The Guardian 26 April, 2006
Global briefs
CAMBODIA: The Cambodian Government has rejected a request from the US to send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. "We will not send our armed forces to Iraq because the issue there is not in the hands of the United Nations," Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters. Hun Sen then said he wouldn’t send troops regardless. "Every day we have seen people get killed and taken hostage. So I will not let my people, who went through 30 years of suffering from war, see more horrible days of separation and suffering from the continued terrorist activities of decapitating hostages in Iraq." However, Cambodia has offered its expertise for a United Nations mine-clearing operation in Sudan.
NIGERIA: In a highly fertile yet inaccessible area of this West African country, agriculture and industry are teaming up for an ambitious undertaking in economic development. The Ethanol Project is the brainchild of the Jigawa state governor, Alhaji Saminu Turaki. Its goal is to provide one million jobs and a sustainable economy to eradicate poverty and malaria. The plan calls for the planting and harvesting of sugar cane in an area of about 1,500,325 hectares. The cane is then converted into ethanol, a non-toxic, efficient and environmental friendly fuel alternative.
ARGENTINA: After more than five years of struggle, Argentina’s most important ceramic factory is a model success story. The factory, formerly known as Zanon, covers an area of about 50 hectares and is now a cooperative run by workers. It was legally renamed Fasinpat (Fábrica Sin Patrón or Factory Without Owner). In addition to providing a safe and productive workplace, Fasinpat has made numerous contributions to community programs, including schools, hospitals, food programs and services benefiting indigenous people. Working with neighbourhood residents, it recently built a health clinic with donated labour and supplies. In 2003, when police tried to remove the workers from the factory, thousands of neighbours surrounded the plant until the police left. There are presently 200 such worker-owned factories in Argentina.
PALESTINE: A recent United Nations report reveals that, in addition to facing food shortages, Palestinians in the occupied territories face an acute shortage of clean water. While one-third of the Palestinian economy is dependent on agriculture, only five percent of the land is irrigated. By comparison, 70 percent of Israeli and settlement land is irrigated, although only two percent of that land is used for agriculture. Control of water is increasingly in the hands of the Israelis. Palestinian lands have been even further cut off by the Israeli separation wall, critics say. Wells on the outskirts of Palestinian villages and towns are frequently controlled by Israelis. More than one-third of all drinking water in the occupied territories is contaminated by sewage and pesticides originating from Israeli settlements. As a result, newborn deaths and water-borne infections in Palestinian children are unusually high, doctors say. Many infections lead to chronic illnesses.