ARGENTINA, (IPS News) - Soledad Acevedo was an 18-year-old mother of two eking out a living by means of menial casual work in 2002 when she was sent to prison in the Argentina province of Buenos Aires, accused of armed robbery and attempted homicide. Now she is 24, and is excited as she meets with IPS in her cell.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - A court has sentenced a male activist for greater female rights in Iran to one year in prison, his lawyer and a fellow campaigner said on Monday.
JAFFA, ISRAEL (BBC) - To mark Israel's 60th anniversary, BBC News has travelled to the ancient port city of Jaffa where Jews and Arabs live side by side. It is a vibrant city where money is being poured into reconstruction, but tensions still surface in what a famous artist calls a "microcosm of the Middle East".
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ports along the U.S. West Coast, including the country's busiest port complex in Los Angeles, shut down on Thursday as some 10,000 dock workers went on a one-day strike to protest the war in Iraq, port and union officials said.
LONDON (BBC) - Rice prices have scaled fresh heights in Asian trade amid concern that export bans by key producers will hit supply.
LONDON (BBC) - A UN-sponsored report has called for urgent changes to the way food is produced, as soaring food prices risk driving millions of people to poverty.
UK (BBC News) - Thousands have massed in San Francisco to protest against China's policies as the Olympic torch sets off on the only North American leg of its journey.
A sizeable number of pro-Beijing demonstrators are also on the streets, prompting fears of violence.
UK, (BBC News) - The top US military leader in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has recommended a suspension of troop withdrawals after July to protect gains in Iraq.
ZIMBABWE (IWPR) - In what can best be described as a shock result, President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU-PF party are about to announce victory for Mugabe in the parliamentary and presidential elections, according to unofficial results leaked from the ZANU-PF and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, ZEC, command centres.
