EUROPE-DEVELOPMENT: Mapping Out the EU’s Harmful Projects

Dozens of European Union-funded projects across several countries are ‘environmentally or socially unsound’, according to a map created by a joint effort between CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe.

New Libya Off to a Shaky Start

It's been almost a year since Benghazi launched its uprising against former Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi and three months since he was killed, but there is a growing sense of frustration in eastern Libya with the National Transitional Council. Two weeks ago, a group of protesters attacked the Council’s Benghazi headquarters as chairman Mustafa Abdeljalil was inside, forcing him to flee through the back door.

U.S. Leak on Israeli Attack Weakened a Warning to Netanyahu

When Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius this week that he believes Israel was likely to attack Iran between April and June, it was ostensibly yet another expression of alarm at the Israeli government's threats of military action.

A Turbulent Twenty Years for Venezuelan Democracy

Twenty years ago, a military rebellion led by Venezuelan president - then lieutenant-colonel - Hugo Chávez ushered in an enduring era of turmoil for the country's democracy, with abrupt changes in its institutions and a climate of political upheaval and social and economic instability.

Chinese Feed Illegal Ivory Trade

The illegal trade in ivory continues in Egypt, with ivory products sold openly in local tourist markets by traders who operate with impunity, a new study by the conservation group Traffic has found.

DEVELOPMENT-NIGER: Three Million Children Threatened by Hunger

Women have been left in charge of many of the households in the village of Zamkoye-Koïra, in western Niger, as food shortages have driven male family members to leave in search of work elsewhere. A national survey of vulnerable households shows that 5.4 million people face food insecurity across Niger.

New Rule Puts Brakes on U.S. Public Housing Demolitions

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the publication of a new notice which significantly tightens its procedures for the processing of public housing demolition applications by local housing authorities.

ARGENTINA: Fair Trade Going Strong Amid Global Crisis

With a steady growth in production and exports, fair trade in Argentina is proving that socially and environmentally sustainable practices can be much more than a refuge from external crises.

UNICEF Funding Falls Short Leaving Millions of Children at Risk

If the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had 1.28 billion dollars it could help 97 million people around the world.

Photos of Armed Children Ignite Scandal in Venezuela

A radical political group based in a working class neighbourhood of the Venezuelan capital has sparked a furore by publishing photographs of children from the community, with their faces partially hidden, brandishing AR-15 assault rifles.

Counting on responsible travellers who increasingly seek environmentally friendly alternatives for their holidays, South Africa’s tourism sector wants to conserve its biggest asset, nature, while fighting climate change.

Counting on responsible travellers who increasingly seek environmentally friendly alternatives for their holidays, South Africa's tourism sector wants to conserve its biggest asset, nature, while fighting climate change.

Latin America Takes a New Look at Neglected Diseases

The rise of emerging economies in Latin America is an opportunity to improve strategies for fighting neglected illnesses and increase the region's contribution to the global struggle against them, says the regional director of an organisation devoted to this purpose.

Lawmakers, “Experts” Spin Tales of Iranian Terror in Latin America

Through its ties with Venezuela and other nations in Latin America, Iran is building an anti-U.S. alliance in the Western Hemisphere that poses a direct, imminent threat to the United States, an influential U.S. lawmaker said Thursday.

Finnish Contest No More Between Right and Left

In an uncharacteristically lively election campaign in this nation of five million people, Finns head for the polls in a second round of voting Sunday to elect a new president.

INDIA-PAKISTAN: Food Heals Historic Hostility

If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then the path to peace between India and Pakistan may lie in the commonalities in their cultures and cuisines.

Malawi’s Consumers Have a Right to Fuel and Forex Black Market

The black market for foreign exchange and fuel is booming in the midst of an acute scarcity in Malawi. The shortage is so severe that even the Consumer Association of Malawi, an influential consumer rights body, has come out in support of the black market.

Spate of Spills at Sea for Brazilian Oil Industry

An accident at an ultra-deepwater drilling platform spilled 160 barrels of crude off the coast of Brazil this week, deepening fears about safety in this new frontier of oil and gas production.

Brazil Deepens Strategic Cooperation with Cuba

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's visit to Cuba served to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, leverage the South American giant's investments in the Caribbean island, and deepen political ties.

Political and Economic Turmoil Threaten Women’s Progress

As UN Women celebrated its first birthday, its executive director Michelle Bachelet stressed that political upheveal and shrinking budgets are no excuse to push back the hard-won gains made by the women's movement globally.

Early End to U.S. Combat Role in Afghanistan Draws Cheers, Jeers, Confusion

U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's surprise announcement Wednesday that U.S. troops will phase out their combat role in Afghanistan by mid-2013 is drawing mixed reactions, as well as a fair bit of confusion, from both critics and supporters of the 11-year-old war here.

LATIN AMERICA: DEEPENING DEMOCRACY’S ROOTS

Latin American democracy has had to struggle against every kind of ideological experiment and event, some more lethal than others to the ideals of democracy, justice, freedom, and economic growth. Today many countries have forgotten how crucial it is to preserve the rule of law and especially the security of people and their possessions, without which there is neither competitiveness, democracy, nor peace. Until a few years ago it was believed that economic and social development were possible in an environment with weak institutions.