INDIA/PAKISTAN: Civil Society Pleads for Peace

As tensions between Pakistan and India continue to see-saw, citizens in both countries are stepping up efforts for peace through initiatives ranging from a cross-border signature campaign to seminars and personal efforts.

HEALTH-NEPAL: On Course to Achieve MDG on Maternal Health

Impoverished Nepal has dramatically reduced maternal mortality cases from 540 per 100,000 live births in 2001 to the present 280 - a feat experts attribute chiefly to the legalisation of abortion.

ETHIOPIA: Political Space Narrowing

Bertukan Mideksa has a reputation in Ethiopia as a competent politician, but voters will not be able to cast ballots for her in the next national election. The revocation of her 2007 pardon has sent a chill through Ethiopia's opposition parties.

EUROPE: Trucks Get a Free Ride to Emit

Carbon dioxide emissions from using Europe's road to transport goods will increase by more than 50 percent within the next two decades, a new study has predicted.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: ‘Culture of Violence Getting Ingrained in Society’

One of the worst legacies of the decades-old civil war in this island country is the culture of violence and impunity that many fear has become ingrained in Sri Lankan society - once known for ‘serendipity' and respect for Buddhist virtues.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: New Forestry Map Announced

In six months Honduras will have a new forestry map that will enable it to accurately identify its ecosystems, woodland coverage, and biodiversity, Agriculture and Cattle Minister Héctor Hernández said to Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – CUBA: More Organic Fertilizers from Sugarcane

Cuba’s sugar industry is setting out to increase its organic fertilizer production and use, as it recognizes that these fertilizers are not only good for the environment, but also for the economy as they cut back on imports of chemical fertilizers.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: When Garbage Becomes a Problem

Groups of vandals set fire to a landfill where 65,000 tons of solid waste, collected in the north-western Venezuelan city of Maracaibo over the last week of December and the first days of January, had been dumped.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Green Seal for Technology

The University of Sao Paulo closed the year 2008 with two important environmental initiatives: the green seal for technological equipments, and the project for a Sustainable Environments and Climate Studies Center.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Certified Organic Crops on the Rise

During the 2007-2008 season, 30,443 hectares were certified as organic in Chile, according to a report by the governmental Office for Agricultural Studies and Policies (ODEPA).

Toward an Environmental Rationality

The conflict between economy and ecology and that impossible goal that is “sustainable development” give rise to concern over the feasibility of an alternative economy, writes Mexican environmental researcher Enrique Leff in this exclusive column for Tierramérica.

SRI LANKA: Outrage, Helplessness at Editor’s Murder

A controversial but powerful newspaper editor was assassinated Thursday even before outrage and dismay had died down over the ransacking of the premises of a popular radio and TV broadcaster by masked, armed men.

SRI LANKA: ‘Attacks on Media Will Continue’

It was typical of what Sri Lankan media has been facing over the years: a pre-dawn raid on a media house, employees beaten up and costly equipment destroyed. Maharaja TV, the latest victim, was also promised the routine, impartial inquiry by the government.

ENVIRONMENT-CAMBODIA: Opting For The Big Dam

It has been a long held plan of Cambodia’s government - a hydropower dam on the mainstream of the Mekong River in the central part of the country.

MIDEAST: Israel Looking to Silence Hamas Forever

This is the most senseless of all the wars that Palestinians and Israelis have fought, says Israeli President Shimon Peres. The futility, he suggests, stems from the Hamas insistence, ever since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, on continuing to shell Israeli towns and villages.

ECONOMY: 'Financial Meltdown Decolonising Asian Minds'

The year 2008 may well go down in history as a watershed in which the global financial crisis, precipitated by the collapse of Western economic models, ‘decolonised’ Asians minds, say observers.

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Prisoner Repatriations Bring Hope

As the New Year dawns, the repatriation by India of 66 Pakistan nationals brings hope for hundreds of Pakistanis and Indians incarcerated in prisons across each other’s countries - and for peace between the South Asian neighbours.

MIDEAST: Jewish Organisations Call For End to Gaza Bombings

With a fresh outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestine, a battle of a different sort is being waged in Washington between various interests in Mid- East policy circles.

PERU: Coffee Growers Cultivate Education

"Without coffee there is no future," say coffee growers in the Selva Alta, in the central Peruvian region of Junín, where they are setting up schools near their farms so that their children don't abandon their studies.

INDIA: Seeking China's Support in Dealing With Pakistan

As the Pakistani government digs its heels in against India’s demands for action on the suspected masterminds of the November terrorist strikes in Mumbai, the Indian foreign policy establishment is looking to China and other regional powers, besides the United States, for support.

RIGHTS-NEPAL: Maoists Attack Journos, Threaten Media Freedom

When Kunda Dixit, editor of the ‘Nepali Times’ and 12 other staff members of the Himalmedia publishing house were attacked and injured by supporters of Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), a week ago, it was a sign that Nepal’s ruling party intends to influence the media through intimidation.