News headlines in June 2013, page 20

HARARE, Jun 09 (IPS) - For 61-year-old Sarah Chikwanha from water-starved Chitungwiza, a town about 25 kilometres outside Harare, Zimbabwe, there is no choice. She must buy her water from illegal water traders, whose businesses have sprung up across the country.

NEW YORK, Jun 08 (IPS) - The underground sex trade is closer to our everyday world than we may think.

SYDNEY, Jun 08 (IPS) - The immense scale of the Pacific Ocean at 165 million square kilometres inspires awe and fascination, but for those who inhabit the 22 Pacific island countries and territories, it is the very source of life. Without it, livelihoods and economies would collapse, hunger and ill-health would become endemic and human survival would be threatened.

ANKARA, Jun 08 (IPS) - Now approaching its third week, the "Occupy Taksim" movement, a peaceful sit-in to save Istanbul's Gezi Park from redevelopment, has taken on a festival-like atmosphere, with protesters organising to stand guard around the clock, provide uninterrupted food and water supplies, and carry out a self-initiated cleaning of the grounds.

ANKARA, Jun 08 (IPS) - As protests in Turkey stretch into their second week, the precise terms and conditions that could bring the social unrest to an end are unclear, though many speculate about what would end the deadlock between the government and protesters.

MEXICO CITY, Jun 08 (IPS) - The Climate Change Fund set up in November in Mexico faces enormous challenges such as the enforcement of anti-corruption standards, which make it unlikely that concrete actions will begin this year, according to civil society organisations.

SYDNEY, Jun 08 (IPS) - With a population of over 1.2 million people spread across 14 government districts, the suburbs of western Sydney have long been perceived as the impoverished "other half" of Australia's economic, financial and political hub, serving as a de facto port of entry for incoming migrant workers.

WASHINGTON, Jun 08 (IPS) - With Syrian government forces and their allies scoring a major victory over Western- and Gulf Arab-backed rebel forces this week, neo-conservatives and other anti-Damascus hawks are trying hard to turn up the pressure on President Barack Obama to sharply escalate U.S. support for the opposition.

BUENOS AIRES, Jun 07 (IPS) - The first prisoners' union in Argentina, a country with a strong organised labour tradition, fights for the rights of inmates.

GABÈS, Jun 07 (IPS) - The story of Gabès and the local phosphate industry follows a plot that is all too familiar: an underdeveloped town located in an industrial region boasts one major lucrative industry with high output and export values, but the local population and surroundings experience alarming levels of illness and environmental blight.