BRAZIL: Using Science and Thinking Small to Relaunch Biofuels

Clean and renewable energy sources are the new "El Dorado" in these times of economic crisis and global warming. While most people, it seems, want to have a car, travel and consume endlessly, the planet is giving us signs that it can no longer withstand a production model based on fossil fuels.

RIGHTS: Domestic Workers Often Prisoners in a Gilded Cage

On the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a New York-based human rights watchdog group called on the governments of the world to protect domestic workers.

RIGHTS-US: Lawmakers Urged to Stem Wave of Hate Crimes

Leading civil rights groups Monday denounced the rise in hate crimes taking place in the United States, especially against Hispanics, and called for passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act (LLEHCP) to ensure federal jurisdiction when local officials fail to act.

TRADE: Report Sees Bonanza for U.S., Iran if Sanctions Scrapped

Think of it as a stimulus package without deficit spending: Were the United States to normalise trade relations with Iran and were the Islamic Republic to liberalise its economy, Washington could cut its fuel costs and add tens of billions of dollars to its economy, say U.S. exporters.

POLITICS: Decentralisation, a Double-Edged Sword for Women

Decentralised governments have often been presented as a formula for strengthening democracy and citizen participation, and giving women greater access to power. But experiences like that of Eufrosina Cruz, who was denied the right to run for mayor of her Oaxaca village, on the argument of "uses and customs" of her indigenous community, show that this is not always true.

POLITICS-US: The Second Coming of Newt Gingrich

Ten years ago, Newt Gingrich was forced to resign as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, in a desperate search for leadership, Republican National Committee members are debating whether to turn back to the past and tap the ever-ready Gingrich.

WORLD: Taxation A Sticky Issue At Upcoming Financing Talk Fest

Amid frantic efforts to save the banking system from ruin, some top-level European Union (EU) officials have nonetheless found time to profess their concern for Africa recently.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Hearings on Forestry Law

The governmental Forest Conservation Institute (ICF) of Honduras announced the beginning of hearings about integrating communities in the protection and conservation of forests.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Award Goes to Bio-Method for Environmental Clean-up

The Santander Science and Innovation Prize was awarded this month in Brazil to a biological method for cleaning up areas contaminated by metals, developed by the University of São Paulo.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Hunting Pushes Bird to Extinction

The scarlet finch, also known as the red siskin (Carduelis cucullata), a small bird native to northern Venezuela, is on the verge of disappearing and is rarely seen in the wild because poachers capture these birds to cross them with canaries in order to produce red offspring.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Demands to Legalize Mapuche Health System

The Network of Mapuche Health Organizations, made up of nine entities from Chile's most numerous indigenous group, is drafting a proposal so that their health system will be recognized by Chilean law.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Poor Waste Management Worsens Hurricane Impacts

An evaluation of the impact of hurricanes in Cuba has revealed that disaster risk increases because of factors like construction along the coastline, poor waste management and cutting down mangrove forests.

POLITICS-JAPAN: Aiming For Middle Power Status?

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is nose-diving in the polls, its gaffe-prone prime minister Taro Aso has acquired a reputation as his party’s funeral director, and a pivotal election may transform the Japanese political landscape before September.

GENDER-AFRICA: "Where Is The Money?"

"Investing in women pays off. It is an effective means to reduce poverty and accelerate the achievement of the rest of the MDGs," says Danish minister for development cooperation Ulla Tørnæs.

Slide Show: One In Nine Campaign march against violence

FINANCE: China Takes Lead on Green Investing

China's efforts to green its financial sector have earned a thumbs-up from U.S. environmentalists, who say regulators here could learn from Beijing's recent success in stimulating investments that don't despoil the planet.

RIGHTS: Landmines Banned, And Still Kill Thousands

Ten years after an international ban on the use of landmines was agreed, the weapons still claimed thousands of lives during 2007, a new report has calculated.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Time For Action on Violence Against Women

Continued violence against women is one of the focuses of a continental meeting reviewing progress made towards achieving gender equality in Africa.

RIGHTS-KYRGYZSTAN: Alarm After ‘Lifers’ Attempt Breakout

The Kyrgyzstan parliament has ordered that the most dangerous of the country’s life-term prisoners should be moved from their jails and put in isolation cells dispersed around the country following an attempted prison breakout which led to four deaths.

CHINA/US: Balking at Changing Dollar-Centric Economic Order

The spectre of a prolonged global recession has dampened China’s wish for a world financial order less dominated by the United States and its dollar, giving way to more urgent dealings with recession worries at home.

DEVELOPMENT-VIETNAM: Rare Criticism of Dams Surface

While arguments against the development of hydropower dams on the Mekong River and its tributaries have from time to time emerged in Vietnam’s state-controlled press, rarely have government officials been as open with their criticism as they have in recent months.