ENVIRONMENT-CHINA: Dam Plans Open Gates to Tough Choices Ahead

The Nu River flows from the Tibetan highlands through China’s western Yunnan province, cutting between two mountain ranges before rushing through Burma into the Andaman Sea. It is home to a third of the country’s ethnic groups and a diverse ecosystem of 7,000 species of plants and 80 rare or endangered animals and fish.

RIGHTS-BURMA: For Sex Workers, A Life of Risks

When Aye Aye (not her real name) leaves her youngest son at home each night, she tells him that she has to work selling snacks. But what Aye actually sells is sex so that her 12-year-old son, a Grade 7 student, can finish his education.

US-MIDEAST: Unraveling the Knottiest Issues in Stalled Peace Talks

The United States needs to take on a more aggressive presence in peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to a major report published earlier this month by the James Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

RIGHTS-FRANCE: Policy Ignores Deeper Questions of Migration

European Union immigration ministers will hold a special meeting Thursday to adopt a new policy to protect the region's external borders against undocumented migration, French immigration minister Eric Besson has announced.

PAKISTAN: Residents Bent on Making Life as Normal as Possible

Amid news of the Pakistani government’s arrest of another Taliban leader and a suicide attack in the volatile Swat district this month, residents here are bent on making the most out of a life that has been returning to as close to normal as possible.

MALAWI: Catapults Against Cholera

By this time last year, Mkanda had recorded 14 cholera cases as rainy season descended on central Malawi. This year, there has not been a single report of cholera.

U.S.: Hispanic Farmers Seek Redress for Years of Bias

When the Barack Obama administration urged Congress to settle a protracted anti-discrimination lawsuit for 1.25 billion dollars on behalf of African American farmers last week, Lupe Garcia of Las Cruces, New Mexico was paying close attention.

POLITICS: Air Strike on Civilians Reverberates Beyond Afghanistan

Amid growing European discontent over the war in Afghanistan, the head of U.S. and NATO forces apologised Monday for an air strike that killed at least 27 civilians in the central part of the country Sunday.

U.S.: Gov’t Sued Over Cell Phone Tracking

If you are a U.S. resident who owns a cell phone, you should care about the outcome of a court case that "could well decide whether the government can use your cell phone to track you - even if it hasn't shown probable cause to believe it will turn up evidence of a crime."

CULTURE-FRANCE: Alexandre Dumas Loses Colour in Film

A new film about Alexandre Dumas, the author of ‘The Three Musketeers’, has sparked a racial row here because a white actor is playing the role of one of France’s most-read writers who was of mixed race.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Water Deficit Deepens

Five Honduran cities, in addition to the capital, are rationing potable water due to shortages of rainfall attributed to the climate phenomenon known as El Niño, according to officials.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: A Call to Protect Marine Species

Eight marine species native to Mexico are in danger of overexploitation for commercial ends, denounced the environmental group Greenpeace in its "Red List of Fish and Shellfish."

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Environmental Authorization for Space Antenna

An antenna from the European Space Agency (ESA) in the western Argentine province of Mendoza to study the cosmos and climate change will not be harmful to the surroundings, states an environmental impact study.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Nitrogen Plus Water Equals Dengue

Water with an excess of ammonia (NH3) attracts the pregnant female Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits dengue, according to a study by the epidemic control agency of the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

RIGHTS-THAILAND: Fears of Mass Deportation of Migrants Rise

Dao, a migrant worker from Burma, is struggling to make a decision that could affect not only her but her family as well. "There are many things to worry about," sighed the Shan state native who works in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.

POLITICS: India’s Red Rebels Pose ‘Biggest Internal Threat’

They emerge from the jungles like Robin Hood’s band of merry men. They ambush police posts, kill government supporters, kidnap officials, trigger landmines and disappear in the same forest with a loot of weapons as Indian police suffer like sitting ducks.

DEVELOPMENT: Grassroots Aid Groups Struggle to Stay Afloat

The Holy Child Integrated Agricultural Centre, an organic farm near Abeokuta in southwestern Nigeria, was looking forward to having running water. An industrial borehole had already been already installed, and a pump and piping to various buildings were in place.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Crisis Within a Crisis Delays Elections Again

A week after President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved the government and the electoral commission, thousands marched in the city of Bouaké, damaging cars and shops. There have been almost daily demonstrations in cities across the country as Côte d'Ivoire's political crisis deepens.

U.S.: High Court to Revisit Terrorism Support Law

Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider one of the most consequential cases to arise from the "global war on terror".

HAITI: Private Contractors ‘Like Vultures Coming to Grab the Loot’

Critics are concerned that private military contractors are positioning themselves at the centre of an emerging "shock doctrine" for earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Women Traders Demand Support

Support for regional trade is one of the cornerstones of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). But the focus has been on large scale trade in goods and services, ignoring one important group trading throughout the region.