LOST IN THE DARK RIDE

THE Australian stock market is expected to open lower today after a fall on Wall Street, but some companies will receive a boost from speculation of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 51.7 points, or 0.45 per cent, to close at 11,326.32, while the S&P 500 index lost 7.07 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 1,260.31. “We had a weaker session on Wall Street on Friday, down by 51 points, that may drag our market down in the order of 20 to 30 points,”…

At least 140 worshippers are reported killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama have pledged to make substantial commitments to global health issues. The Global Health Council takes a brief look at the differences in their proposals.

read more

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 31 (IPS) - As the U.N. Security Council debated the wording of a resolution extending the peacekeeping force in Darfur, Sudan for another year, a coalition of human rights groups and NGOs criticised the world body and the international community for failing to back up the mission with basic equipment.

read more

Consumers can now find rankings of over a hundred of America’s biggest companies — including General Electric, McDonalds, and Toyota — based on their environmental, human rights, and labor records on an expanded responsible shopper Web site re-launched this Wednesday.

read more

With the assistance of international aid agencies, the Colombian government is helping former FARC rebels demobilize and reintegrate into society by employing them in organic fertilizer plants and providing them with health and educational support.

read more

The U.S. Senate’s failure to pass the Advance America’s Priorities Act — a bipartisan bill that contains legislation to solve crimes unsolved since the Civil Rights era, support homeless youth, and triple non-military aid to Pakistan — is a squandered opportunity to advance domestic and international priorities alike, says a blog post for policy think tank Citizens for Global Solutions.

read more

Life in the Shimelba refugee camp in Ethiopia is extremely difficult for young people like Emmanuel, who has been displaced by the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict, is unable to obtain citizenship in either country, and can’t continue his education in the camp.

read more

Latin America and the Caribbeanhave made significant progress toward the Millennium Development Goals but strategic action must be taken to ensure thatrising food and fuels prices don’t reverse gains made in terms of infant mortality, hunger, and poverty reduction, say UN experts.

read more

U.S. President Bush passed a bill Wednesday tightening a ban on the sale of Burmese gemstones to the United States on the premise that the international trade in Burma’s precious stones helps finance the nation’s repressive military junta, reports an international human rights monitor.

read more