Syria Bolsters Troops in Battle for Aleppo

(Al Jazeera) - Activists say thousands of troops have been sent to Syria’s second city, Aleppo, as clashes were reported in the city for the sixth consecutive day.

Sea Turtles Trapped by Sudden Drop in Temperature in Uruguay

A record number of sea turtles are turning up on Uruguayan beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and Río de la Plata this Southern hemisphere winter, suffering from cold shock and hypothermia.

Super Cereal For Mali’s Malnourished Children

Millet has become the basic ingredient for an enriched flour at the heart of an effort to establish a local, sustainable response to malnutrition in Mali.

Child Rape on the Rise in Sri Lanka

A spate of child rape cases in Sri Lanka has angered child rights activists and moved the government to consider tightening the relevant laws and making the offence punishable with the death sentence.

U.S.: Police Treat Condoms as Contraband, Rights Group Says

How many condoms is it legal to carry around in your pocket? That’s the question sex workers in the United States are asking after being routinely targeted by police for having prophylactics – not in itself a crime.

IPS LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE – New Look, Structure and Focus

Inter Press Service (IPS), the international non-profit news agency headquartered in Rome, officially launches its new website this Monday, Jul. 23.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Italy to Finance Reservoir Expansion

The governments of Honduras and Italy have signed an agreement under which the latter will provide 30 million dollars in financing for the expansion of the José Cecilio del Valle Reservoir, in southern Honduras, to enable the irrigation of some 4,000 hectares of environmentally friendly crops.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Chilean Court Orders Exhumation of Workers Killed by Pollution

A Chilean court has ordered the exhumation of 22 former employees of the National Mining Company who are presumed to have died from the accumulative effects of the pollution to which they were exposed during decades of work at the Ventanas copper foundry and refinery, which has been controlled since 2005 by the National Copper Corporation, another state-owned enterprise.

Ecobreves – CUBA: New Plant for Biodiesel Production from Jatropha Seeds

The first Cuban plant for the production of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas, an inedible shrub, entered into operation this month in the southeastern province of Guantánamo, with an expected output of 100 tons of fuel annually.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Warmer Air in Shower Reduces Electricity Consumption

A simple invention developed by researchers at Juiz de Fora Federal University in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais makes it possible to reduce the energy consumed during a hot shower by 30 percent.

KYRGYZSTAN: Rape Trial Spotlights Women’s Plight

Allegations that a member of Kyrgyzstan’s KGB-successor agency organised the brutal rape of his wife have outraged women’s rights activists in Bishkek. But what rights defenders call an ordinary crime is having an extraordinary effect because of the victim’s response: she pressed charges.

Caribbean Moves to Protect Rights of HIV-Positive Workers

Thirty years into the HIV and AIDS epidemic, Caribbean countries are slowly putting necessary legislation in place to ensure the rights of workers despite their HIV/AIDS and chronic disease status.

Prison Study Programme Shuns Argentine “Dirty War” Criminals

A group of prisoners convicted of crimes against humanity committed during Argentina’s last dictatorship (1976-1983) have put university and prison authorities in a difficult position by asking to enrol in an academic study programme for inmates financed by the state.

Syria Blast Strikes at Heart of Assad’s Rule

(Al Jazeera) - Syria’s defence minister and interior minister are among those who were killed after a suicide bomber struck the National Security building in Damascus during a meeting of cabinet ministers and senior security officials, state media reported.

UN COMMEMORATES NELSON MANDELA DAY

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly Wednesday commemorated International Nelson Mandela Day in honour of the former South African president.

Organized Crime Earns $870 Billion Annually, UNODC Warns

UNITED NATIONS July 16 2012 (IPS) – “Transnational Organized Crime: Let's put them out of business,” is the new campaign by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) aimed at raising global awareness of the size and cost of this illicit network.

Preparations for Quadrennial Review Underline Broad Support for “Delivering as One”

Efforts to ensure the UN's continued relevance in global development took centre stage on Monday, as executive heads of UN funds and programmes, including UNDP, UNICEF, UN-Women, WFP, UNOPS, UNFPA and ESCAP assembled in the ECOSOC Chamber to reviewed successes and challenges in integrating development missions across a plethora of UN agencies.  

Plain Speaking Says a Lot For a Changing Middle East

With ever increasing sanctions against Iran, escalating violence in Syria and the continuing political struggles in Egypt, a new dynamic has been added to the long-standing policy challenges in the Middle East.

Chile Debates Control over Lithium Production

SANTIAGO DE CHILE, Jul 15 2012 (IPS) - The Chilean government’s decision to invite companies to tender offers for mine lithium resources has been widely rejected by mining trade unions and legislators of the opposition.

After Turtle Hatchlings Destroyed, Trinidad Govt Defends Its Actions

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Jul 13 2012 (IPS) - Ordinarily they live for at least half a century. But at least 20,000 leatherback sea turtle hatchlings never made it past their nesting ground at Grand Riviere, a stretch of shoreline along Trinidad’s north coast, in what’s been described as “an engineering disaster” last weekend.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Communities Protest Planned Location of Thermoelectric Plant

Residents of 60 communities in three states in southern Mexico are protesting the construction of a thermoelectric power plant that they consider to pose a threat to the environment, their economic livelihoods and their safety.