DEVELOPMENT: Lifting the ‘Resource Curse’

Four new countries have joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global effort to set concrete standards for the transparent management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining sectors.

POLITICS-INDONESIA: More Women Lawmakers, But Change Not Their Agenda

Indonesia’s direct legislative election in April was a resounding success for women candidates. But instead of rejoicing, activists and political observers say it is unlikely to help the cause of women’s rights.

MIDEAST: Rising Again After the Assault

Khuza'a is a small farming village perched on a gentle slope east of Khan Younis. Its fertile farmland once produced fruit and vegetables for export to Israel, whose own lush plains are just 500 metres from Khuza'a's centre, and are visible through the town's narrow streets.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Pets All the Rage in Santiago

Keeping pets, especially dogs and cats, is a daily reality for more and more residents of the Chilean capital, according to a survey by the social studies and public opinion center at the private Central University.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Urban Agriculture Boosts Production

The urban agriculture movement in Cuba produced 409,668 tons of fresh vegetables and herbs in the first quarter of this year, and is now working to offer products even at the height of the northern summer season.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Spain Aids in Protecting Hummingbird

Spain has granted Honduras 1.9 million dollars to develop sustainable programs in the habitat of the endangered emerald hummingbird (Amazilia luciae).

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Newborn Whale Shark Rescued

A newborn whale shark (Rhincodon typus), measuring some 40 centimeters long, was found this month by artisanal fisherfolk off the coast of northeast Venezuela and taken to the Marine Museum of Isla Margarita.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Agrarian Reform Also Deforests

The settlements created or officialized by Brazilian agrarian reform in 2008 contributed 21 percent of deforestation in the nine states that are part of the Amazon jungle, according to a new report by the national agrarian reform and settlements institute, INCRA.

U.S.: Lawyers, Rights Groups Outraged by Gitmo Decision

Human rights advocates are furious at President Barack Obama’s decision to prosecute some Guantanamo detainees through the same military commissions he criticised during his campaign as a "flawed" system that "has failed to convict anyone of a terrorist act since the 9/11 attacks".

MIDEAST: Netanyahu Out of Step With Obama

A day before he enters what some Middle East analysts are calling not the Oval office but the lion's den, Benjamin Netanyahu, re-incarnated as Israel's leader, is determined not to be easy meat but also, on the other hand, not to become a bone in the throat of his host, President Barack Obama.

AGRICULTURE-AFRICA: Knowledge Is Power for Farmers

Following training by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a hundred farmers in central Kenya, armed with an improved understanding of their local markets are commanding higher prices for their bananas.

HEALTH: Flu Fuels Concerns about ‘Factory Farms’

While the swine flu virus does not appear to be as potentially devastating as first imagined, environmentalists and some public health activists argue that it should be considered a wake-up call to the public about the conditions in which much of our food is being produced.

SRI LANKA: Trade Partners Considering Economic Pressure

The United States, joined by the UK, France and other EU states, are stepping up economic pressure on Sri Lanka to stop killing of civilians during ongoing battles with Tamil guerrillas in the North. The countries are planning on using a proposed IMF bailout package and trade concessions as bargaining tools.

DR-CONGO: U.S. Congress Moving to Track “Conflict Minerals”

In an effort to stem the flow of money from mineral mines fueling the brutal civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the U.S. Senate is pushing ahead with new bipartisan legislation that would force U.S. companies to track and disclose the country of origin of minerals used in common electronic products.

CHINA: Secret Memoir Highlights Political Dissent

Painstaking efforts by Chinese leadership to maintain the cloak of official silence over the crackdown of a 1989 pro-democracy movement backfired this week when Hong Kong released explosive clandestine memoirs of an ousted reformist party leader.

EAST TIMOR: Journalists Hold Out For Better Media Laws

Journalists in East Timor are anxiously waiting for a set of media laws to be revised after a negative reaction to a draft that was circulated in March.

WORLD-ECONOMY: IMF Using Global Crisis to "Re-Launch" Itself

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is attempting to reinvent itself with the global financial crisis, in the process using the opportunity to promote policies that exacerbate the recession by shrinking rather than growing economies.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Women Call for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation

Women’s rights groups have urged the establishment of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in Zimbabwe as part of bringing to justice people who committed human rights violations - including sexual abuse against women - during the run-up to a second-round presidential vote in June 2008.

LIBERIA: Rural Women Confront Hunger Gap, Their Own Way

Three brightly-clothed women walk slowly around the fallen, charred trees strewn haphazardly across the blackened clearing, each carrying snail shells filled with indigenous rice seed to bury in the rich soil.

US-MIDEAST: Lobbies Gear Up Ahead of Bibi-Barack Meet

In the months since U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have taken office, there has been lots of noise made about the relationship between the two men and their respective countries.

HEALTH-KENYA: Contraceptives: Stock-Outs Threaten Family Planning

Kenya's new national plan for reducing maternal mortality recognises the importance of a steady supply of contraceptives across the country. In principle, contraceptives are already available for free or heavily-subsidised at government clinics and hospitals, but for women who rely on public health system, the reality is somewhat different.