ENERGY-SOUTHERN AFRICA: The Challenges of Getting Malawi Wired

It's a tale of delays, missed deadlines and the grinding problems that can dog large-scale infrastructure projects. Work to connect electricity lines between Malawi and neighbouring Mozambique was scheduled to have been completed by 2002. The deadline has now been shifted to 2005, however - and officials aren't ruling out 2006.

LABOUR-BURMA: Thai Crackdown Means Life in Hiding, Uncertainty

Htun Kyaw (not his real name) has been hiding at a friend's house, its doors and windows shut, at the Thai border town of Mae Sot.

ENVIRONMENT-UAE: Falling Levels, Wastage Make Water Scarce

Water consumption in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the highest in the world, but here and elsewhere in the Gulf, it may soon become a very scarce commodity.

TAIWAN: Uncertainty Ahead amid Violent Poll Protests

Uncertainty and divisions loom in the days and weeks ahead in Taiwan, after mass demonstrations, fuelled by folktale-like speculations about the rigging of Saturday's presidential elections, turned into violent riots Sunday.

POLITICS-TAIWAN: Uncertainty Ahead amid Violent Poll Protests

Uncertainty and divisions loom in the days and weeks ahead in Taiwan, after mass demonstrations, fuelled by folktale-like speculations about the rigging of Saturday's presidential elections, turned into violent riots Sunday.

IRAQ PROTESTS: Latin American Marchers Jeer U.S., Cheer Its Critics

Thousands of protesters took to the streets - and some to the water - Saturday throughout Latin America to express their rejection of the U.S. government and the invasion of Iraq, and their support for the region's leftist groups.

POLITICS-CANADA: Calls Grow to Block U.S. Guns

After being lectured by U.S. officials and politicians about their allegedly lax immigration, refugee and drug policies, Canadians are hitting back with questions about inadequate regulation of guns by their southern neighbour.

IRAQ PROTESTS: From Spain, Eyes Turn to Italy

Spain and Italy saw some of the biggest demonstrations Saturday to mark a year since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

IRAQ PROTESTS: From Spain, Eyes Turn to Italy

Spain and Italy saw some of the biggest demonstrations Saturday to mark a year since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

POLITICS-TAIWAN: President’s Win by Small Margin Polarises Nation

An eleventh-hour attempt to influence the outcome of Taiwan's presidential elections through an assassination try on the incumbent president Chen Shui-bian produced a contested vote that has sharply polarised the public in this island of 23 million people.

ECONOMY-INDIA: Privatisation Fails to Stop Massive Power Theft

More than a year after India's capital privatised the supply of electricity as a solution to massive power theft, the pilferage continues - thanks to silent political patronage.

HEALTH: Taxi Drivers Becoming Agents of Change in AIDS-Ridden Rwanda

Transporters and taxi drivers from Rwanda are learning how to fight HIV/AIDS from their counterparts in neighbouring Uganda.

POLITICS-SOUTH ASIA: Pakistan’s Reward Could Turn into Liability

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's major surprise this week - making Pakistan a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ally of Washington - was greeted with enthusiasm in Islamabad, but with stony silence here in New Delhi.

THAILAND: Ties with Muslim South Tense with Lawyer’s Disappearance

The disappearance of a senior Muslim lawyer has added another troubling dimension to the Thai government's increasingly tense relationship with the country's Muslim minority.

POLITICS: ‘Ally’ Pakistan Gets U.S. Reassurance, Questions Remain

A major outcome of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Pakistan this week was the announcement of the country's associate membership in the rapidly expanding North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Ecobreves – COSTA RICA: Invaders Eradicated from Coco Island

Scientists from the World Conservation Union aim to remove invading species from Costa Rica's Coco Island, in the Pacific Ocean, so that they do not cause further harm to biodiversity.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Protest Against Puebla-Panama Plan

Guatemalan Indians and peasant farmers planned to stage a protest against the Puebla-Panama Plan on Mar. 23, during a visit by Mexican President Vicente Fox, the promoter of the initiative.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Fighting Desertification and Drought

An initiative to mitigate the effects of drought and to prevent desertification in 10 of the 18 departments of Honduras began two weeks ago with public hearings and the identification of productive projects.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Advances in Cleaning Up Santiago

The Chilean government is creating a Transantiago Financial Administration System to reorganize public transportation and to build bikeways, among other measures intended to reduce pollution in the capital, home to five million people.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL:: Engineers Seek Better Waves for Surfing

Increasing the height of ocean waves by 80 percent and improving their dynamic to benefit surfers is the goal of a project of the post-graduate engineering program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Ecobreves – CUBA: Drought Alert

More than 300,000 people suffer water shortages daily in Holguín, one of the six provinces in eastern Cuba hard hit by drought since the 1990s.