SPAIN: Question of Who Was Responsible for Attacks Will Influence Elections

The outcome of Spain's elections Sunday will be influenced by the question of who was responsible for the brutal terror attacks that left 200 dead and more than 1,400 wounded Thursday in Madrid.

INDIA: ‘Anti-Woman’ Bill in Kashmir Deferred but Still Explosive

While a Kashmir state-assembly bill seeking to deprive women of inheritance and other rights if they marry outsiders has been deferred for now, it could still be a headache for the new central government in India that takes power after the May general elections.

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Project to Protect Reservoir

Authorities in northern Colombia inaugurated the Guájaro Reservoir Community Project on Mar. 13 in this region on the Caribbean coast.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Out of Firefighting Funds

The national government has left the forestry development agency COHDEFOR without funds for preventing and fighting forest fires, denounced the entity's director, Gustavo Morales.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Fish as Alternative to Coffee

The Guatemalan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is promoting tilapia fish farming as a productive alternative for communities that have been hit hard by the coffee crisis, especially along the southern coast.

Ecobreves – CENTRAL AMERICA: Tribunal in Defense of Water

The Central American Water Tribunal is conducting its second session of hearings Mar. 15-19 in the Costa Rican capital to debate nine cases involving the countries of the region.

Ecobreves – URUGUAY: Referendum on Right to Water

Uruguayan civil society groups will celebrate Mar. 22, World Water Day, with workshops, exhibits and cultural activities to raise awareness about the importance of this resource and to promote a constitutional reform that would prohibit the privatization of water and sanitation services.

Ecobreves – PERU: No Money for Clean-Up

The U.S. company Doe Run Resources has asked the Peruvian government to allow it to postpone clean-up of the dangerous contamination caused by its mining activities in Junin and Oroya, in the central sierra, since 1997.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Greenpeace Promotes Wind Energy

The Argentine affiliate of Greenpeace, the international environmental watchdog, is launching a campaign this month to promote the use of wind energy, with sights on the upcoming meeting of the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition, set for June in Bonn.

Methyl Bromide

A special session of the parties to the Montreal Protocol will be held in Canada on Mar. 24 and 25 to finalize negotiations on the exceptions to the use of methyl bromide requested by the United States. Used as an agricultural pesticide, methyl bromide is an ozone-depleting gas.

Small Rice Paddies Produce Big Results

Cuba dedicates more than 130,000 hectares to growing rice, though it is mostly small-scale production.

Alarm Sounds on Bee-Killing Pesticides

France has authorized use until May 31 of inventories of chemicals suspected of killing off bee populations. There is great concern in other European countries about this insect essential for agriculture.

Mega-Cities Squander Water Resources

If Latin America's major cities, like Sao Paulo and Mexico City, don't enact policies for conservation and efficient use of water, they will soon have to ration this vital liquid, warn experts.

DEVELOPMENT-IRAQ: Unmet Social Needs a Powder Keg for Instability

Mention Iraq these days and the most immediate impression will likely be daily attacks on U.S. soldiers, assassination of Iraqis, explosions, or maybe difficulties in transferring power from the U.S.-led occupation force to Iraqi officials.

SPAIN: As Many as 12 Million Say ‘No’ to Terrorism

More than two million people defied the cold and the heavy rain in the Spanish capital Friday, and millions of others came out in the streets all around the country to protest the terrorist attacks on commuter trains in Madrid that left 199 dead and 1,463 injured Thursday.

ECONOMY: Global Supermarkets Elbow Aside Small Farmers

Large supermarket chains from rich nations that are mushrooming fast in Africa, Asia and Latin America are locking small farmers out of their supply chains, a situation that threatens to put millions of already impoverished small-scale producers out of business, says a think tank here.

TRADE: Mercosur Closer to EU, While FTAA Talks Falter

The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is slated to take effect in less than 10 months, but this week in Buenos Aires it ran into more stumbling blocks. In contrast, the free trade process involving Mercosur (Southern Common Market) and the European Union, facing no deadlines, continues to advance.

POLITICS-U.S.: True Reactionaries

As U.S. troops prepared to invade Iraq one year ago, the foreign-policy elite's issue of the day was whether the United States had become so dominant that it could and should be compared to the British Empire of a century ago, and accept its responsibilities accordingly.

POLITICS: Aristide Returning to a Caribbean Undecided on Haiti

When Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders meet in St. Kitts later this month for their inter-sessional summit, there will be no need for a trans-Atlantic telephone call to get the views of ousted Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

POLITICS: Aristide Returning to a Caribbean Undecided on Haiti

When Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders meet in St. Kitts on Mar. 25 for their inter-sessional summit, there will be no need for a trans-Atlantic telephone call to get the views of ousted Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

ENVIRONMENT-MEXICO: Transgenic Cousin in the Birthplace of Corn

With its modified genes, transgenic corn has entered Mexico without permission and without an invitation, mixing with its non-modified relatives, which are thousands of years old and carry a mythological mantle.