INDIA: Climate Change Fuels Rural Out-Migration, Rising Farm Debt

Under a shed made of bamboo and corrugated sheet metal, Purusottam Sur feeds his two bullocks and a cow with a bundle each of dry paddy plant. A fifth of his five-acre paddy harvest will be used only as cattle feed; the rice seeds just did not develop because of untimely rains this monsoon.

U.S.: Katrina Lawsuit Raises Broader Questions About Levee Safety

Since a federal judge ruled earlier this month that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for the devastating 2005 levee breach at the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, some legal scholars believe that millions – or even billions - could be owed to additional Hurricane Katrina victims.

US-IRAN: Moving Again Toward Confrontation

Iran's announced intention to build 10 new nuclear enrichment plants has been deemed "unacceptable" by the administration of President Barack Obama, which warned Monday of increased pressure on Tehran if it does not soon accept Western proposals to curb its nuclear programme.

Millennium Development Goal 3 and the role of the media – 9

Millennium Development Goal 3 and the role of the media - 9 Paula Fray, IPS Africa Director, Global Launch of the Reporting Gender Based Violence media handbook

Millennium Development Goal 3 and the role of the media – 8

Millennium Development Goal 3 and the role of the media - 8 Monia Azzalini, Osservatorio di Pavia Media Research, the Global Media Monitoring Project in Italy

MEDIA-LATIN AMERICA: Women Deserve Better Press

"The press will change when they cease to report exclusively from a masculine point of view," Peru's deputy Minister for Women, Norma Añaños, told participants at an international seminar for journalists on "Women at Work, Women as Leaders", held in the Peruvian capital.

Millennium Development Goal 3 and the role of the media – 7

sm Kee, Coordinator, Women's Rights Advocacy, Association for Progressive Communication WNSP

Millennium Development Goal 3 and the role of the media – 6

Millennium Development Goal 3 and the role of the media - 6 Robert Dijksterhuis, Head Gender Division, Human Rights, Gender, Good Governance and Humanitarian Aid Department, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Millenium development Goal 3 and the role of the media – 5

Millenium development Goal 3 and the role of the media - 5 Deborah Bergamini, Chair, North-South Centre, Council Europe

HONDURAS: U.S. Criticised for Recognising Post-Coup Poll

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Washington, DC's Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, about 50 protestors lined up outside a polling station where voting was taking place to help select the next leader of a country almost 3,000 kilometres away.

POLITICS-NAMIBIA: Born Frees Make their Mark

"It was like writing my first exam. I was nervous and didn’t want to make a mistake. I must have checked the ballot 10 times."

INVESTING IN CLIMATE PROSPERITY

The world's giant pension and institutional funds (university and foundation endowments) are seeing the light on climate issues. As governments wrangle over how to cap carbon and other pollutants, how much it will cost, and who should pay, private investors in North America, Europe, China, India, Japan, and Brazil have been quietly investing in the solution: shifting to low-carbon, cleaner, renewable energy and smarter, more efficient infrastructure and transportation.

HONDURAS: President-Elect Promises Unity Government

Porfirio Lobo, the presidential candidate of the right-wing National Party, won the elections Sunday in Honduras that were backed by the de facto government in power since the Jun. 28 coup that overthrew President Manuel Zelaya.

Q&A: Forging New Paths to Sustainable South-South Cooperation

Countries from the South are assuming leading roles in decisions on global issues ranging from economic recovery to food security, climate change and HIV/AIDS.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Commonwealth Champions Adaption Fund

South African President Jacob Zuma admits that before to coming to Trinidad for the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), he met with its secretary general, Kamalesh Sharma, to discuss the relevance of the grouping in today's evolving global power structure.

MIDEAST: One Palestinian Prisoner Could Change the Balance

The fate of one prisoner locked in an Israeli jail could release the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process from its own jail - provided the timing is right.

CUBA: Sponge Farms – New Source of Bounty from the Sea

The ocean punishes Carahatas every time a hurricane tears through the region. The sea combines with the flow of a nearby river, and floods the houses with water a metre and a half deep, or more. Nevertheless, the residents of this Cuban town are deeply attached to the sea.

BURMA: Nobel Laureate Stiglitz to Advise Junta on Poverty

The list of high-profile foreigners heading to Burma to engage and advise the country’s military regime is about to get longer. The latest due to join that flow is Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz.

TRADE: Africa Should be Prioritised at WTO Ministerial

African countries are ready to conclude the Doha Round on the basis of current proposals, but warn against any attempt to renegotiate them at the seventh ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that opens in Geneva today. Meanwhile, the Africa Trade Network demands a moratorium on the Doha talks.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Farming Stands Up to El Niño

Food security is guaranteed for Honduras next year because the cyclical weather phenomenon known as El Niño did not hurt the production of basic grains, official and private sources told Tierramérica.