BEIJING, Oct 10 (IPS) - For a country with an enduring tradition of Confucian ethics, the poisoned milk scandal -- possibly the worst crisis of its type in Chinese modern history -- has had a devastating blow on the public's trust in its government's benevolence.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 (IPS) - With 1.3 trillion dollars spent every year on the world's militaries, countries enmeshed in conflict are often flooded by weapons which are then turned against helpless civilian populations, say human rights organisations pushing for an international treaty to closely regulate arms sales.

SEATTLE, Washington, Oct 7 (IPS) - Crises seem to awaken the inner poet of the commentariat, and the Crash of 2008 is no exception.

TEGUCIGALPA, Oct 2 (IPS) - Government practices for allocating official advertising to the Honduran media include reward and punishment policies, payments to individual journalists, and even denial of access to public information -- mechanisms that interfere with freedom of expression and the right to information, according to experts.

QUITO, Sep 29 (IPS) - The day after the new constitution promoted by his government won 63 percent support in a referendum, according to the preliminary returns, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Monday that he may cancel payment of some loans, but that the country would not default on its foreign debt.

FREETOWN, Sep 29 (IPS) - Magnus Kamara is a school inspector with a difference. He has been hired to find schools that don't exist.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 29 (IPS) - As a spreading financial crisis threatens to deepen the economic recession in the United States, the news of an unprecedented 700-billion-dollar bailout package reverberated through the corridors of the United Nations last week as over 100 world leaders gathered in New York for the annual talk-fest: the 63rd session of the General Assembly.

WASHINGTON, Sep 26 (IPS) - Journalists and human rights activists in Tunisia are regularly imprisoned and harassed for criticising the government of President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali's policies, according to a new report released this week by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based watchdog.

BERLIN, Sep 23 (IPS) - A new report by Transparency International (TI) lashes out at some of the world's poorest countries for an "ongoing humanitarian disaster", and deplores the wealthiest for not doing enough to stem graft.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sep 22 (IPS) - Clandestine gun suppliers, funded by the U.S. and Iraqi governments, have flooded Iraq with a million weapons since 2003, charges a new Amnesty International investigation.

TOKYO, Sep 22 (IPS) - Consumer confidence in quality-conscious Japan has been badly shaken by a scandal over contaminated rice that was discovered to have been imported and distributed to restaurants, hospitals, schools and stores.

WASHINGTON, Sep 18 (IPS) - The blood flowing this week from Wall Street, spilling over into the homes of most citizens and the economies of other countries, raised urgent calls for stricter regulation of major players in the U.S. economy.

NAIROBI, Sep 18 (IPS) - The Kenya Railways Corporation was more than a national utility. It was a repository of Kenya’s history, beginning in the 19th century when indentured Indian labourers were brought to the East African region to build the Kenya-Uganda railway line.

MEXICO CITY, Sep 16 (IPS) - If there ever was a tacit agreement between organised crime and the authorities in Mexico to respect certain boundaries, as some analysts argue, there is now no doubt that it has been breached. Several grenades exploded in Morelia during the country’s Independence Day celebrations, killing at least eight people and injuring 100.

CARTAGENA, Colombia, Sep 15 (IPS) - Social inequality is "the main" problem for freedom of expression in Latin America, said Frank La Rue Lewy, who was named United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression on Aug. 1.