CLIMATE CHANGE: Youth Demand Action Now

Children and youth from 120 countries called on world leaders on Tuesday to pay heed to the looming climate crisis and act to prevent the natural disasters that are in store for the planet.

DR CONGO: Hard to Save All Women Suffering from Fistula

"Every quarter, more than a hundred women with fistulas - including many younger than 20 years old - are admitted for surgery in Maniema province," says nurse Julie Mawazo. "The number of affected women who don't have the means or awareness to come in must be far greater."

BELARUS: Trading Political Prisoners for Loans

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is releasing political prisoners in hope of getting loans from the IMF. After the unexpected pardons over recent weeks, only about a dozen political prisoners remain in Belarusian jails. Among them are Lukashenko’s rivals in the December 2010 presidential elections, serving up to six years of hard labour.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: State Forest Institution Weakened

The functions of the Honduran Forest Conservation Institute (ICF) are increasingly being taken over by the Armed Forces, which is weakening the capacity of this state institution responsible for protecting the country’s forests, say environmentalists.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Biogas Can Replace Fossil Fuels in Iron and Steel Mills

Biogas can be used in place of natural gas and coal in iron and steel mills, significantly reducing polluting emissions and wastes, thanks to a technique developed by professors at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Federal University of Ouro Preto.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Protest Against Coal Mine

Hundreds of local residents who live near the Fila Maestra coal mine, located 300 kilometers east of Caracas, staged roadblocks on the highway between the Venezuelan capital and tourism destinations in the northeastern Caribbean region as a protest against the mine’s impacts.

CANADA: Migrant Rights Tested by Most-Wanted List

Ottawa's clampdown on some of the country's worst criminal offenders by creating a public most-wanted list netted its most recent arrest only days ago, but the system has triggered a debate over the publishing of fugitives' names and the ethics and feasibility of changing Canadian immigration policy.

BAHRAIN: Elections Will Test Shia Resolve

Bahrain’s by-elections on Saturday are a test of will to see if majority Shias will turn out to vote in areas where they are dominant or heed a boycott call by the powerful opposition Al-Wefaq (National Islamic Society) party.

New lab to identify disease in Africa

New diseases and older ones building resistance to treatment are putting strain on African states. The launch of a new laboratory in Nairobi should allow a more rapid response to outbreaks in the area. Martha Nyambura compiled this report.

PAKISTAN: Fighting a Taliban-Polio Alliance

With Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province turning into the ‘polio capital of the world’, authorities are warning parents that heeding Taliban propaganda against oral polio vaccination (OPV) could earn them a prison sentence.

Women need more backing for business

A lack of funding is stopping South Africa businesswomen from reaching their rightfull place in the commercial sector. Zukiswa Zimela interviews the awardwinning CEO of Sikelela, Nondumiso Mzizana.

Tapping Boys in the Struggle for Girls’ Equal Rights

Brothers, husbands, boyfriends and fathers are key actors in the creation of a world where girls enjoy the same rights as boys, and will themselves benefit from greater gender equality, stresses a new report from Plan International released Thursday.

MIDEAST: As a Street Parliament Views Obama

"Welcome to our 'Palestine State Parliament'!" Nidal Bazbaz calls out to a friend who's passing by in between an assembly of older and younger Palestinians. They're seated on plastic chairs, lined up against opposite walls, in an alleyway of the walled Old City.

Not in the Name of the Quran

Dr. Mohammad Al-Habash, director of the Islamic Studies Centre in Damascus speaks to IPS on the Death Penalty. Read more: ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105191

SA needs to use water more than once

Experts say South Africa needs to focus on reusing its water or it will be forced to import the resource from beyond its borders. Zukiswa Zimela reports from Johannesburg.

“Identities Do Not Have Borders”

Sep. 11, 2001 deeply affected the relations between the United States and Europe on one hand and North Africa and the Middle East on the other.

Adding Up the Cost of Education in Sierra Leone

A formal strike of teachers has been averted and pupils in Sierra Leone returned to school on Tuesday, almost a week after the term was meant to officially start.

Ship of State Needs More Women at the Helm

Less than 10 percent of the world's political leaders are female, according to United Nations figures, but many of them were present Monday at U.N. headquarters in New York, where they reiterated calls for increased participation for women as critical to both economic development and democracy.

Palestine at the UN

 

ZAMBIA-ELECTIONS: Perpetrators of Violence Warned: ‘Expect No Mercy’

As Zambians go to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new government and president they do so amid fears of election violence.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: School Kids Raise Family Gardens

Students from around 100 schools in Tegucigalpa are raising crops in community gardens as part of the Friends of the Environment project, aimed at raising awareness about the role of children in protecting nature.