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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 6, No. 44

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Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“There are a lot of powerful countries meddling in a weak state and a lot of strategic interests involved.” — An anonymous regional analyst on Niger’s burgeoning uranium rebellion (see “Africa’s Resource Wars II,” below). CONTENTS:
*Top Stories*
Iran’s other little problem — inflation
Resistance deepens to Afghan poppy spraying
A taste of old Russia
*Uganda*
New hopes and hurdles for Uganda peace
*Africa’s Resource Wars I*
Blood diamonds sullied, but still glitter
*Africa’s Resource Wars II*
Uranium ignites Niger strife
*Dissent*
Old wounds deepen for government critics

TOP STORIES
* Iran’s Other Little Problem — Inflation
Nary a word about Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s nuclear ambitions or headline-grabbing trip to the United States appeared in a recent Agence France-Presse article. Instead, the piece focused entirely on rising complaints about his economic stewardship, which experts say will push inflation to more than 20 percent this year.

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River of Metal

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In Peru, community groups blame 17 active mining operations for the contamination of the Mantaro River (right) with copper, iron, lead and zinc. It’s just one of many local environmental battles emerging around mining practices worldwide
Photo: JoseLuisParra

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 6, No. 43

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Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“They hope by using these scare tactics they can persuade policymakers to alter labeling, and they can use the label to drive people away.” — James Greenwood of the Biotechnology Industry Association, on a new push to label GMO foods (see “Food Safety,” below). CONTENTS:
*Top Stories*
The child brides of Kandahar
Cancer is the latest Chechen scourge
Fakin’ it: Officials forge a future in Iraq
*In Context: Wildfires*
Why California must burn
*Labor*
Offshoring meets “onshoring” in the quest for cheap labor
*Food Safety*
Activists seek labels for biotech foods

TOP STORIES
* The Child Brides of Kandahar
Human rights activists in Afghanistan say arranged marriages involving young girls under 16 still account for half of all marriages in some parts of the country, such as in southern Kandahar province. The tradition is perpetuated by poverty and illiteracy, say activists — problems that are just as systemic.

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 6, No. 42

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Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“This permit is indecipherable. They tell me I’m going to get some answers, but I’m still waiting.” — Indiana physician John Crayton, on a plan to limit regulation of steel mill pollution in Lake Michigan (see “Environment,” below). CONTENTS:
*Top Stories*
Families a casualty of Kasmir split
New testimony in Indonesia activist death
AIDS bias targets 11-year-old boy
*Mining*
Girls, pollution, poverty: The other mining disasters
*Environment*
U.S. water pollution laws routinely flouted: report
*Iran*
Dissent Crackdown Deepens

TOP STORIES
* Families a Casualty of Kashmir Split
As many as 50,000 Indian-Pakistani families have been divided by the disputed Kashmir province since 1989.

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Asylum Adrift

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These Cuban asylum seekers (right, as seen from the cruise ship that later rescued them), are relatively lucky. Many refugees who set out by sea to Europe and elsewhere are refused landfall, or placed in private detention centers more akin to jail cells.
Photo: TarikB

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State of Denial

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Armenians in Turkey may have been killed during World War I (at right), but the Turkish government insists it wasn’t on the scale of a true genocide; now, a bill contesting that version of history is making its way through U.S. Congress, and Turkey’s foreign minister says Jews could pay the price for its passage.
Photo: armediapedia

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 6, No. 41

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Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“This is not an immigration law … it’s a nod to National Front electors ahead of the municipal elections.” — A French editorial cartoon targets a DNA-testing proposal for prospective immigrants (see “Top Stories,” below). CONTENTS:
*Top Stories*
Inter-agency spying a U.S. “intelligence nightmare”
Genocide resolution a threat to Turkey’s Jews?

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 6, No. 40

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Important but overlooked news from around the world. QUOTED:
“Maybe we’ll have one or two executions each year, just to prove that we still can.” — Activist Stephen Elliot on new challenges to capital punishment nationwide (see “Crime & Punishment,” below). CONTENTS:
*Top Stories*
Kurdish vote puts pressure on Arabs
Bhutto promises nuclear access
Refugees take a risky route to Yemen
*Energy*
A nuclear “renaissance”
*Crime & Punishment*
The death sentence on trial? *World*
Russia and the Muslims

TOP STORIES
* Kurdish Vote Puts Pressure on Arabs
Kurdish officials are beginning the process of sending Arab residents of Kurdistan back to their cities of origin ahead of a referendum on whether to absorb Kirkuk into the Kurdistan Regional Government area.

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Myanmar's Power Source

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World leaders have condemned the Myanmar junta’s crackdown on protesters — but its grip on power has only been strengthened by decades of cooperation with the West on projects such as the Yadana Pipeline (at right), which is owned by Unocal/Chevron and France’s Total.
Photo: geocities.jp/shinji_th

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News You Might Have Missed * Vol. 6, No. 38

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Dear readers:
In light of the ongoing protests in Burma/Myanmar, we bring you a special edition of News You Might Have Missed this week. Instead of several shorter roundups of world news, we’re focusing on Newsdesk’s previous coverage of the oil industry and the money that keeps the Myanmar junta in power. This special feature also brings together the latest coverage of oil and gas development there, which promises billions more in profits for the junta. It’s all the context and depth you’re not getting from mainstream media — a hallmark of Newsdesk.org’s journalistic mission. * If you find our work of value, please tell your friends, family and co-workers, and invite them to subscribe to our free newsletter.