LATIN AMERICA: Research Decodes Dialogue Between Rainforest and Water

An alteration of the relationship between the Amazon rainforest and the billions of cubic metres of water transported by air from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains could endanger the resilience of a biome that is crucial for the global climate, warns a recently concluded two-decade research project.

Western Tunisia Has More to Rebel Over

A month after the first anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, the North African country is being rocked by labour protests supported by the Union General Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT), the main labour union in the country. The protests are centered in the impoverished western regions.

PAKISTAN: Political Scandals Rock the Polio Eradication Boat

A knock on her front door throws Beenish, a 28-year-old housewife from Lahore, into a fix: should she allow the female volunteer vaccinators to administer the oral polio vaccine (OPV) to her two-year-old son, or not?

NGOs Urge Open Selection Process for Next World Bank Chief

A global coalition of development activists and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) is calling on the World Bank's governors to ensure that Bank President Robert Zoellick's successor is chosen in an "open and merit-based process" that will give borrowing countries a major say in the selection.

Latin America Seeks to Spread Nuclear Free Zones

Latin America and the Caribbean are discussing ways to step up supervision of the use of nuclear materials in the region and contribute to the creation of more nuclear weapon free zones around the world, on the 45th anniversary of the treaty that banned nuclear arms in the region.

Under Threat in Nepal, Former U.N. Officials Seek Protection

Facing implicit death threats from Nepal's ruling Maoist political party, two former U.N. officials based in Kathmandu have appealed to the United Nations for help and protection.

Finland Joins Call for Financial Market Tax

In the midst of the debt and financial crises plaguing key European countries, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja has joined a growing international chorus calling for the introduction of a global financial market tax and the shutting down of tax havens, saying all that is needed is the political will to do it.

PODCAST: Bangladesh Braves Climate Change With Community Radio

Bangladesh Braves Climate Change With Community Radio

Former Combatants in El Salvador Demand a Place in Society

Sporting an olive green combat jacket and a beret, civil war veteran Carlos Hernández prays at the tomb of slain Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero at the Metropolitan Cathedral of El Salvador, which a score of former guerrillas have occupied to demand assistance to help them out of poverty.

Drug Trade Will Weather Peruvian Rebel Chief’s Capture

The capture in Peru of the last major leader of the Maoist rebel group Sendero Luminoso is a mortal blow to the movement that managed to survive thanks to its connection with the production of coca and cocaine in the north of the country.

Thailand Charges Iranian Suspects Over Blast

Two Iranians have been arrested and charged with plotting a bomb attack in Bangkok, according to Thailand's foreign minister.

GUATEMALA: “Only the Mayor Will Benefit from the Mine”

"No one will pay for the damages when work at the mine has finished," says María del Rosario Velásquez, who lives in a town near the Oasis mine 100 km southeast of the Guatemalan capital.

FROM THE WELFARE STATE TO THE STATE OF NECESSITY

The governing Popular Party (PP) is making it clear that it knows how to dominate the communications game and seize the initiative. In the opposition during the previous government it convinced a majority of voters that Spain's problem was President Rodriguez Zapatero and that if their candidate Mariano Rajoy won, the end of the crisis would begin. He was presented as "change" itself, the mythical balm of Fierabras prepared by Don Quixote, a generator of hope that never laid out specifics or even promised more than he would he able to achieve.

Syrian Crisis Spills Over Into Lebanon

Chants erupt from the second floor of a decrepit building in Tripoli in the Sunni stronghold of Bab el-Tebbaneh. Young voices loudly sing "Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar," or "Come on, leave, Bashar," directed at the Syrian president, Bashar al- Assad. It has become the anthem of the Syrian revolution.

Poles Apart in These Online Wars

Many people are appalled by the anti-Polish website established recently by the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV). The site encourages complaints against migrant workers from Central and Eastern Europe, particularly from Poland. The Poles are hitting back with their own hotlines, and humour.

Bangladesh Braves Climate Change With Community Radio

"Welcome to Krishi (farming) Radio. You are listening to FM 98.8 megahertz and I am your hostess Shahnaz Parvin," the local community radio crackles over the mobile phones and transistors of residents in coastal Barguna district.

Somali Women Say “Consider Us for the Country’s Leadership”

As Somalia’s transitional government and various stakeholders meet Wednesday to discuss the inclusion of the country’s clans in the new government, women politicians have called for a greater role in the leadership of this East African nation.

“A Catastrophic Year” as Hunger Crisis Looms over Sahel

Seven out of the eight governments in the Sahel – the arid zone between the Sahara desert in North Africa and Sudan’s Savannas in the south – have taken the unprecedented step of declaring emergencies as 12 million people in the region are threatened by hunger.

U.S.: Obama Requests Slightly Higher Aid Levels for 2013

Despite strong pressure to reduce the yawning federal deficit, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is asking Congress for a slight increase in funding for the State Department and foreign aid next year.

Scientists Find Link Between La Niña and the Flu

Weather patterns could have an influence on the spread of epidemics like that of the H1N1 influenza virus, initially known as swine flu, which broke out in Mexico and the United States in 2009.

TRINIDAD: Training the Leaders of “Generation Climate”

With climate change advancing to the forefront of the most urgent issues facing the islands of the Caribbean, young people – who arguably have the most to gain and lose in future scenarios – are becoming increasingly engaged in charting a path to environmental sustainability.