Here are some of the most-read stories of the past week — and stories you shouldn’t go without reading:

Water Flowing Back Into Public Hands
Julio Godoy
PARIS – The announcement by the Paris municipality that water services will return to public hands by 2010 is in line with a global trend of ending privatisation of such services.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42922

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Gulf Eyes “Oil-For-Food” Deal With Neighbours
Meena Janardhan
DUBAI – Recent attempts by Gulf countries to invest in farmlands abroad to counter soaring inflation and guarantee long-term food security could prove to be a win-win situation in the short-term for both the oil-rich region and its investment-hungry neighbours, but continued high oil prices may neutralise the gains in the long-run, feel experts.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42877

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ETHIOPIA: A Tangled Political Landscape Raises Questions About U.S. Ally
Michael Deibert
ADDIS ABABA – When it was announced last month that the ruling party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had swept local polls in this vast Horn of Africa nation, few expressed surprise.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42906

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MIDEAST: Anything for a Bath, Anything for Fuel
Mohammed Omer
GAZA CITY – The girl, about 16, is wandering about Jebaliya refugee camp, picking up anything she thinks can burn. She cannot find enough bits of wood, so she gathers plastic bags, old notebooks and even a pair of broken plastic sandals.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42866

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UN Body Tightens Leash on Rights Investigators
Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS – The Human Rights Council in Geneva is seeking the right to implicitly retaliate against human rights investigators — officially known as special rapporteurs — who are critical of abuses by member states.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42846

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SOMALIA: Dire Situation for Internally Displaced
Abdurrahman Warsameh
MOGADISHU – The United Nations estimates that well over 700,000 people have fled their homes in the Somali capital Mogadishu since clashes between insurgents and Ethiopian forces backing Somali government troops began in Mogadishu in February 2007.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42842

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LATIN AMERICA: NGOs Under Fire
José Adán Silva*
MANAGUA – Civil society groups are facing smear campaigns and threats in Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, according to human rights activists and information gathered by IPS.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42822

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U.S.-MIDEAST: Let’s Not Make a Deal
Khody Akhavi
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was more explicit than usual las week, asserting that Israel’s settlement activity in the occupied West Bank was illegal and hurting efforts for a Mideast peace deal.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42832

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PERU: Something Fishy About Imported Military Rations
Ángel Páez
LIMA – Army troops from Peru and the United States are fighting very different enemies in extremely different geographical areas. But now they are eating the same rations, purchased from the U.S.-based International Meal Supply company.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42870

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MALAYSIA: Unprecedented No-Confidence Motion Against Abdullah
Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR – National politics in Malaysia entered uncharted territory this week after a party in the ruling 14-party National Front coalition said it will move a motion of no- confidence against beleaguered Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. This unprecedented act of rebellion could potentially force Abdullah out of office or call for a snap general election.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42883

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BRAZIL: Delivery Boy Newshounds Show Life in Sao Paulo
Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO – Cleyton Perroni?s motorbike has been a part of his life since he was 12. But 19 years later, its role changed from recreation to an essential working tool as, equipped with a cell phone, he became a reporter of daily life in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42867

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