Q&A: Child Soldiering Driven by “Unequal Power Equation”

The growing phenomenon of child soldiers - long prevalent in African countries such as Uganda, Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo - is also taking root in Asia, specifically in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines.

ECONOMY: U.S. Woes, Anti-Immigrant Moves Hit Latin America

Economic woes and hostility against immigrants in the United States are having a financial impact thousands of miles away, in the communities to which migrant workers send their hard-earned savings.

HEALTH-KENYA: Months After Dump Scare, Problems Persist

Every day, the Dandora dumpsite in the eastern part of Nairobi receives 2,000 tonnes of rubbish - about half of the waste generated daily by the capital's 4.5 million people. The 12-hectare site is a low mountain of smouldering trash. Vultures and marabou storks circle overhead in anticipation of a meal.

MIDEAST: Another Corruption Scandal Pursues Olmert

Badly tarnished by his management of the Lebanon war in the summer of 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had begun, in recent months, to resurrect his public image. But a new corruption scandal in which he is being questioned by police has again undermined his credibility, and raised questions about his ability to govern effectively.

CHINA: Temblor – Test of Openness

As the death toll from a devastating earthquake in south-western China continues to climb, the disaster is proving a credibility test for the government, whose mandate is derived from maintaining stability and social order and providing for the welfare of people.

PAKISTAN: Elected Gov&#39t Unable to Deal With Taliban Groups

Allah Hussain Mahsud has little hope in Pakistan's newly elected government's ability to negotiate with the ragtag Taliban militia and end militancy in the country's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

POLITICS: Gulf Seen Between Democracy in Theory and Practice

The basic democratic principle that "the will of the people should be the basis for the authority of government" is supported by overwhelming majorities throughout the world, according to a major new survey of more than 17,000 adults in 19 countries released here Monday.

POLITICS: Washington Rallies Behind Embattled Lebanese Gov’t

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged her administration's support for the Lebanese government Friday in the aftermath of Hezbollah's takeover of West Beirut, accusing the Iranian-backed group of "killing innocent civilians" in a bid to "protect their state-within-a-state".

POLITICS-US: The Mutual Investigation Society?

In one of the more ironic episodes of the George W. Bush administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation last week raided the office and home of the senior official in charge of protecting federal whistleblowers on suspicion of whistleblower retaliation within his own agency - while he was investigating possible criminal acts within the White House.

RIGHTS-EL SALVADOR: Exhuming Memory

One of the men comes across a plastic thread and stops digging. He starts to carefully remove the dirt until unearthing a piece of material that he hands to an elderly woman, who is silently observing the exhumation of the remains of victims of El Salvador’s 12-year civil war.

Q&A: Russian Children Learn Market Ways

After the political changes that brought in capitalism, education in Russia emerged from its old centralised style. The changes in education now have been no less radical than the political changes.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Crocs in Danger

Experts are monitoring the potential effects of climate change on the reproductive process of the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer Cuvier), concentrated in the Ciénaga de Zapata, a wetland in the south of the western province of Matanzas.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Ávila National Park Has New Friends

Biologists, anthropologists, environmentalists, palm gatherers and volunteers last week adopted the "Caracas Manifesto for the Warairarepano", the indigenous name for the Ávila National Park.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Funds to Preserve Environmental “Lungs”

Honduras is asking for 50 million dollars in international cooperation to preserve the Plátano River Biosphere Reserve and generate sustainable production projects for the local communities, according to official sources.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Native Plants to Clean Up Contaminated Soil

Brazil could recuperate and decontaminate soil poisoned with mercury, lead, nickel and other metals that are dangerous to human health, using native plants. The technique is known as "phytoextraction" and was developed at the University of Sao Paulo.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Citizens Halt Dams in Capital

The withdrawal of a project to build to hydroelectric dams on Chile's Maipo River, planned by the AES Gener company, is a "citizen triumph", according to the Maipo River Citizen Organization.

RIGHTS-JAPAN: Broadcasters Break Hanging Secrecy Taboos

The final seconds in the life of a Japanese death row inmate - the rasping muffled last words, the trapdoor springing open, the whip of a noose and a Buddhist gong signalling the end - has made radio history here, waking listeners up to what goes on in one of the most secretive execution systems in the world.

ENVIRONMENT-ASIA: Mekong Commission Fends Off Credibility Charges

The head of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has defended the regional body against charges that it faces a crisis of credibility arising from inability to guide hydropower development on the Mekong mainstream.

Q&A: "Literally, This Is Energy From Dirt"

You've heard of solar power, and also wind power. Now, you might start hearing about soil power as well.

BURMA: Junta Holds Referendum in Cyclone Aftermath

Shortly after sunrise on Saturday, a few men and women in this town on the banks of a river broke their morning routines to cast ballots - an act unusual in the military-ruled country.

EUROPE: Stealth Lobbyists Creep In

The often cosy relationship between corporate lobbyists and the Brussels bureaucracy was illustrated in the past few weeks as several members of the European Parliament (MEPs) prepared to visit Peru.