Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Drought Hurts Tourism Marvels

The Catatumbo lightning, an electrical storm that produces 1.6 million bolts each year in northwest Venezuela, disappeared in January as a result of the intense drought that the country continues to suffer.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Promoting Quake-Resistant Construction

Honduran lawmakers, entrepreneurs and the government's emergency commission, COPECO, are promoting new regulations to ensure construction of earthquake-resistant buildings.

RIGHTS-MALAWI: Country Not Safe for Homosexuals

Malawi is quickly becoming unsafe for homosexuals as the country’s police service recently launched a campaign to hunt down and arrest prominent people who are suspected of being gay.

HEALTH: U.S. AIDS Fund Flat-Lining, Groups Complain

The debate between those who favour investment in AIDS treatment and those who favour investment in its prevention came to the forefront Thursday at a U.S House of Representatives hearing on U.S. investments in HIV/AIDS in Africa.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: In the Shadows of Men: Women’s Political Marginalisation

Ten years after Nigeria returned to civil rule women still play second fiddle in the male-dominated politics of Africa’s most populous nation, women politicians and activists say.

HAITI: Caribbean Unites Behind Recovery Plans

As he travels back to his headquarters in Washington, World Bank president Robert Zoellick must be painfully aware that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have very strong feelings on the redevelopment of Haiti following the Jan. 12 earthquake.

DEVELOPMENT-CAMEROON: Are Women the Magic Bullet for “Electoral Apathy”?

A support network for women's political participation, is challenging head-on what it calls "electoral apathy", after noting a growing trend in electoral abstention.

RIGHTS: Guatemala, El Salvador Ordered to Heed Rulings

Guatemala and El Salvador have a terrible record in terms of compliance with the recommendations and sentences handed down by the inter-American human rights bodies on cases involving appalling abuses like forced disappearance, torture and massacres committed during the armed conflicts in the two Central American countries.

MIDEAST: Building Settlements, Not Peace

"The best laid-schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley" (Scottish for 'going wrong').

EGYPT: U.N. Slams Abuse of Emergency Law

Despite diplomatic maneuvering designed to block any review of its human rights record, a United Nations special rapporteur has told the U.N. Human Rights Council that proposed changes in Egypt's constitution "would create a permanent legal state of emergency".

SOUTH AFRICA: Gender Loses Out in Basic Education Crisis

With the 15th-year review of the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women taking place at the ongoing Commission on the Status of Women in New York, South African teachers and education experts say they fear that a special focus on the advancement of girls is getting lost amidst the growing levels of poverty in the country.

INDONESIA: Waste Composting Project Blazes Cleaner Path

Battling the pain from a boil on his left thigh, 45-year-old Inggit Tukino pulled his two-wheeled cart through the overcrowded alleys of a slum in Rawabebek, Penjaringan hamlet in here North Jakarta.

VIETNAM: Reports of Child Abuse A Wake-up Call for Parents, Gov’t

Vietnamese parents think of day care centres and kindergartens as safe, happy places to leave their children in, given the pressures of work and harder times. But they are no longer so sure now, after a series of incidents about mistreatment of young children that has shocked the public.

KENYA: New Bill to Improve State Witness Protection, If Passed

Kenyans affected by the violence that erupted after the country’s disputed presidential elections in 2007 may soon be able to speak out without fear. A new bill will offer better protection to state witnesses.

EDUCATION-URUGUAY: Gardens of Knowledge

"Nature is wise, and if we take the time to observe it, we can learn so much" is the underlying philosophy of a number of innovative programmes being carried out in Uruguayan schools that are using gardens as a teaching resource, explained Edith Moraes, director of the national Primary Education Board.

TANZANIA: Weather Changes Turn Farming into Gamble with Nature

Changes in weather patterns have turned agriculture into a gamble with nature for Tanzanian farmers. Prolonged droughts and floods have made the lives of small-scale farmers, who don’t have access to irrigation, extremely difficult.

SINGAPORE: As Casino Opens, Watch for Its Social Impact Begins

An unfamiliar sight in Singapore – that of vehicles with foreign licence plates filling the car park – meets visitors at the basement of the city-state’s first casino, which opened nearly a month ago.

FINANCE: Self-Policing of Extractive Industries a “Dismal” Failure

An international initiative that seeks to reform how governments profit from their natural resources should not reduce its existing standards of membership solely because candidate countries have been reluctant or incapable of meeting them, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.

MALAWI: Patrilineal Inheritance Prevents Women’s Access to Land

Mercy Gondwe, 51, from Rumphi in northern Malawi, was married for 34 years. When her husband died in 2008, she assumed she would inherit the land they had been cultivating together since they got married. But this was not the case.

IRAQ: Elections Bring Joy and Uncertainty

The holding of Iraq's third parliamentary elections on Sunday has generated a sense of satisfaction in Washington, but there is a feeling of anxiety about how the post-election negotiation process to form a new government might proceed.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: ‘We Will Demonstrate, As They Celebrate’

‘Equal rights; equal opportunities’ may be the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, but while women around the world celebrate, a group of Ugandan women are protesting against the suppression of their rights.