IPS week October 18 2013

	Skype Gets Dark in Karachi  Irfan Ahmed  First, it was Youtube. Now, if the government of Sindh has its way, it could well be goodbye to Skype, Whatsapp, Viber and Tango for the people of this province in southeastern Pakistan. At least for the next three months. Part of everyday vocabulary today, apps such as Skype which use Voice ... MORE >>
	Afghan Families Want Accountability, Not Apologies  Giuliano Battiston  The dusty cemetery in Saracha village hosts three new graves: small hills of soil shielding the bodies of Sahebullah, Wasihullah and Amanullah, three of the five boys and young men killed by an ISAF-NATO airstrike on late Friday, Oct. 4. According to the firsts ISAF-NATO reports, the five were ... MORE >>
	When the Missing Don't Return  Amantha Perera  Some call it ‘frozen loss,’ a point in time that families and relatives find almost impossible to extricate themselves out of, even years after their loved ones have disappeared. “The families of the missing get into a tunnel vision,” says Bhava Poudyal, mental health delegate for the ... MORE >>
	When Poverty Quietly Morphs into Catastrophe  Miriam Gathigah and George Gao  Wambui Karunyu, 72, and her seven-year-old grandson are the only surviving members of their immediate family.  Karunyu’s husband and five children all succumbed to the hardships of living in the semi-arid area of lower Mukurweini district in central Kenya. In 2009, a drought struck parts of ...MORE >>
	Activists Struggle to Recover Human Rights Archives  Edgardo Ayala  Some 50,000 files on crimes against humanity are languishing in an undisclosed location in El Salvador, prey to damp and the ravages of time, while activists and lawyers frantically try to regain control over them. Without prior warning, on Sept. 30 the Catholic Church suddenly closed the office ...MORE >>
	The Hurricanes Didn’t Bring the Hunger  Daniela Pastrana  A month after Hurricanes Ingrid and Manuel caused the worst destruction from a natural catastrophe in Mexico in 30 years, another disaster has come to light: hunger in communities that are supposedly served by a rural food supply programme. The stories repeat themselves in 14 municipalities in ...MORE >>
	Kurds Build Bridges At Last  Karlos Zurutuza  After fleeing the war three months ago, Gulnaz is headed back for Syria to bury her brother within the 24 hours Islam stipulates. But it is far from easy to take the coffin across the Syrian-Iraqi border. Located 460 northwest of Baghdad, the Kurdish town Peshkhabur has witnessed unusual traffic ...MORE >>
	U.S. Govt Shutdown Dashes Immigrant Dreams  Samuel Oakford  Early on the morning of Oct. 1, Tapia* left her home in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, took the subway into Manhattan and headed to the federal courthouse on Varick Street. After spending years in a backlogged legal system, she was going to receive a place in line for a visa and green card that offered ...MORE >>
	Brazil in Reverse  Fabiola Ortiz  In the last five years, Brazil has joined the ranks of the world’s big polluters, whose main source of greenhouse gases is the burning of fossil fuels. Climate pollution in South America’s giant is taking on a First World pattern, according to José Marengo, one of the authors of the Fifth ... MORE >>
Featured Video  What option do my clients have in Guantanamo, but refuse food?  Reprieve‘s office is full of books explaining how the international justice system works and how to help those accused of the most extreme crimes. Based in London, the organization supports prisoners around the world. MORE > >