News headlines in 2008, page 8

The first indigenous person to hold a ministerial post in Paraguay became the first casualty of the cabinet of President Fernando Lugo.

On the brink of a split in the global Anglican Communion that no one is eager to enlarge on, the Province of the Southern Cone of South America has become a temporary refuge for conservative bishops from the United States who refuse to countenance the liberal positions taken by the Church in their country.

The United States’s decision to suspend tariff benefits for Bolivian imports as a result of the confrontation with the government of Evo Morales has generated widespread uncertainty among the business and working communities of the Bolivian capital’s satellite city of El Alto.

With the government insisting that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in conflict-ridden Mindanao disarm prior to resumption of peace talks -- and the rebels refusing to do so -- prospects for quick resettlement of some 300,000 internally displaced people (IDP) seem bleak.

Legend has it that India’s famed handloom silk industry began around 300 A.D. after a Chinese princess smuggled out the eggs of the silkworm moth and the seeds of the mulberry tree in her headdress.

New cases of avian influenza across Asia in recent weeks confirm warnings that the deadly virus still lurks in the region and raise questions of gaps in efforts to contain it in affected communities.

Margarita Mbyvângi, the first indigenous woman to hold a ministerial post in Paraguay, is facing charges of ineffectiveness from among her own ranks. But she is asking for time to achieve her goal: that no one will suffer the slavery and rootlessness that she experienced for nearly 20 years.

At a formal ceremony attended by diplomats, senior U.N. officials and journalists, the United Nations Friday presented its 2008 'South-South Leadership Award' to Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency for its role in promoting stronger ties among developing nations and media outlets.

An Argentine court order to release on bail nearly 20 officers accused of committing human rights abuses during the 1976-1983 dictatorship shows the slow-moving justice system’s limitations in dealing with cases against those prosecuted for crimes against humanity, say activists.

At their anti-racism conference in Geneva next April, United Nations member states may find themselves -- once again -- in a heated dispute over how to properly address the Israel-Palestinian conflict in the context of racism, xenophobia and racial discrimination.