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

SRI LANKA: The Post-Election Road Ahead for President Rajapaksa
Analysis by Adithya Alles
COLOMBO (IPS) – Sri Lankans witnessed one of the country?s most contentious elections ever when President Mahinda Rajapaksa staved off the challenge posed by his former Army commander, Sarath Fonseka, and clinched more than 1.8 million majority votes during the Jan. 26 poll.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50247

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MIDEAST:Raze Illegal Buildings – Unless They Are Jewish
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
SILWAN, Occupied East Jerusalem (IPS)- Backed by armed security men, the municipal inspectors race their jeeps through the narrow alleyways and up a hillside crowded with buildings.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50202

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MIGRATION: Lost in the Desert? There’s an App for That
By Enrique Gili
SAN DIEGO, California (IPS) – Over the past two decades, Ricardo Dominguez has made a career for himself tweaking the sensibilities of government officials and developing software tools meant to disrupt the status quo.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50235

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PERU-CHINA: Social Responsibility Missing in Growing Trade Ties
By Milagros Salazar
LIMA (IPS) – China has become Peru’s second largest trade partner, with interests basically in mining and oil. However, it is viewed with caution by this Andean nation, because the Asian giant has a reputation for flouting environmental standards and labour rights.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50206

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NIGERIA: No Oil Company Will Know Peace in the Creeks
By Sam Olukoya
YENAGOA, Nigeria (IPS) – Three flow stations in the oil-rich Niger Delta have had to be closed after a pipeline was sabotaged, according to Royal Dutch Shell.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50176

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ARGENTINA: Torture Priest Still Celebrating Mass – Behind Bars
By Sebastián Lacunza
BUENOS AIRES (IPS) – More than two years after he was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the 1976-1983 dictatorship in Argentina, former police chaplain Christian von Wernich has not been penalised by the Catholic Church.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50177

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POLITICS: Peace Talks May Follow Ex-Taliban Mediators? Plan
By Gareth Porter*
KABUL (IPS) – If peace talks do ultimately begin between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban leadership, they may well follow a “road map” to a political settlement drawn up by a group of ex-Taliban officials who have been serving as intermediaries between the two sides.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50237

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ROMANIA:Starting Early on Human Rights With School Textbook
By Claudia Ciobanu
BUCHAREST (IPS) – A textbook on human rights activism, being introduced in Romanian schools this year, steers away from preaching and uses interviews with global and local rights activists to suggest how young people may get involved.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50240

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ETHIOPIA: Dam Critics Won’t Go Away
IPS Correspondents
ADDIS ABABA (IPS) – Ethiopia is building a 240-metre high dam on the Omo River that is intended to end the country’s electricity shortage and supply power to neighbouring countries. Not everyone’s happy.
ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50241

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PAKISTAN: Community Midwives Gain Recognition But Concerns Remain
By Zofeen Ebrahim
KARACHI (IPS) – As Kanwal Gul, 25, lay on the delivery table a year ago, preparing to give birth to her first child, she made sure the traditional birth attendant (TBA) assisting her knew exactly what to do. Put on the gloves, she instructed her.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50245

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IPS SPECIAL COVERAGE: WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2010

Ten years ago the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre burst onto the world stage giving social movements and civil society the space to challenge the orthodoxies symbolised by the World Economic Forum. Visit the IPS TerraViva World Social Forum 2010 site for independent news, analysis and commentary on up to 35 WSF events that will take place on every continent in 2010. What are the continuing challenges that drive social movements, and will the WSF stay relevant and innovative? Read IPS TerraViva to find out.
www.ips.org/TV/wsf2010/

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