Ecobreves – MEXICO: Public Consultation on Hotel Project Demanded

The Mexican Environmental Law Center (CEMDA) and Los Cabos Coastkeeper have called on the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources to hold a public consultation on the construction of a tourism complex in the northwestern state of Baja California Sur.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Film Fest Aims to Raise Environmental Awareness

A short film competition will kick off the second Buenos Aires Green Film Fest, a showcase for international cinema on environmental themes, beginning this Aug. 25.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Wastewater Treatment Residue Used in Concrete

A technique that uses the residue left over from wastewater treatment in the production of concrete has been developed by the São Carlos School of Engineering at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Keystone XL: A Pipeline to Europe?

The proposed Keystone XL Canada-U.S. oil pipeline could play a key role in exporting Canadian tar sands crude to Europe.

THAILAND: Yingluck Will Need Luck and Pluck

As she stepped into her role as an ingénue on the macho stage of Thai politics, the backers of Yingluck Shinawatra, the country’s first woman prime minister, had hoped she would enjoy a honeymoon period.

JAPAN: Fukushima Gives Renewable Energy a Chance

After decades of not bothering to switch off the lights in unoccupied rooms in their Tokyo home, Masayoshi Sakurai and his children now meticulously make sure they do.

EGYPT: The Mubarak Show Goes Into Hiding

In a shuttered Cairo café, Egyptians crane their necks to watch the courtroom drama unfolding on a small television screen mounted high on the wall. The camera pans across the crowded courtroom and zooms in on a frail old man lying on a stretcher inside the caged defendants' box. Part Godfather, part Hannibal Lecter, he is the feared head of a powerful family at the centre of a web of violence and corruption. Beside him are his two sons, one known for shady business deals, the other groomed to head the cartel.

Sri Lanka Ducks International Probe

Although the Sri Lankan government has evaded calls for an international probe into alleged excesses while militarily defeating Tamil separatism in 2009, it may yet be called to account at the September session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Talks Bog Down Ahead of U.N. Health Meet

The first High Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases is scheduled to take place one month from now, but U.N. member states are lagging in preparing for it, an alliance of civil society organisations says.

Rights Commission Rebukes U.S. on Domestic Violence

In a groundbreaking decision that affirms domestic violence as an international human rights issue, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has ruled that the U.S. should do more to protect victims of domestic violence.

Q&A: “Put Yourself in Our Shoes, Mr. President”

"I repeat: there will be no peace talks without concrete actions. Words are not enough," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on a visit to Argentina this week. Earlier, in Chile, he said for the first time since taking office a year ago that he was "willing" to eventually sit down to talks with the guerrillas.

KENYA: Lime Improves Maize Harvest

As the world’s worst food security crisis continues across the Horn of Africa, including in Kenya, some smallholder farmers in the western part of the country are still feeding their families with last year’s abundant harvest.

LATIN AMERICA: Citizens Chart Crime Using Online Maps

"I was walking down the street, talking on my cell phone, when a guy on a motorbike came by and grabbed the phone out of my hand. I ran after him but I couldn't catch him. He had probably been following me."

U.S.: Controversy Emerges Over Gender Identity Laws

Legislation incorporating gender identity protection has ignited debate among activists for gay and lesbian rights, with some arguing that the legislation actually endangers women and threatens their physical safety, while others contend that gender identity protection is key to obtaining equality for the LGBT community.

China May Not Be Long-Term Engine of Latin American Growth

China's burgeoning presence as a leading trade and investment partner in Latin America is still an overriding concern for some observers in Washington, as the East Asian giant appears to have changed the focus of economic development in countries south of the U.S.'s border.

SYRIA: Driving Into a Divided Land

Scores of buses carrying Syrians out of the country are waiting in uneven lines on the Lebanese-Syrian border for their paperwork to be processed. There are no Arab or Western tourists eager to cross to the other side, usually seen in hordes this time of year.

Brazil Revs Up South-South Cooperation

As one of the world's emerging economic powerhouses, Brazil is vigourously pursuing one of the key economic objectives on the U.N.'s development agenda: South-South Cooperation.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Strike to Seek Historic Agreement

Nestled between rolling hills just outside of Jerusalem, a dozen Palestinian workers have escaped the scorching summer heat in the shade of a makeshift tent, where they anxiously wait to sign what would be the first collective bargaining agreement between Palestinian workers and an Israeli employer.

SYRIA: U.S., EU Call for Assad’s Ouster

After tiptoeing toward demanding the ouster of Bashir Al-Assad over the last several months, U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday finally jumped over the line with his first explicit call for the Syrian president to resign.

BRAZIL: Biofuel Production – Local Development or Social Breakdown?

Biofuels are an alternative energy source that can drive local development by generating jobs, know-how and technology. But they can also cause social damage, as locals fear in the case of industrial-scale exploitation of babassu palm trees, which grow abundantly in the wild in central and northern Brazil.

Evidence Mounts of War Crimes Unfolding in Sudan

Witnesses reported that attacks continue on civilian populations in Sudan, even as the United Nations calls for a thorough investigation into violations of international law carried out in South Kordofan state in June.