News headlines in July 2009, page 34

Iranian authorities should release a prominent reformist detained during recent post-election unrest to a medical facility because he has suffered harsh interrogations and inadequate medical care that could have life-threatening consequences, said a prominent human rights group Wednesday.

Myaha Johnson sits with her family beneath a flimsy shelter of black plastic, looking with despair at the charred remains of what used to be their home. Mary Broh, Monrovia’s controversial mayor-designate, had just swept through the neighbourhood with her task force, vigorously tearing down residential structures along the back road, including their own.

Pakistani public opinion remains supportive of the military’s fight against the Pakistani Taliban, said a new poll released Wednesday. However, Pakistanis roundly reject the U.S. military campaign in the region.

Millions of U.S. citizens continue to face discrimination at the hands of police and other law enforcement agencies just because they are not white, although the country's new leader in the White House is himself of African American descent.

At least 150 million migrant workers - out of an estimated total of 200 million in the world today - fit the 'demographic characteristics of workers who are the most vulnerable' during the current global financial crisis, the U.N. says.

With the world economy in the grip of a credit crunch, traders and consumers in Uganda are struggling with price inflation and the depreciation of the country’s currency, the Ugandan shilling, against the dollar. Especially importers have not been able to bring goods in which were ordered when prices were lower.

'Silvino was riding his bike on a dirt road near our home when he was poisoned by toxic agrochemicals, sprayed on a nearby field of soybeans. He died soon afterwards. He was 11,' said his mother, Petrona Villasboa, a rural activist in southern Paraguay.

Twenty-one international peace activists were seized by Israeli naval frigates in international waters Tuesday as their boat 'The Spirit of Humanity' tried to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza.

When the Honduran military deposed President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday, in an incident that stirred memories of Cold War military coups in Latin America, it also seems to have caused at least some foreign policy commentators here to revert to positions reminiscent of the Cold War.

The modern façade of its cities, cost-effectiveness and its high standards of education, make Australia an attractive destination for foreign students. But the recent spate of attacks on Indian students has exposed the many ills afflicting the Australian education system, threatening its lucrative markets.