US: Calls Mount to Investigate Bush Era Officials for Torture

Senior officials under the former George W. Bush administration knowingly authorised the torture of terrorism suspects held under United States custody, a Human Right Watch (HRW) report released here Tuesday revealed.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Majority Still Lack Access to Safe Water

Only two in every five people in the Southern African Development Community has access to safe water for drinking and household use. Three quarters of those lacking access, live in rural areas and the majority of these are women and children.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Won’t Learn Israeli Lessons

Widespread strikes across Palestinian civil society could be in store for East Jerusalem at the start of the next school year, as the municipality moves ahead with its current plan to implement an Israeli curriculum in Palestinian schools.

RIGHTS-EL SALVADOR: Rumours of Amnesty Repeal Cause Panic

The mere rumour that El Salvador's Supreme Court (CSJ) might be thinking of repealing the amnesty law was enough to trigger an institutional crisis in this country, showing how fragile its recovery is from the wounds left by the 1980-1992 civil war.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Social Pact for Forest Conservation

The local inhabitants, authorities and environmental groups in the municipality of Ojojona, a 20-minute drive away from Tegucigalpa in the central Honduran department of Francisco Morazán, have agreed to a 40-year moratorium on the use of forests in the area, in order to protect them from the advance of illegal logging.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Purifying Water with Coconut Shells

A filter of coconut shells, bamboo and sand can be used to purify wastewater, according to researchers at the Campinas State University School of Civil Engineering. The method they have developed is a low-cost sanitation alternative ideal for small-scale operations, they say.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Urgent Measures Needed to Protect Jaguars

The Argentine Wildlife Foundation (FVSA) has issued a call for urgent measures to protect the jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest feline in the Western hemisphere.

SOUTH SUDAN: Witnessing the Birth of a New Country

Macklina Kenyi, 33, ran away from South Sudan to avoid being raped and abducted by the rebels during the war. She has since been studying in Kenya but on Jul. 9 she returned to Juba to witness the birth of her country.

SOUTH SUDAN: Women Hope Independence Means Less Maternal Deaths

Mother of eight, Jessicah Foni, 36, hopes that independence will mean a hospital will soon be built in her village. Foni, who has travelled from a remote village in South Sudan to the state’s capital to celebrate independence, lost two babies at birth because of the lack of medical facilities in her area.

SUDAN: Close to War As the South Prepares to Celebrate Independence

Sudan is closest to civil war since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

Research Grant Aims to Meet Critical Maize Shortfalls

As the world's largest international agricultural research coalition celebrated its 40th anniversary here this week, it also announced the launch of a programme to help provide enough maize to meet the annual food demands of over 600 million consumers by 2030.

Second-Hand Smoke Still a Major Killer

This year, tobacco use will kill nearly six million people. Of that number, 600,000 will die because of exposure to second- hand tobacco smoke.

ZAMBIA: Millions Meant for the Poor Stolen or Missing

Every year the Zambia government allocates billions of Kwacha for poverty reduction, but much of the money has been stolen or misappropriated.

SOUTH SUDAN: Equitable Oil Deal Needed For Peace

The sharing of oil between North and South Sudan needs to be urgently addressed otherwise conflict between the two regions will escalate and could possibly lead to civil war, according to government officials and rights organisations.

INDONESIA: Network Turns Teachers Into Environment Advocates

Educators in Indonesia are turning green with environmental advocacies they plan to integrate into the curriculum of state-run elementary and high schools through the "Green Teacher Network".

Gender activists say African organisations should focus more on gender when they gather for talks.

Gender activists say African organisations should focus more on gender when they gather for talks.

Dissident Resurgence Seen in Northern Ireland

It was a tragedy on Mother's Day for Nuala Kerr. Her son Ronan had been a police constable for three months when he was murdered by dissident republicans in April.

MIDEAST: Women on a Political Backslide

Following five months of bitter political wrangling, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati finally announced a new government in mid-June. But while many Lebanese feel relieved over the long overdue appointments, gender equality campaigners despair that there is not a single female among 30 ministers appointed to the new Cabinet. It has further ruffled activist feathers that this glaring omission has failed to elicit the condemnation they are demanding.

Syrian Opposition Remains Divided on Engagement

Despite countless attempts by the Bashar al-Assad regime to subdue the sporadic protests that have appeared across Syria since February, the demonstrations have consistently grown in both size and intensity.

Colombia Asks Caribbean to Look South

The 15-member Caribbean Community's annual summit, which concluded here Monday, reflected here broader trends of south- south cooperation and integration, both within and beyond the region itself.

PAKISTAN: War Breeds Child Workers

He should be inside a classroom but instead Jawad Ali spends his days selling sandals on the sidewalks of Khyber Bazaar in the city of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan. "I want to be in school, but it’s not possible now," said 11-year-old Ali.