SRI LANKA: Media Kept on Tight Leash

As the latest round of Asia’s longest-running guerrilla war winds down, scores of journalists here are experiencing intimidation and harassment for being critical of the military campaign against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

MIDEAST: Tunnels Become a Lifeline

Pick-up trucks speed westward on the Barth highway that flanks the Israeli border in Egypt's North Sinai region, stacked high with cartons of petrol. They are headed "for Gaza", the Bedouin residents of Barth village say – through the tunnels that burrow under the Egypt-Gaza border and are filling Gaza's aid gap in the aftermath of Israel's deadly assault on the territory.

MEXICO: Flu Epidemic Further Undermines Sick Economy

The swine flu epidemic has dealt a new blow to the Mexican economy, already weakened by the global recession, hitting small and large companies alike.

RIGHTS-US: Court Reins in "State Secrets" Privilege

In what may become a landmark decision, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the "state secrets privilege" – routinely used by the government to block lawsuits against its officials – can only be used to contest specific evidence, but not to dismiss an entire suit.

US-IRAN: As Obama Engages, Hawks Soften Rhetoric

As the White House prepares the ground for direct diplomacy with Iran on a handful of issues, a group of Iran hawks gathered in Washington to discuss their views on how to handle what they describe as a "series of provocative actions" by Tehran beyond its ongoing nuclear development.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Biggest Emitters Seek an Early Consensus

A two-day meeting in Washington of the 17 nations that collectively emit three-quarters of the world's greenhouse gases concluded Tuesday with optimism that it helped provide a springboard toward more comprehensive talks on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol at the end of the year.

POLITICS-US: Momentum Builds for Tougher Hate Crimes Law

The leaders of several of the United States' largest civil rights and faith groups urged the passage of a bill to strengthen protection from hate crimes Tuesday.

MEXICO: Schools Closed Nationwide Due to Flu Epidemic

The deadly new influenza strain that originated in Mexico has led to the closure of schools, universities, museums, libraries, cinemas, theatres and churches here, while it continues to spread to other countries.

Slide Show: Schools Reopen Amidst the Rubble

EDUCATION-US: Women Reach for Technology Lifeline

When Brunila lost her job as a flight attendant after 10 years on the job, she realised she needed to find a more stable career.

RIGHTS-US: Bracing for New Prisoner Abuse Photos

This Tuesday, Apr. 28, will mark five years since the world got its first look at the sickening photographs from Abu Ghraib on the U.S. television programme "60 Minutes."

RIGHTS: Kenya Cannot Fail to Prosecute Extra-Judicial Killings

When stock is taken of the Kenyan coalition government’s first year in office no marks will be awarded to its handling of extra-judicial killings in the country. Human rights activists claim that the police have murdered about 500 people in the past 16 months.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Back to School in Swat, But for How Long?

Tiny Sheema is happy to be back in school in Swat, a volatile northern district in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Ecobreves – MEXICO: School Kids Turn Eco-Monitors

Esteban Carrillo, 12, committed his parents to reducing electricity and water consumption at their home in the state if Mexico, neighboring the capital. Along with 549 children, he was named an ecological monitor for his district.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Forest Fires Claim 17,000 Hectares

In the first three months of this year, forest fires destroyed 17,000 hectares of forest in the southern, northeastern and Atlantic regions of Honduras, say official sources.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Eco-Promoters for Polluted River

Argentina's Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development signed an agreement with the National University of La Matanza to train community environment promoters for the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin, the country's most polluted, located south of Buenos Aires.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: New National Science Team for Climate Change

Brazil has created its own 300-scientist panel to assess climate change. The team will update the national inventory of greenhouse-effect emissions, which is still based on 1994 data.

RIGHTS-US: Dozens of CIA “Ghost Prisoners” Missing

At least three dozen detainees who were held in the CIA's secret prisons overseas appear to be missing – and efforts by human rights organisations to track their whereabouts have been unsuccessful.

HEALTH: Final Push to Control Malaria by 2015

About one million people die every year from malaria, including a child every 30 seconds. Half a billion people are infected annually. Africa alone, according to studies, loses 12 billion dollars in productivity and to treating the disease. And almost all of it is easily preventable.

RIGHTS-US: Courts Overrule Govt in Abuse and Detention Cases

As the debate heats up over what to do about recent disclosures of widespread abuse of war-on-terror prisoners, the "third branch" of the U.S. government – the judiciary - continues to assert its independence from the other two branches – the executive and the legislative.

LIBYA: ‘‘King of Kings’’ Gaddafi Tries to Flex Regional Muscles

Former pariah and now Europe’s cautious partner, Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi seems determined to flex new-found diplomatic muscles on issues ranging from trade to regional security, North Africa observers say.