RIGHTS: EU Prepares to Fling Out More Migrants

Serge Fosso was putting his hand luggage in the overhead compartment when he heard cries coming from another passenger. It was then he realised that the flight he had boarded in Brussels - destined for Douala - was being used to forcibly deport a Cameroonian immigrant.

G8: Leaders Produce More Than NGOs Expected

Three key documents – on African development, food security, and corruption - emerging Tuesday from the summit of major industrial nations' leaders seem to have taken non-governmental organisations (NGOs) by surprise in delivering more than expected, even if they did not please all.

G8: Majority Favours An Exclusive Club

The Group of Eight (G8) will remain an exclusive club of major industrial nations at least for a year. Whether the next year's summit in Italy will decide on its expansion - to include Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa - is an open question.

COLOMBIA: Did the Army ‘Steal’ FARC’s Hostage Release?

A source close to the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) told IPS that the Jul. 2 rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages by the Colombian military "intercepted their liberation, planned for this weekend (Jul. 5-6) or the next," by the FARC rebels.

NORWAY: Pakistani Remittances Drawn Towards Development

Norway wants to integrate diasporas into development work - and tap into the huge sums of cash that they send back home - with a new pilot project that seeks to beef up development efforts in Pakistan.

RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: 'Killing Fields' Trials Set to Roll

After a complicated and sometimes fraught process of establishment lasting over two years, the international tribunal into the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge may commence trials as early as September.

SOUTH ASIA: Eight Nations Unite to Combat Climate Change

As rising seas, melting glaciers, floods and cyclones are increasingly putting millions of people at risk in South Asia, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) met here last week to find ways to mitigate the impacts of changing climate.

G8: Japanese Commitment to Africa Challenged

Japan received kudos Monday from the leaders of seven African states as they met with their counterparts from the group of eight (G8) major industrialised nations in Toyako on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. But others raised doubts over the extent of commitment to Africa by Japan and the other G8 countries.

Q&A: Will Olympics Break China's Human Rights Paralysis?

Barely a month before the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympics in China, it remains uncertain whether the Chinese government will respect basic human rights and press freedom during the Games.

CARIBBEAN: Guyana Holds Out on Trade Deal with Europe

Caribbean leaders appear to be no closer to a consensus position on the controversial Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) that was initialed last December following negotiations between the European Union and the Caribbean Forum countries.

AGRICULTURE-TANZANIA: Higher Crop Prices Bring Farmers No Joy

The six-foot tall corn stalks on Kastul Baha's homestead are the envy of his pastoral village in northern Tanzania. Baha was one of the fortunate farmers this crop season with $35 to buy a package of fertilizer to apply over his half-hectare field. He expects to more than double output to 10 bags of corn compared to four bags last year.

POLITICS: Reading Solana in Tehran

Conciliatory noises from Tehran over the nuclear issue have left Washington and Brussels baffled, and unconvinced of Iran's intentions. Having grown accustomed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's uncompromising language, Tehran's new tone has raised more suspicion than hope among cynics in Western capitals.

TRADE: French Report Condemns EPAs as Anti-Development

The approach taken by the European Union (EU) in trade talks with Africa has been strongly criticised in an official report commissioned by France, the new holder of the EU’s rotating presidency.

AGRICULTURE: ‘Don’t Do It Europe’s Way’

Europe's system of agricultural support should not be emulated in other regions of the world grappling with high food prices, the top United Nations official for humanitarian affairs has suggested.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Fighting Chagas Disease

Honduras is working with Canada to put together 60 million dollars in funding for ecological and health projects in areas where Chagas disease is endemic. The illness has spread from rural areas to urban areas of the capital.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Regional Network for Sustainable Forests

Cuba officially joined the Regional Network of Model Forests of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC-Net) on Jul. 5 through a project to cultivate tropical plants on 30,000 hectares in the central province of Villa Clara.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Uniting Against Salmon Farms

Business leaders, artisanal fishers, tourism operators, students and citizen organizations in Puerto Natales, in the southern Chilean region of Magallanes, have created the Salmon-Farm Free Patagonia Association.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Exotic Plague Advances

The "ácaro rojo" (Raoiella indica), an insect measuring just 0.3 millimeters, has devastated several hundred hectares planted with coconut palms on Venezuela's northwest and northeast coast, reports the government's autonomous agricultural health service.

Indians Close Ranks Against Dams in the Amazon

Between Bolivia's uncertainty and Brazil's haste, the Madera River Hydroelectric Complex is advancing -- and the alarm is sounding among indigenous communities and environmental activists in the two countries.

G8: Global Food Security Plan Expected

A landmark agreement on ensuring global food security is likely to emerge from the G8 summit in Toyako.

COLOMBIA: The General Ingrid Hugged

General Mario Montoya Uribe, the national commander of the Colombian army, whom Ingrid Betancourt thanked on Wednesday for rescuing her from captivity, has a controversial service record.