From Our Own Correspondent

BAALBEK, LEBANON, July 2004

Twenty years ago another Middle Eastern country was ravaged by the sort of factional civil war which many now could grip Iraq. But now – Lebanon holds regular elections that changes leaders – yet it is the home turf for one of the most successful and violent Islamic militias – the Hizbolah – blamed by America blames for suicide bombings, kidnappings and links to Iran. […]

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BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA June 2004

As America prepares for its November presidential election, civil rights are turning their attention to the raft of new laws brought in to fight terror after the September 11th acts. Central to these are the politically named USA Patriot Act which gives intelligence agencies new powers to keep watch on American citizens. It has been condemned as dragging America back into it dark modern history – when the FBI was used to itimidate suspected communists and anti-war protesters. […]

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SANTA CRUZ, ARGENTINA April 2004

Earlier this week, the International Monetary owned up to making mistakes in dealing with Argentina’s 2001 economic crisis which pushed half the population into poverty. The IMF said it had missed warning signs that Argentina’s growth at the end of the 1990s and economic reforms were not as successful as they seemed. Why, though, had it taken so long for the IMF to be humbled. […]

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ZAGREB, CROATIA February 2004

Croatia is pursuing membership on the European Union with vigor, but to achieve this it would mean handing over their war criminals to the Hague and re-settling the tens of thousands of Serbian refugees driven out by ethnic cleansing. […]

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KERBALA, IRAQ, December 2003

Six months from now, America wants to hand over the government of Iraq. But what sort of people might form the new government. […]

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BABHA ATOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE, TROMBAY November 2003

Over the past year India and Pakistan have had a million troops facing each other down on the border with a stream of world leaders coming to their capitals appealing for peace. It’s almost five years since both countries declared their nuclear weapons – creating a specter of the world’s first nuclear war between neighboring hostile states. […]

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CASABLANCA. MOROCCO, September 2003

Morocco is holding local elections tomorrow – nearly four months after they were postponed because of a series of coordinated car bombs in car bombs. More than forty people died, a hundred were injured and seven hundred have been rounded up as part of a security sweep to stop any more attacks. The elections may show how the attacks impacted on the popularity of the Islamic political movement. Most of the suicide bombers came from one specific area of Casablanca. […]

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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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