DEVELOPMENT: Now for a Water Bankruptcy

Rarely a week goes by without a problem of water scarcity hitting the headlines. The acute droughts in Kenya, Argentina and the U.S. state of California are among the latest phenomena to illustrate that the global environment has been dangerously degraded. And participants in the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, heard that the planet could be destined towards "water bankruptcy".

RIGHTS-US: Rendition Case Enters “Bizarre” Realms of Secrecy

A prominent British-American lawyer who represents an Ethiopian-born Guantanamo detainee is charging that U.S. Defence Department officials are intentionally concealing evidence of his client's rendition and torture from President Barack Obama.

RIGHTS: Human Slavery Thriving in the Shadows

"Dora", a young Mexican woman, was helped by another Mexican woman to cross the U.S. border in the promise of a good job there. She ended up in Texas, working in a sweatshop and not allowed to go out or even take a shower.

MIDEAST: Egypt’s Star Rising in Regional Politics

Back in mid-December, many Middle Easterners were daring to hope that, with the imminent end of George Bush's presidency, their own deeply U.S.-influenced region might see a new day of peacemaking and inclusiveness in place of the recent years of war, confrontation, discrimination and distrust.

POLITICS-US: New Bid to Ban Indiscriminate Weapons

Leaders of a wide variety of national organisations and Congress are putting pressure on U.S. President Barack Obama to reconsider his predecessor's policies of allowing the use, transfer and production of weapons that have been shown to indiscriminately maim and kill civilians.

PHILIPPINES: Rapist US Marine’s Custody – Women’s Group Sceptical

A "one-step victory" was how a women’s rights group described a decision handed down by the Supreme Court (SC) this week on a controversial rape case involving a United States serviceman.

POLITICS: Latin American Leaders Say 'No' to U.S. Drug War

A commission led by three former Latin American heads of state has called the 30-year U.S. "war on drugs" in Latin America a failure and urged a drastic change in policy.

ISRAEL: Call Livni or Netanyahu? Go With Peres

Who wins a tie? That was U.S. President Barack Obama's dilemma Wednesday on whom to congratulate as the winner of Israel's general election.

HEALTH: Privatised Care More Placebo than Panacea

Rich countries and the World Bank should stop pushing privatised health care in poor countries, Oxfam International said Wednesday.

ISRAEL: Wary Netanyahu in Driving Seat

Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni clung precariously to a narrow lead over her right-wing rival Benjamin Netanyahu as vote counting neared conclusion from Israel's Tuesday general election. Both would-be prime ministers continue to claim victory: "I won," read the headline of the country's biggest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronot, alongside the photos of the two.

JAMAICA: Women Cheer Ban on Sexually Degrading Song Lyrics

It's the new dance craze here and many artists have hopped on the bandwagon. But when the latest "daggering" song hit the airwaves, government, broadcast regulators, civil society and others in Jamaica said enough is enough.

ENERGY: Clean and Green Gets a New Champion

The launch of a new international agency devoted solely to the promotion of renewable energy last month was applauded by many environmental groups, but left others wondering whether it is too little, too late.

US-IRAN: Hoping for a Spontaneous Regime Change

With the new U.S. administration comfortably situated and setting political goals and policies, looming Iranian elections cast a long shadow over one of its thorniest issues: how to deal with the Islamic Republic.

LABOUR-JAPAN: Brazilian Japanese Organise Against Joblessness

Rodney Freitas, 24, is happy to see Brazilians of Japanese descent organising themselves at time when Japan’s economy is cooling down and many are in danger of losing jobs or are already unemployed.

ISRAEL: Advantage Netanyahu After Uncertain Poll

Israeli voters went into their polling booths Tuesday uncertain about the government they wanted to lead them over the next four years, only to emerge from their vote even more uncertain about their country's future.

RIGHTS: Violations Privatised Away

The intimate involvement of the private sector in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq received international attention in September 2007, when staff with the security firm Blackwater shot dead 17 civilians in the vicinity of Baghdad's Nisoor Square.

RUSSIA: Waiting for a Paycheck That Never Comes

Migrant construction workers in Russia face widespread abuse by their employers, says a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Tuesday, including withholding wages, failing to provide required contracts, and unsafe working conditions at construction sites across the country.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: 'We Need Interventions'

The markets will be hanging on Trevor Manuel's every word when South Africa's minister of finance delivers his thirteenth Budget Speech on February 11. Expectation is even greater among poor communities, the unemployed and workers as the world's longest serving finance minister signals his government's economic plans in the face of the global economic crisis.


CULTURE: Filmmakers Probe Multiple Identities, Partitions

A German teacher of Visual Cultures and studying documentaries in India organises a film screening in Pakistan. A Pakistani produces an innovative short film series featuring work from India, Pakistan and Britain.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Opposition Loses Perak, Claims Moral Victory

During a tense press conference, in the midst of the current constitutional crisis in this state, peninsualar Malaysia's second largest, a reporter's MP3 recorder/handphone began ringing.

RIGHTS-US: “State Secrets” Privilege Not Gone with Bush

President Barack Obama has cast doubt on his promise to put an end to secret government by allowing his Justice Department to follow a path frequently taken by his predecessor.