U.S. Voters Increasingly Alienated by Two Major Parties

A new book shows there are now more U.S. voters who identify as independent than as Democrats or Republicans, despite the fact that the two major parties maintain their virtual stranglehold on U.S. politics and, so far, on the 2012 presidential election process.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Caravan Against Open-Pit Mining Planned

Artists and residents of the southern Argentine province of Chubut are preparing for a 400-kilometer march to protest open-pit mining projects that involve the use of cyanide.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Plastic Bottles Transformed into Varnish

) A technique developed by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro makes it possible to recycle plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to produce varnish.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: The Struggle to Enforce the Forest Law

The Law on Forests, Protected Areas and Wildlife of Honduras, adopted in 2008, is not effectively implemented and has not stopped illegal logging. Representatives of the justice system, activists and local governments are working together on strategies to ensure that it is genuinely enforced.

MALAYSIA: Privatisation of Healthcare Turns Election Issue

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (IPS) - A plan by the Malaysian government to privatise its public healthcare system and get consumers to pay for it through salary cuts is rapidly turning into a major election issue.

Tunisia Summit Highlights Glaring Absence of Unity on the ‘Syria Question’

In the Friends of Syria meeting held in Tunis last week, Gulf Arab monarchies offered nearly unqualified support for the Syrian opposition, while the democratic states were more cautious.

Rural Women Are Leading the Way – Will the World Follow? – Part 1

Agriculture currently provides a livelihood for roughly 1.3 billion smallholder farmers and landless workers, of which nearly half – close to 560 million – are women.

SPAIN: Demonstrators Protest Bank Bailouts and Spending Cuts

Demonstrators in nearly two dozen cities in Spain raised their voices Friday to protest against the use of public funds to bail out banks while the budgets for basic services like education and health are being slashed.

ARGENTINA: Three-Quarters of “Breadbasket” Is Drylands

How has Argentina managed to maintain its image as one of the world's breadbaskets when a full three-fourths of its territory consists of drylands? This was one of the questions raised by the scientists who decided to create the National Observatory on Land Degradation and Desertification this year.

NGOs Urge “Solution from Within” For Somalia

While the international community discusses Somalia's future in London and Brussels, European and Somali non-governmental organisations are calling for a radical shift from a military to a humanitarian approach as the only solution to the country's war-torn condition.

News Briefs — NGOs Urge “Solution from Within” For Somalia

BRUSSELS/JUBA, Feb 25 2012 (IPS) - While the international community discusses Somalia’s future in London and Brussels, European and Somali non-governmental organisations are calling for a radical shift from a military to a humanitarian approach as the only solution to the country’s war-torn condition.

News Briefs — SPAIN: Demonstrators Protest Bank Bailouts and Spending Cuts

MÁLAGA, Spain, Feb 25 2012 (IPS) - Demonstrators in nearly two dozen cities in Spain raised their voices Friday to protest against the use of public funds to bail out banks while the budgets for basic services like education and health are being slashed.

Misrata Rebuilds, Slowly

This week more than half the residents eligible to vote in Libya’s embattled coastal city of Misrata cast their ballots for local council representatives in their first democratic election in decades.

Rural Women in Latin America Face Myriad Hurdles

"Sometimes I think of giving it all up,” Aura Canache, a small farmer in Venezuela, told IPS. “My neighbours get loans and aid, but I never have. The farm assistance plans are for men, although there are many women living off the countryside too.”

Privatisation Derailed Argentina’s Rail System

Increasingly frequent and tragic railway accidents in Argentina, like this week’s crash, show that the rail system, run by private companies that receive hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies from the state, constantly ignores warnings from inspectors and fines, observers say.

Wanted: Climate-Smart Agriculture

As the links between food security and climate change become increasingly inextricable, the necessity for sustainable agriculture is now a universal concern.

South Africa wants to promote the use of breast milk across the country and big strides have been made in the KwaZulu-Natal province in taking formula off the shelves in primary health care clinics.

South Africa wants to promote the use of breast milk across the country and big strides have been made in the KwaZulu-Natal province in taking formula off the shelves in primary health care clinics. Zukiswa Zimela looks at the pro's and con's of this step.

BRAZIL: A Curse on Hydropower Projects in the Amazon?

"Perhaps it's the curse of Rondônia," joked Ari Ott, referring to teething troubles with the first turbine of the Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant which was intended to kick off a new cycle of huge power projects in Brazil's Amazon jungle region.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Illicit Timber Trade Exposes the North to Drought

Environmental groups in Côte d'Ivoire say the illegal logging and sale of wood from the African gum tree is exposing the north of the country to the encroaching desert. The NGOs are calling on the authorities to take firmer action against the illicit timber traders – who allegedly include government officials.

Q&A: ‘Malaysians Must Vote Out Corruption, Racism’

Malaysia’s charismatic opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is tapping the spirit of the Arab Spring to end the 55-year unbroken rule of the United Malay National Organsiation (UMNO) and its allies in the Southeast Asian nation.

Despite War Drums, Experts Insist Iran Nuclear Deal Possible

Amid the persistent beating of war drums, an influential international conflict prevention group is insisting that a deal between Western countries and Iran on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme can still be reached.