespread in some parts. As part of religious sacrifice, young women – often under ten – are handed over to village priests as life-time slaves in order to ensure nothing bad happens to their families. The women are sexually abused and are put to heavy manual work without pay. Ghana’s new president, John Kufuor, has pledged to stamp it out. […]

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MONTENEGRO May 1999

NATO’s bombing campaign of Serbia in 1999, left the tiny province of Montenegro in an unenviable position. Technically still part of a disintegrating Yugoslavia, most of its citizens wanted independence. The police were loyal to Montenegro, yet the army took its orders from Belgrade. Navigating through the pitfalls was hazardous. […]

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