Finding a Joint Front Against Polio

The world’s two worst polio-affected countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have exhausted themselves in failed attempts to wipe out the crippling ailment.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: NGOs Demand Respect for the Right to a Healthy Environment

The public but autonomous National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) of Mexico should take action to defend the right to a healthy environment, say two non-governmental organizations.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: 64 Million Used Tires Removed From the Environment

During 2011 some 320,000 tons of used and scrap tires, corresponding to 64 million tires from tourism vehicles, were taken out of circulation through environmentally correct treatment by Brazilian industry.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Increased Protection of Coral Reefs

Environmental organizations and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Honduras have launched a program to conserve the coral reefs off the country’s Caribbean coast, considered the most beautiful in the world after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Quality Standards for Waste Oil Biodiesel

Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) has developed standards that will enable the certification of small plants that produce biodiesel from used cooking oil.

Two-Decade Research Decodes Dialogue Between Amazon Rainforest and Water

The Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia arose from the need to understand and explain the rainforest by integrating different scientific fields.

Migrant Workers in Singapore Demand Justice

When a group of about 100 mostly Bangladeshi migrant workers went on strike at a construction site over unpaid wages this month, it created ripples in this affluent and orderly island republic.

Canada’s Tough New Crime Bill May Violate Child Rights

As the Senate debates the merits of the Canadian government's newly-passed omnibus crime bill, organisations across the country have raised serious issues with the legislation, particularly when it comes to amendments relating to the treatment of young offenders.

MALDIVES: Paradise on a Knife’s Edge

The short, one-minute video is grainy but the poor picture quality makes the scene no less chilling. Shot from a balcony, it shows the recently ousted Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed walking out of a building, pleading with military officers to stop rioting police.

Army Officer’s Leaked Report Rips Afghan War Success Story

An analysis by Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, which the U.S. Army has not approved for public release but has leaked to Rolling Stone magazine, provides the most authoritative refutation thus far of the official military narrative of success in the Afghanistan War since the troop surge began in early 2010.

KYRGYZSTAN: Efforts to Tackle Bride Kidnapping Hit Polygamy Snag

Legislation designed to discourage the controversial practice of bride kidnapping fizzled recently in Kyrgyzstan's parliament.

Burma in the Throes of Change – Part II

As 'positive' news flows out of Burma - release of political prisoners, ceasefire talks in ethnic areas, increased freedom, formation of labour unions – people inside the country and exiles have been in heated discussion. What does 'reform' entail and are the changes going to be fully implemented?

BRAZIL: Rio Police Reports to Respect Transgendered Identities

The state of Rio de Janeiro in southeast Brazil will introduce a pioneering policy in March to reduce the under-reporting of crimes against transvestites and transsexual people, who will be able to identify themselves with their preferred names when they report crimes to the police.

Behind the Scenes on the UN General Assembly

Wages Stuck in Slow Lane on Chile’s Growth Speedway

Despite much government fanfare, the drop in Chile's unemployment rate is not enough to satisfy experts or workers, who point to the deeper problems of sporadic work, underemployment and low wages that are aggravating the country's endemic inequality.

Anti-Drug Vaccines Hold Promise – But Little Profit

Vaccines against drug addiction appear to be a better strategy than the repressive worldwide "war on drugs", but first they must overcome resistance from pharmaceutical laboratories and secure financial backing, scientists say.

The Middle East: A Rainbow or a Tornado?

A year ago the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt was greeted with general satisfaction and considerable relief. Was it already possible to glimpse (for example, in the spectacle of the Egyptian leader being judged bedridden in a cage) the difficulties that lay ahead for North Africa and the Middle East fulfilling the promise of the "Arab Spring"?

Economic and Climate Vulnerabilities Converge in the Caribbean

Caribbean islands are doubly exposed by the convergence of weak economies heavily dependent on foreign imports and greater vulnerability to climate change, according to ECLAC Executive Director Alicia Bárcena.

Q&A: U.S. Women’s Commissions Under the Budget Axe

State and local Commissions on the Status of Women (CSW) are facing shrinking budgets and even total elimination at a time when women are some of the hardest hit by the financial crisis, says Susan Rose, vice chair of Human Rights Watch's Santa Barbara Committee.

MAURITANIA: Ravaged by Drought – the Number of Malnourished Children Rises

Mariem Mint Ahmedou sits cross-legged on a worn-out carpet in a basic tent built with mud bricks and layers of sewn-together fabric. Her eight-month-old twins, Hussein and Hassan, lie weakly against her body. Both of them have been malnourished since birth, because Beydar, undernourished herself, cannot produce enough breast milk to feed them.

Radio Static for Ghana’s Community Stations

Radio Static for Ghana’s Community Stations