Q&A: Bulgarian Greens Go Political

Members of a group of environmental NGOs have announced the formation of green party, Zelenite. Among the founders are activists who have been engaged for two years in a campaign to prevent large-scale tourism development in protected natural sites in the Rila Mountains and the Black Sea shore (the NATURA 2000 campaign).

CHINA: 'Food Scarcity Creating New World Order'

Unprecedented food scarcity is beginning to dictate the rules of a new political order where individual countries are scrambling to secure their own food supplies with little concern for the rest of the world, says the founder of the Earth Policy Institute.

MEDIA-INDIA: Child Scribes in Villages Raise Development Issues

Children should be seen, not heard - an adage that remains in practice in most parts of rural India even today where the orthodox patriarchal traditions continue to hold sway in tightly-knit local communities.

POLITICS: U.S. Praises Colombia at OAS Meet

Stressing U.S. commitment to the Colombian government's controversial efforts to rid the country of "narcoterrorists", which have included briefly invading a neighbouring country to attack guerrilla forces, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said Monday that Colombia was "an outstanding example" of what can be achieved through a commitment to democracy and good governance.

Q&A: U.N. Loses Credibility Ignoring Asia’s Ascent

The United Nations and its sister institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are in danger of losing their credibility if they continue to ignore the resurgence of Asia as a potentially dominant power in a new era in global politics.

IRELAND: Less Bombs Here, More There

Irish diplomats won plenty of kudos from governments across the world over the past week for brokering a ban on cluster bombs during an international conference in Dublin. It may seem ironic, then, that despite having a decades-old tradition of military neutrality, Ireland has deepened its involvement in the arms trade in recent years.

DEVELOPMENT: Blessed and Cursed by Water

Millions of people are threatened by poor, unreliable, or non-existent water resources, and climate change could make things worse. IPS looked at some of the issues before participants at a World Bank conference on water and sanitation issues held in Oslo last week.

Q&A: ‘Need For a New Social Alliance’

A global alliance of human rights activists, environmentalists and ethically run small enterprises is needed to save the planet from self-destruction, says Susan George, chair of the Planning Board of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. The institute works "to contribute to social justice."

PAKISTAN: Abductions For Ransom Blamed on Taliban

A spate of kidnappings in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and areas adjoining Afghanistan are being blamed on Taliban militia.

HEALTH: Bird Flu – Vietnam Reports Headway in Human Vaccine

Vietnamese researchers have announced significant progress in their effort to develop a prototype vaccine for the H5N1 avian influenza, despite criticism from some scientists that their methods are "unorthodox".

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: Water Studies – But Where Are the Water Supplies?

The road leading to the informal settlement of Korogocho is narrow and winding. Here, in Nairobi's third largest slum, up to 150,000 people are crammed into an area of just over one square kilometre, their shanties made of cardboard, wood or metal.

POLITICS-MIDEAST: Gaza Fulbrights, Small Yet Symbolic

Israel and the U.S. said Friday they would "revisit" a policy that prevents Palestinians from leaving the Gaza Strip to pursue their educational goals one day after a controversial State Department decision to withdraw all Fulbright Scholarships from students living in the territory.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Critics Target U.S. Military Command

In just a few months, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) - Washington's latest military oversight structure for the continent - is expected to be fully operational.

INDIA: Public Hearings Grant Justice to Rural Women

The Indian state of Rajasthan is historically known for its cultural traditions and the epic tales of valour of its womenfolk are legendary. But sadly, today, this state fails to present a vibrant picture with regard to the status of its women who lead a backward existence.

DEATH PENALTY-MOROCCO: Findings Provoke Calls for Guarantees

Two recently discovered mass graves and a still-secret list of five other places where victims of other alleged extra-judicial killings lie, has shocked rights activists here and raised questions about the genuineness of the process of national reconciliation which was to be crowned by the abolition of the death penalty.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: A Bid to Curb Contaminants

Citizen groups and public and private organizations in Honduras have agreed to search for ways to regulate the trans-border movement of toxic pesticides.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Families Paid to Take Care of Jungles

The Family Forestry Grant, an innovative program of the northwestern Brazilian state of Amazonas, will benefit 2,000 more families by December, paying 50 reais (29 dollars) per month to those who help preserve the forest.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Danger for Hake Fish

The Wildlife Foundation of Argentina warns that the common hake fish (Merluccius hubssi), the country's main fishing resource, is on the verge of collapse due to over-fishing.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Connecting a Brain to a Computer

Researchers in Mexico are working on an invention that connects the brain of a disabled person to a computer, which it can give orders just by thinking.

For a Tobacco-Free Youth

Most smokers begin the habit before reaching their 18th birthday, and a quarter of those began smoking before age 10, writes Mirta Roses, director of the Pan-American Health Organization, in this exclusive column for Tierramérica.

Titicaca Truths Revealed

A binational effort, with the backing of the UN Environment Program, is expected to shed light on the scope, origin and possible cures for the contamination of Lake Titicaca on the Peru-Bolivia border.