GREECE: MIGRANT WORKERS IN HISTORIC STRIKE
Apostolis Fotiadis
ATHENS (IPS) - It was a day when migrant workers said they had had enough. Employed in the strawberry fields of Nea Manolada, a village of 2,000 situated 270 km southwest of Athens, they went on strike Apr. 18 demanding better payment and living conditions.

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EUROPE: STILL WITHOUT A 'COHERENT' HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY
David Cronin
BRUSSELS (IPS) - More than 50 years after its inception, the European Union continues to lack a "coherent and hard-hitting policy to uphold and promote human rights around the world", a new report by the EU's only directly-elected body has complained.

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ANGOLA: IRISH ROCK STAR GELDOF RILES TEMPERS
Mario de Queiroz
LISBON (IPS) - Irish rocker and activist Bob Geldof’s statement that Angola is a country "run by criminals" unleashed a political storm that could have an impact on Portugal’s large investment interests in the largest of its former African colonies.

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DEVELOPMENT: FOOD CRISIS LINKED TO DOHA DEAL
Aileen Kwa
GENEVA (IPS) - The issue of rising food prices was raised at the WTO's General Council meeting Wednesday, and for the first time, discussed in some detail. But there remains, as one African delegate put it, "a lot of confusion about the rising prices of commodities and the Doha Round. Somebody needs to demystify the links. The D-G (Director-General) is using this as a bait to catch us on concluding the Round as soon as possible."

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LATIN AMERICA: FOOD SUMMIT DECLARES REGIONAL EMERGENCY
José Adán Silva
MANAGUA (IPS) - The presidential summit on "Food for Life", held in Nicaragua, has ended with 16 Latin American countries agreeing to produce more food and sell it at low prices through strategic alliances, amid criticisms of free markets and capitalism.

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NEPAL: POOR PLANNING BEHIND RISING FOOD PRICES
Mallika Aryal
KATHMANDU (IPS) - As the sole breadwinner in a family of five, Maya Tamang watches her food budget carefully. And she can vouch best for the way many items are steadily disappearing from the table as food prices spiral steadily.

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