PAKISTAN/US: Gilani Can Expect Grilling Over Spy Agency’s Role

By attempting to place Pakistan's shadowy Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) under civilian control, ahead of a trip to the United States, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has revealed eagerness to deflect mounting criticism over the agency’s role in the failing 'war on terror' in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Uruguayan Thermoelectric Plant Faces Criticism

Environmentalists are fighting Uruguay’s plans to build a coal-fired electrical plant to generate 350 megawatts in Candiota, a town in southern Brazil near the Uruguayan border.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: More Grassfires

The burning of weeds this month set off a new rash of fires in eight provinces of northeastern Argentina, the environmental group Fundación Proteger has charged.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: A Green Guide to Businesses and Services

An ecological guide will promote eco-friendly providers of goods and services in Mexico beginning in September.

Ecobreves – LATIN AMERICA: Tierramérica Launches International Center

IPS news agency, the United Nations Development Program, United Nations Environment Program and the World Bank on July 31 will celebrate the founding assembly of the Tierramérica International Center for Sustainable Development and Environmental Defense, in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus.

Q&A: ‘Hamas Curbing Groups Firing Rockets’

Sharing a border with both Israel and the Gaza Strip, Egypt has historically played a major role in Israeli-Palestinian affairs. Egyptian involvement in the longstanding conflict has deepened since June of last year, when resistance group Hamas wrested control of the Gaza Strip - having won legislative elections a year earlier - from the U.S.-backed Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.

FIJI: Another Move to Muzzle the Media

Since independence in 1970, this Pacific Island nation has had a succession of elected and unelected prime ministers. Both sets of leaders have tried to muzzle what they see as errant, if not dangerous, media.

Q&A: Iran’s Islamic Revolution Had Western Blessing

In his new book on the covert history of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, award-winning journalist Roozbeh Mirebrahimi says that Western powers, including the United States, accelerated events by recognising and supporting religious revolutionary forces, forcing the shah to leave the country and averting a coup by Iran's army.

ENVIRONMENT-BURKINA FASO: Winning People Over to Fight Deforestation

In the West African nation of Burkina Faso, millions of trees are planted every year to reverse desertification. However the growing socio-economic needs of local populations pose a constant threat to these efforts.

POLITICS-US: Iran in the Spotlight at Christian Zionist Confab

The controversial Christian Zionist pastor John Hagee and thousands of supporters filled a convention centre in downtown Washington this week for his Christians United for Israel (CUFI) organisation's Washington-Israel Summit, where the "Iranian threat" was a recurrent theme.

Q&A: 'We Need Policies That Address Climate Change'

Last year, Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo faced a crippling water crisis, after three of its five supply dams went dry. Some high density suburbs went for over three months without water.

PAKISTAN: Frontier Gov’t Blames Militancy On Intelligence Agencies

Pakistan’s ruling Awami National Party (ANP) has been pushing a peace agenda for the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), but militancy in the region bordering Afghanistan shows no signs of abating.

MIDEAST: In Israel, Obama Looks to Votes Back Home

Lighting a remembrance flame at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Speaking against the backdrop of a pile of empty rocket casings in the southern town of Sderot. Standing solemnly, face close to the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

UAE: US-Iran Detente Viewed With Caution

The turnaround in Washington-Tehran ties is being viewed with relief on the one hand and anxiety and anger on the other by various quarters within the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc.

FINANCE: U.S. Accuses Trading Firm of Manipulating Oil Market

U.S. regulators are pressing charges against a global trading firm they accuse of manipulating the oil market, in a move that dovetails with heightened political agitation over rising energy and food prices.

FILM: Boys of Mass Destruction

In a twist of realism, a new feature film, "Johnny Mad Dog", uses a cast of actual ex-child soldiers from Liberia to portray the violent lives of youth forced to participate in armed conflict.

DEATH PENALTY: Final Quarter Yet To Be Convinced

Nine countries have taken major steps towards jettisoning the death penalty over the past 18 months, leaving just a quarter of nations left to abolish the practice, according to the 2008 report from the group Hands off Cain.

CAMBODIA/THAILAND: Temple Row – Latest in Testy Ties

The armed standoff between Cambodia and Thailand over ownership of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear is the latest chapter in the neighbouring countries’ troubled relationship.

POLITICS-INDIA: Costly Vote of Confidence

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has won a bitterly contested motion of confidence in his government by 275 to 256 votes in Parliament, securing his government's survival for several months.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Encroach On Karzai’s Turf

Dozens of civilians were killed over the weekend in Afghanistan, the latest in the trend of spiralling violence that has engulfed the embattled nation. The civilian casualties, Taliban attacks and troop casualty numbers are putting increasing strain on the Western-led coalition, leading some to speculate that the war is unwinnable.

DEVELOPMENT: Gender Focus Urged for U.S. Aid

Women's groups weighed in Tuesday on the growing debate over new goals and strategies for U.S. foreign aid, arguing that to work effectively, foreign aid should target women.