Development : NGOs hail imminent entry into force of cluster bomb ban treaty (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Non-governmental organizations have welcomed the forthcoming entry into force on 1 August 2010 of an international convention banning cluster munitions. The thirty ratifications needed for entry into force of the convention was reached Tuesday.

United States : Nuke plants back in vogue, as climate bill stalls (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
After decades of debate, the United States is poised to build its first new nuclear reactors since the early 1970s.

Pakistan : Baradar capture signals closer intelligence cooperation (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
The capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar last week in a joint operation conducted by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) represents the most important Taliban leader to be taken into custody since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

United States : Deportation system called "severely flawed" (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The number of people deported from the US annually has grown from just over 69,000 to over 356,000 in the past eight years, while resource-starved immigration judges issue decisions without sufficient time to conduct legal research and analyse the complex cases they are asked to decide.

Central America : Women eke out a living in informal economy (PRIV)
(IPS, Guatemala City)
"I've been working in the streets since I was a girl. My parents didn't send me to school, so it's really hard for me to find a job," says Carol Orozco, 31, who forms part of the veritable army of vendors hawking their wares on the streets of Central America.

Guatemala : Anti-mine activists encouraged by Canadian ruling (PRIV)
(IPS, Guatemala City)
Ecologists in Guatemala see a recent ruling by Canada's Supreme Court, which ordered Canadian mining companies to carry out rigorous environmental assessments, as a positive precedent that could help improve environmental controls over the mining industry in this Central American country.