RIGHTS: U.S. Names Bagram Prisoners, Withholds Details

After years of stonewalling, the U.S. Defence Department has released the names of people imprisoned at the notorious Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: New Threats to Media Freedom

Death threats allegedly made by a senior police officer to a journalist and the arrest of a photographer, all in the space of a few days, have heightened fears of a new onslaught on the country’s media.

BANGLADESH: No End in Sight for Extrajudicial Killings

Despite appeals by human rights organisation to the Bangladesh government to end extrajudicial killings in the country, no steps have been taken to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Food security in Colombia

53 million people in Latin America facing hunger, Colombia's problem is considered moderate by the Global Hunger Index's findings of 2009. However, 12 of every 100 families are not in a position to feed their children and 17 percent of children in rural Colombian suffer malnutrition, according to Colombia's Social Welfare Ministry

Mexico: Food Emergency

As of the entry into force of NAFTA, in 1994, Mexico's northern border has concentrated more than 30 percent of the country's workforce, employed in the manufacture of electronic components, vehicles and auto parts. Combined exports by Canada and Mexico to the United States increased from 150 billion dollars to 500 billion dollars during this period. But not all that was promised has been met. Mexico has become the leading importer of beef, rice, apples, beans and corn-based sweeteners. It is also the second largest importer of U.S. corn, and while U.S. producers and Mexico's large food companies have clearly benefited, the experience of Mexico's farmers and consumers is not that favourable.

Gender equality and indigenous people in Colombia

Colombia ‘s 102 indigenous nations –composed of nearly a million and a half people -- face their own quest for gender equality tied into their 518-year struggle for land and indigenous rights. In Colombia, the natives are one of the populations most victimized by the ongoing armed conflict. Their reality is seldom reflected in polls and index measures for gender equality.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Polluters Dragging EU Back

Barely a month after world leaders gathering in Copenhagen reached a weak accord on climate change, the European Union's top polluters are fighting a fresh battle to dissuade policy-makers from taking more robust action.

ZAMBIA: Scarcely Room for Women in Male-dominated Politics

Charity Mwansa, a former minister and member of parliament, knows just exactly what being one of the very few female politicians in Zambia means. When she left politics it had nothing to with not being able to do the work and instead had everything to do with the mad world of male-dominated politics.

A Revolution with a Woman’s Face

In Bolivia, a land-locked South American country of 10 million people, a silent revolution is brewing, and it has a woman's face. Women are now focusing their efforts on winning half of the 156 seats in the new Congress, which is called the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.

Gender relations and work in Uruguay

Uruguay has the second largest gender pay gap in Latin America, topped only by Brazil. Uruguayan men earn in average 26.3 percent more than their female counterparts of the same age and with the same level of education. These findings are part of an October 2009 study by the Inter-American Development Bank that reveals great ethnic and gender wage differences in Latin America.

RIGHTS: British Govt to Release Documents on Gitmo Case

After months of denial, the British government has agreed to release secret documents that lawyers say could prove that MI5 agents were present during the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's torture of a British resident held by the U.S. government for eight years.

HAITI: U.S. Opens Airport to More Humanitarian Flights

Amid criticism that the U.S. Defence Department was prioritising military and rescue air traffic to earthquake-stricken Haiti, U.S. officials controlling the country's main airport have agreed to guarantee landing slots for planes carrying humanitarian aid, U.N. officials say.

THREE REQUESTS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA

I have been a sincere admirer of yours since I started following your writing and speaking about your plans during the presidential campaign. I admire your humanism, your culture, your valour, and your style. Unlike you, I am not a believer. I am agnostic and have a certain amount of experience in public life. However, I said to many friends that your victory constituted an authentic miracle for the United States and for the world, however little I believe in miracles.

INDIA: Patriarch’s Death a Big Blow to Mainstream Communism

On Sunday, when this eastern India metropolis of moderate winter experienced one of the chilliest days of the season, the weather was no deterrent for tens of thousands who lined up the streets to catch a glimpse of a 95-year-old communist leader’s body soon after a teary-eyed comrade announced his death.

CANADA: Hunt for Oil Patch Bomber Takes New Twist

Looking increasingly desperate after a 15-month-long hunt for a saboteur who has blown up six natural gas installations in northern Canada, police arrested an outspoken oil industry critic and then set him free a day later without pressing charges.

MALAWI: Love That Dares To Speak Its Name

The traditional engagement ceremony of two men on Dec. 26, 2009 has created controversy in conservative Malawi. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested two days after their engagement and remain in police custody, facing long jail terms.

EUROPE: Shadow Falls Over New Leaders

Allegations of racism and financial impropriety have spiced up an otherwise lacklustre two-week ritual in which nominees to the European Union's executive arm are quizzed by the EU's only directly elected institution.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Swan Death Investigation Extended

The investigation into the 2004 deaths of hundreds of black-necked swans in the Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary, 800 km south of the Chilean capital, will wrap up in June.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Food Distributed to Drought Victims

The most vulnerable regions of seven of the 18 departments of Honduras, hit by drought resulting from the El Niño climate phenomenon, this month are receiving the first round of food aid coordinated by national and international emergency agencies.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: No More Pitbulls

A law enacted at the beginning of this year orders that all pitbull dogs (crosses of several types of bull terriers) must be eliminated in Venezuela by 2015. In the meantime, these dogs must be kept strictly kenneled.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: A Natural Way for Preserving Meats

Grape seeds and skins, already known for their antioxidant properties, can be used as a natural preservative for fresh meats in cold storage, researchers at the University of São Paulo have shown.