Ecobreves – MEXICO: Fees for Water Will Preserve Green Zones

A fund that will be financed by a five-percent hike in fees for potable water services will go to rural residents of 88,000 hectares surrounding the Mexican capital.

AFGHANISTAN: ‘If Talks With Taliban Bring Peace, I’ll Support It’

Western officials are increasingly turning to new strategies in an effort to stabilise Afghanistan and defeat the insurgency here, according to U.S. and Afghan officials. The various initiatives - from negotiating with the Taliban to arming tribal militias - have differing degrees of support from Afghans.

VIETNAM: Prosperity Tough on Trash Collectors

As the expendable income of households in Hanoi increases, so does the amount of refuse generated. This is taking a toll on the city’s predominantly female force of garbage collectors, as well as the environment.

POLITICS-US: Top Obama Advisor Has Long Ties to Neocons

With the 2008 presidential campaign at its end, pundits have begun to discuss in earnest what expected winner Barack Obama's administration might look like. An important piece of evidence is Obama's campaign team, which largely escaped the harsh scrutiny that his opponent's lobbyist-laden team received.

DRC: Insecurity Prevails Despite Ceasefire

The dirt road leading to Kibumba refugee camp is thronged with people trying to return to their homes as diplomatic efforts continue to strengthen a tenuous ceasefire.

ECONOMY-MAURITIUS: Textile Manufacturing Goes Green and Clean

‘‘The cost of production is high in Mauritius as we are far away from our main markets. Our island is so small that at times our clients do forget us. We no longer benefit from any trade preferences. We don’t have any natural resources but we have plenty of sunshine and wind and we have decided to use these resources.’’

HAITI: Activists Urge World Bank to Erase Crippling Debt

On a recent visit to the hurricane-ravaged island of Haiti, World Bank President Robert Zoellick declared that 500 million dollars of Haiti's 1.7-billion-dollar foreign debt had been cancelled, and the rest would be soon be written off as well.

LATIN AMERICA: Campus Party to Bridge Digital Gap

Seeking solutions for closing the digital and technological gap and sharing innovative experiences are the aims of the Ibero-America Campus Party, which is being held parallel to the 18th Ibero-American summit of heads of state and government this week in El Salvador.

ECONOMY: Kenya Flush With Money From Expatriates

As your plane taxis along the runway at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, a first-time visitor to Kenya will marvel at the world class status of the major entry-point to east Africa’s premier economy.

RIGHTS: Bush’s “Freedom Agenda” Stumbles in Syria

With media and diplomatic attention focused on the international incident ignited by a U.S. cross-border raid from Iraq into Syrian territory last weekend, the Syrian government quietly handed down 30-month prison terms to a group of democracy activists on Wednesday.

TRADE-EAST AFRICA: Tanzania Still Torn Between Two Blocs

There were six of them – esteemed Kenyan nationals working at east and central Africa’s largest media house, the Nation Media Group. They were supposed to demonstrate the value of the East African Community (EAC) by being allowed to ply their profession in neighbouring Tanzania. The year was 2005.

FINANCE: Revolt Against “Elite Clubs” Grows at U.N.

U.N. member states and economists challenged the neo-liberal policies of market deregulation that have long been promoted by powerful global financial institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), and called Thursday for a new, more inclusive global financial architecture.

DR CONGO: Aid Agencies Fear Humanitarian Disaster in North Kivu

The situation in the strategic city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was relatively calm Thursday after a night of fierce shooting and widespread looting, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported.

POLITICS-SOMALIA: Harsh Words For Transitional Government

Horn of Africa leaders attending a regional summit have lashed out at Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) for failing to restore peace and order in the war-torn country.

POLITICS: Ibero-American Summit Marred by Absences

Several heads of state and government have sent lower ranking officials to represent them at the 18th Ibero-American Summit in the Salvadoran capital, while others arrived late and will stay only for a few hours.

US-IRAQ: Detainees May Go From Frying Pan to Fire

An estimated 17,000 Iraqis detained in their own country by occupying U.S. forces may soon face transfer into an Iraqi government detention system where reports of abuse and torture are commonplace, says a leading human rights advocacy group.

RIGHTS-SUDAN: New Trials Could Condemn more to Death

The number of people sentenced to death for their alleged role in the rebel attacks on Khartoum last May could rise if the government carries through its plans to set up more special anti-terrorism courts, according to human rights lawyers.

EUROPE: A Phone Book Without Numbers

A new European Union initiative officially aimed at improving transparency is providing only scant details about the influence that corporate lobbyists wield over the decision-making process, according to environmental and consumer rights advocates.

PHILIPPINES: ‘Migrants Deserve Better From Host, Home Countries’

Government officials and civil society members from 163 countries, gathered here for a meeting on migration, agreed Thursday that it was time to look beyond economic benefits and give the phenomenon ‘human face’.

RIGHTS: Landmark U.N. Resolution on Equality Stuck on Paper

Civil society groups are urging the U.N. to fully implement a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for greater women's participation in conflict prevention, resolution and peace-building.

MEXICO: Oil Reforms Leave State in the Red

The oil industry reforms approved by the Mexican Congress and applauded by the government and most of the country’s parties, with the exception of factions on the left and part of the business community, will deprive the state of a source of funding that currently finances 40 percent of the public budget.