Russia Sticks to Its Guns Against Heavy Hitters Backing Syria

The political heavy hitters were all there at a key Security Council meeting early this week to decide on the future of beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Once a Food Chain, Now a Corporate Supply Chain – Part 2

While Indian retailers are losing sleep over the possible entrance of multinationals like Walmart into the dense South Asian consumer market, very little thought has been given to the Indian small farmer, who stands to lose even more at the hands of the world's biggest commercial food retailer.

WEST AFRICA: Water Shortage Threatens Wildlife

The story of a pair of buffalo aggressively prowling the edges of a village in eastern Burkina Faso is a warning sign of severe water stress in the region which threatens humans and wild animals alike.

LAOS-CULTURE: ASEAN Attempts to Build on a Shared Language: Music

A landmark concert featuring artistes from eight of the ten South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) took place here on Jan. 21, in an effort to build a regional community through the common language of music.

“Occupy” is the Watchword at Thematic Social Forum

Traditional social movements of homeless and landless people have for years been organising occupations as a pressure tactic. Now "occupying" is a key element for fighting the capitalist system in its hour of crisis, and also in the realm of virtual reality.

BANGLADESH: Coup Bid Reveals Extremism Within Army

Bangladesh’s army has won paludits as leading United Nations peacekeepers, but the January coup attempt against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has exposed lurking religious extremism within its ranks.

India Weighs Social Media Curbs

After India's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was slapped by a young Sikh man at a function in New Delhi, to record his protest against corruption in high places, social media sites went viral with musical spoofs and caricatured images of the incident.

Kenyan Chief Tweets His Way to Reducing Crime

Using 140 characters or less, Chief Francis Kariuki in Kenya, has tweeted his way to reducing crime in his and surrounding villages.

Dempsey Told Israelis U.S. Won’t Join Their War on Iran

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told Israeli leaders Jan. 20 that the United States would not participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel without prior agreement from Washington, according to accounts from well-placed senior military officers.

Brazil Deploys “Junior Firefighters” to Snuff Out Dengue

The government of the state of Rio de Janeiro is unveiling a battery of creative tactics to engage the population in the battle against dengue fever, which is threatening to reach unprecedented epidemic proportions as a new virus strain hits Brazil.

U.S. Group Urges “More Credible” Military Threat Against Iran

The administration of President Barack Obama should take steps to make threats of a possible U.S. or Israeli attack against Iran more credible, according to the fourth in a series of studies released here Wednesday by a 13-man "bipartisan" task force dominated by Iran hawks.

“Kitchen Nightmares” Alleged at World’s Largest Restaurant Group

An organisation of restaurant workers is suing Darden Restaurants, the largest full-service restaurant group in the world, in U.S. federal court, alleging widespread racial discrimination and illegal labour practices.

POLITICS-SENEGAL: Violence After Validation of Wade Candidacy

It was stones against tear gas in the Senegalese capital this morning as students protested the killing of one of their own on Tuesday evening. At least four people have died since Jan. 27, in wider demonstrations against the controversial validation of President Abdoulaye Wade's candidacy for re-election for a third term.

PODCAST: Radio Static for Ghana’s Community Stations

Sandra Ferrari reports on the battle to find frequencies for community radio in Ghana to enable marginalized to take part in development

2011 – A Year of Weather Extremes, with More to Come

The global average temperature in 2011 was 14.52 degrees Celsius (58.14 degrees Fahrenheit). According to NASA scientists, this was the ninth warmest year in 132 years of recordkeeping, despite the cooling influence of the La Niña atmospheric and oceanic circulation pattern and relatively low solar irradiance.

RUSSIA: Putin Remains Leading Candidate in Presidential Elections

Election season in Russia promises to be stormy, as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin emerges as the leading candidate in the presidential race scheduled for March 4 and unresolved issues of voting fraud and voter manipulation spark massive protests amongst opposition groups.

Pakistan Denies “Intimate” Taliban Links

Pakistan has rejected as "frivolous" a leaked NATO report which claims that the country's security services are helping the Taliban, and suggesting that the group believes it is poised to regain power.

CUBA: Party Aims for Efficient, Inclusive Socialism

Cuba's communist leaders have mapped out a strategy to modernise their country's one-party socialist model and make it more efficient, which implies making it more inclusive and representative of a society that is increasingly diverse.

Radio Static for Ghana’s Community Stations

There is a tension resonating through Ghana’s airwaves, an electric current fueled by rivaling interests between community radio advocates and Ghana’s National Communications Authority.

China Looks Both Ways on Iranian Oil

China’s response to calls from the West to join an oil embargo penalising Iran for its nuclear programme so far has been to choose the middle course typical of its non-interfering foreign policy of the last 30 years – denouncing sanctions on one hand yet working to protect its national interests on many fronts.