EUROPE: GM Debate Gets a Polish Twist

In the summer presidential campaign, fake posters of two leading candidates showed up on the streets of Polish cities. "United we stand, divided we fall", the slogan of now president Bronislaw Komorowski, became "United we stand, modified we fall". Equally bombastic "Poland is most important" by opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski turned into "Poland without GMO is most important".

U.S., Last Holdout on Native Rights Declaration, Reverses Stand

U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday he was reversing the U.S.'s position and endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

HEALTH: Scientists Focus on Male Mosquitoes in Bid to Control Malaria

After successfully suppressing scourges of fruit, tsetse and screwworm flies in the Americas, researchers are exploring whether the same sterilised insect technique can be used to control malaria, which kills some one million people every year, many of them in Africa.

MIDEAST: Where to Park a Hospital

At the Rambam medical centre here in Israel’s third largest city just 30 odd kilometres from Lebanon, they are working around the clock, racing against time.

Public Money May Fund European Arms

Arms traders are seeking to convince the European Union that publicly-funded scientific research grants should help develop weapons for future wars.

U.S. Moves Closer to Development Policy Reform

The U.S. took a major step toward overhauling the way it engages in diplomacy and development work Wednesday.

U.S.: Pakistani Ambassador Unknowingly Hosted Neocon Fundraiser

Amid putting on a two-and-a-half day conference focused on escalating measures against Iran, a neoconservative think-tank held a fundraiser at the residence of Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., according to an IPS investigation.

Death Penalty Alive and Well in the Gambia

The appeal by the Gambia's former Chief of Defence against his death sentence for treason is being heard during December. An amendment to the country's drugs and human trafficking laws could mean many more capital cases come before the courts.

NGOs Want Reforms Tied to New World Bank Funding

With the World Bank expected to announce a new funding package for the world's poorest countries Wednesday, NGOs are making a last-minute appeal to donor countries to use their leverage to compel reforms at the institution.

TRADE: Time for Fairer Trade, Indonesia Tells EU

Business people and officials are demanding more fair trade from the European Union, arguing that its policies, including those that come in the guise of climate change concerns, make it difficult for the country’s products to compete in EU market.

Drought Hits Middle East Farmers, Again

Anxious farmers gather in their field on a warm, clear day in Syria’s arid northern region of Al-Raqqa, near the banks of the Euphrates River. The ground in this corner of the ‘fertile crescent’ is barren, save for a small herd of sheep on the ten-hectare farm.

HIVSA, a South African NGO helping people with Aids in Soweto, says more counselling is needed for people infected with HIV

HIVSA, a South African NGO helping people with Aids in Soweto, says more counselling is needed for people infected with HIV

African ministers have proposed that a committee be set up to oversee an adaptation fund after many countries reported no benefits from the Copenhagen pledges.

African ministers have proposed that a committee be set up to oversee an adaptation fund after many countries reported no benefits from the Copenhagen pledges.

Children on the sidelines of the Climate Change are thinking about their future. Nastasya Tay reports from Cancun.

Children on the sidelines of the Climate Change are thinking about their future. Nastasya Tay reports from Cancun.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Natural Area Once Again Protected

The Senate in the northern Argentine province of Salta has approved a law to create a national reserve in a provincial protected area -- whose protection was removed in 2004.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Biological Center to Reduce Agro-Toxins

The Honduran Agricultural Research Foundation will establish a center for the production of biological agents to protect crops, as a way to replace the use of agro-chemicals.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Forests Improve Coffee Crops

Cultivating coffee near intact forests increases yields by up to 20 percent, according to a study by the Brazilian agricultural research agency EMBRAPA, whose aim was to evaluate the capital accumulated in services provided by native vegetation.

COP16: Africans Not Paying Attention

Africa is expected to bear the brunt of global warming, but news from the climate conference in Cancún, Mexico, is not making headlines on the continent.

African ministers tasked with the environment are to meet delegates from Japan to draw the country back to the Kyoto protocol discussions.

African ministers tasked with the environment are to meet delegates from Japan to draw the country back to the Kyoto protocol discussions. Last week Japan said it would not sign a second commitment to the Kyoto deal on climate change.

SYRIA: Getting Away Legally With Assaulting Women

Iman Wannouss was just 21 years old when she was married off to a close relative. For the next two decades she gave up her work and raised three children in a loveless and violent marriage.

Educators say Africa’s children are dropping out of school because they are not being taught in their mother tongues.

Educators say Africa’s children are dropping out of school because they are not being taught in their mother tongues.