SOUTH SUDAN: Inter-Ethnic Clashes Become More Frequent and Deadly

Thousands of women and children are being abducted and over 1,000 people have died this year as communities in oil-rich South Sudan war over a precious commodity – cattle.

PORTUGAL: Young Professionals Flee Crisis – to Former Colonies

Thousands of young people from Portugal are joining an emigration flow that never trickled to a stop but is turning into an exodus now due to the severe economic crisis plaguing this southern European country. And the main destinations of those looking for a better future abroad are former colonies, especially Brazil.

HAITI: Martelly Still Unable to Appoint New PM

Almost three months since he was sworn in as the country’s president, Michel J. Martelly has already attempted to appoint two prime ministers to guide his government. Bernard Gousse, a minister of justice under the Gérard Latortue dictatorship (2004-2006) and businessman Daniel Rouzier, were both rejected by Haitian lawmakers.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Public Consultation on Hotel Project Demanded

The Mexican Environmental Law Center (CEMDA) and Los Cabos Coastkeeper have called on the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources to hold a public consultation on the construction of a tourism complex in the northwestern state of Baja California Sur.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Film Fest Aims to Raise Environmental Awareness

A short film competition will kick off the second Buenos Aires Green Film Fest, a showcase for international cinema on environmental themes, beginning this Aug. 25.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Wastewater Treatment Residue Used in Concrete

A technique that uses the residue left over from wastewater treatment in the production of concrete has been developed by the São Carlos School of Engineering at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Strike to Seek Historic Agreement

Nestled between rolling hills just outside of Jerusalem, a dozen Palestinian workers have escaped the scorching summer heat in the shade of a makeshift tent, where they anxiously wait to sign what would be the first collective bargaining agreement between Palestinian workers and an Israeli employer.

Evidence Mounts of War Crimes Unfolding in Sudan

Witnesses reported that attacks continue on civilian populations in Sudan, even as the United Nations calls for a thorough investigation into violations of international law carried out in South Kordofan state in June.

MALAWI: Giving Up on Tobacco

Malawi is reducing the production of tobacco following huge losses by smallholder tobacco farmers and commercial estates trading the crop on the country’s only official tobacco markets, the auction floors.

LEBANON: Women Prisoners Play the Liberation Role

To a soundtrack of almost constant pounding of fists against iron doors, drama therapist Zeina Daccache is trying to capture the attention of a group of women prisoners. Many of the 45 women are suffering from drug withdrawal and alternately appear agitated, upset, energised and detached. Others chat loudly, take long puffs off cigarettes, or pace the room.

Int’l Pressure Mounts as Syrian Crackdown Grows More Violent

Though many expected the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to bring a significant boost to the beleaguered Syrian opposition movement, the past two weeks have instead brought the bloodiest government offensives to date.

MOZAMBIQUE: Climate Change Threatens Smallholder Farmers

Long after the wintry sun set over her patch of crops outside the Mozambican capital Angelina Jossefa keeps pulling out weeds. Much of her lettuce, carrots and beetroot died during a cruel winter, which means she has to work harder to feed her three children.

Third SADC gender barometer shows progress

Gender Links are taking their findings on the SADC gender protocol to the SADC meeting in Luanda, Angola. Click here to listen to an IPS interview with Colleen Lowe Morna.

Malawians worry about lack of local elections

NGOs worry that Malawi's failure to have local government elections in April 2011 could see fewer women stand in future elections. IPS interviews Emma Kaliya of the Gender Coordinating Network.

NAMIBIA: No Option but to Adapt to a Changing Climate

Extreme weather conditions predicted because of climate change in Namibia are likely to have a tremendous effect on the 70 percent of the country’s people who live in rural areas and depend heavily on agriculture.

ISRAEL: Rights Recede Under Opium of Occupation

The nationwide movement for social justice that sent tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets on the weekend was seemingly oblivious to the fact that, concurrently, the Palestinians were officially announcing their bid for U.N.- endorsed recognition of statehood.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Zeolites Increase Agricultural Yields

The use of natural zeolites in agriculture increases crop yields while minimizing environmental impacts, new Cuban research has found.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Firefighters Plant Trees in the Capital

A contingent of 25 members of the Tegucigalpa Fire Department has joined the government initiative to plant 200,000 trees in the Honduran capital and three neighboring municipalities over the next six months.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Used Batteries Collected on Margarita Island

An environmental group from Margarita Island, located in the Caribbean Sea off the northeast coast of Venezuela, has launched a campaign to collect used batteries from the island’s 400,000 inhabitants and the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit every year.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Despite Forest Management, Logging Leads to Financial Losses

Even when sustainable management regulations and logging cycles established by the law are strictly followed, logging causes irreversible losses in the productive value of Amazon forests, according to a study by the Luiz de Queiroz Higher School of Agriculture at the University of São Paulo.

SA aims at more than MDGs: Minister

Governments that agreed to the Millennium Development Goals have four years before the 2015 deadline. Gender Links, a women's rights NGO, has released a barometer to measure some of the successes in the SADC region. Zukiswa Zimela asked South African minister of Home affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, if women are making a difference.