Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Peasants Join the Biodiesel Market

Peasant farmers of the Salamá cooperative in the northern Honduran region of Tocoa have achieved a three-year dream: their own biodiesel production plant to supply the local market.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Mining Project Has Town on Alert

The Chilean town of Tierra Amarilla, 805 km north of Santiago, has filed numerous observations about the Caserones copper mining project, of the Japanese firm Lumina Copper, as part of the environmental impact assessment process.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Coral Sick from Climate Change

More than 800 kilometers of coral reefs of Los Roques archipelago, a Caribbean paradise covering 225,00 hectares just 180 km north of Caracas, are at risk due to the warming of their marine environment.

EAST TIMOR: ‘Political’ Appointment of Police Chief Resented

The decision to appoint East Timor’s prosecutor general as chief of the country’s police force is being criticised by analysts who say the move is politically motivated and threatens to stunt the institution as the handover of power from the UN Police (Unpol) begins.

LABOUR-MALAYSIA: Hit Foreign Workers First Govt Tells Employers

An official guideline for employers to retrench their foreign workers ahead of local employees has alarmed civil society society groups who fear that indebted migrant workers could be sent home with inadequate compensation.

DEVELOPMENT: Troubled Waters Hard to Bridge

The fifth World Water Forum (WWF) held in Istanbul ended Sunday with wide- ranging differences among governments and groups with an interest in water.

SOUTH AFRICA: Water Meters for the Poor: New Name, Old Problems

Many poor communities in South Africa continue to struggle for their constitutional right to clean, safe drinking water.

US-IRAN: From “Axis of Evil” to “Happy New Year”

In an unprecedented move, President Barack Obama has reached out to both the people and the government of a leading U.S. adversary to wish them well in their upcoming Norouz, or New Year, holidays.

CHINA: Calm Over Planned North Korean Missile Launch

Amid signs of mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang’s nuclear standoff, China has remained calm and seemingly reluctant to use strong words of criticism for its neighbour and long-time communist ally.

ENVIRONMENT-KENYA: Rainwater Harvesting: Two Birds With One Stone

Bitter irony: in recent years Nairobi has experienced severe flooding and widespread water shortages, due to poor urban planning and collapsing infrastructure systems that are failing to support the Kenyan capital's expanding population.

POLITICS-MADAGASCAR: Rajoelina Assumes Power

After 24 months as self-declared head of a transitional authority, the deposed mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, was confirmed as the new president of Madagascar by the Constitutional Court on Mar. 18.

ENVIRONMENT: Coping in a World of “Peak Water”

As more than 20,000 people meet in Istanbul for a major week-long conference on future management of the world's water supplies, women's groups are working to ensure that policy decisions about this critical natural resource take their concerns into account.

DEVELOPMENT: Corruption Drains Water…

Several civil society organisations are planning anti-corruption drives to combat the wheeling-dealing considered a major factor in the world water crisis.

MIDEAST: Israeli Soldiers Expose Atrocities in Gaza

Based on testimony from Israeli soldiers who took part in the recent war in Gaza, Israel is being confronted directly with the serious charge that permissive rules of engagement allowed for the killing of Palestinian civilians and widespread destruction of Palestinian property.

RELIGION-PAKISTAN: Bombing Closes Shrine Off For Women

Few women are visiting the mausoleum of the famous 17th century mystic poet Abdul Rehman Baba since suspected Pakistani Taliban bombed it.

PHILIPPINES/US: Women’s Groups Back Recanting Rape Victim

Nicole, the Filipina who accused a United States serviceman of raping her in 2005, has recanted her testimony, but women’s groups supporting her in the case do not see this development as a defeat.

RIGHTS-US: Ill Migrants Left to Languish Behind Bars

Clinical staff at U.S. immigration detention centres systematically abuse detainees in their charge, according to two reports by Human Rights Watch and the Florida Immigration Advocacy Centre (FIAC) that describe the medical care system in these facilities as "dangerously inadequate".

RIGHTS-US: Red Cross Report Bolsters Case for Bush Inquiry

A leaked Red Cross report, detailing chilling accounts of prisoner torture in "black sites" run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, has underlined the need for an independent commission of inquiry into possible war crimes committed by senior officials during the presidency of George W. Bush, according to a statement by 25 prominent clergymen and women.

ECONOMY-CHINA: Chance to Reform IMF in EU-US Split?

Differences between the United States and Europe over how to restore global economic growth have given rise to speculations here on whether a failure to agree on a grand strategy at the upcoming G20 summit might create room for China to assert its national agenda.

ECONOMY-ASIA: Gains in Poverty Eradication Melt Away

Rosevic Colli’s ambition is to run her own Internet café in her hometown of Davao, southern Philippines. "I don’t want to work for anyone, I want to be my own boss," she says.

AGRICULTURE-AFRICA: Livestock Vital to Rural Livelihoods

The Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute estimates 250 million people in Africa - a quarter of the population - rely on livestock for their livelihoods, yet African governments invest almost nothing to support the sector.