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News -11-10-04 Yasser Arafat Dies at 75 (CNN News) "Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, 75, the leader who passionately sought a homeland for his people but was seen by many Israelis as a ruthless terrorist and a roadblock to peace, died early Thursday in Paris." 11-04 -11-19-04 12 Million Went Hungry (CBS News) "More than 12 million American families either didn't have enough food or worried about someone in the family going hungry last year, the Agriculture Department said Friday. Thirty-six million people experienced or worried about hunger." 11-04 -11-28-04 East-West Conflict over the Ukraine (Christian Science Monitor) "Russian and Western leaders are sharply at odds over the election crisis that's bringing huge crowds to the streets of Kiev." "Supporters of pro-Western candidate Viktor Yushchenko - who allege the presidency was stolen through electoral fraud by the Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich - and the phalanx of riot police they confront may be, in a sense, proxies for much larger global forces." "Each side may be primed to see the outcome of Ukraine's domestic tug of war as a global win or loss, rather than just a stage in a troubled post-Soviet country's development, experts say." "Some Western experts suggest the US and EU might also do well to back off a bit and develop an evolutionary strategy for helping Ukraine." 11-04 -12-01-04 Ukrainians Make a Deal (ABC News) "Ukraine's opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko signed a deal Wednesday that obliged his supporters to lift their siege of government buildings, but he said his followers will stay on the streets until an agreement is reached on a new vote for the country's presidency." Yushchenko held face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych his rival for the presidency hours after the opposition showed its strength by bringing down Yanukovych's government with a no-confidence in parliament." After the talks, Yushchenko proposed that a new run-off vote between him and Yanukovych be held Dec. 19. Speaking to his supporters in the street, he said he would not accept a whole new election an idea suggested earlier by outgoing President Leonid Kuchma and urged his backers not to give up their massive demonstrations." 11-04 -12-03-04 Ukrainian Court Nullifies Election Results (Bloomberg.com) "Ukraine's Supreme Court threw out the results of last month's presidential election that showed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych beat Viktor Yushchenko, and called for a new runoff to be held no later than Dec. 26." 12-04 -12-09-04 Half the World's Children Suffering (Guardian Unlimited) "More than half the world's children are suffering extreme effects of poverty, war and HIV/Aids, denying them a healthy and safe childhood, according to a report published today."  "The report said the world had the capacity to reduce poverty, conflict and HIV/Aids and improve the plight of the world's children. It said Millennium Development Goals, which aim to improve the world through human development by 2015 and were agreed to by the UN's 191 member states in 2000, could be achieved at an annual cost of $40bn (£20.8bn) - $70bn (£36.4bn). World spending on military last year was $956bn (£497.4bn)." 12-04 11-14-04 UN: No Proof Iran Intended to Make Nuclear Bombs (CNN News) "The U.N. nuclear watchdog says it has found that none of Iran's declared nuclear material has been diverted for military purposes." "However, a spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency told CNN on Monday that officials still had questions about possible undeclared activities." 11-04 Papers Shukria Barakzai Named Worldpress.org's 2004 International Editor of the Year (WorldPress.org) "In addition to her work in education and at Women's Mirror, Mrs. Barakzai was a member of Afghanistan's Constitutional Reviewing Commission. Nominated by President Hamid Karzai to this job, she worked for more than nine months reviewing each article of Afghanistan's Constitutional principles draft." Although her work on the Commission has ended, the 500-member grand council, or Loya Jirga, adopted the new post-conflict Afghan constitution in early January 2004. Under article 22, it states that every Afghan citizen, whether male or female, has equal rights and responsibilities before the law." Many women have called the constitution no less than a miracle in a country once dominated by conservative leaders and traditions. For Mrs. Barakzai, it is the first and most crucial step in gaining women's rights in the long term." 1-05 South American Community of Nations (SACN) Formed (Wikipedia.com) "The South American Community of Nations (SACN) (Spanish: Comunidad Sudamericana de Naciones, Portuguese: Comunidade Sul-Americana de Nações) will be a continent-wide free trade zone that will unite two existing free-trade organizations — Mercosur and the Andean Community — eliminating tariffs for non-sensitive products in ten years and sensitive products in fifteen years." 12-04