INDIA: Cotton Farmers Reap Hope from New Techniques

Meruga Padma, 33, and her husband Veeramallu, 40, can still remember when cotton farmers here in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh were in such dire straits that many were soon thrown into depression. Some of the farmers, in fact, were eventually driven to taking their own lives.

UNAIDS says Africa should produce its own generic ARVs

UNAIDS says Africa should produce its own generic ARVs  

Death of Smallpox Holds Clues to Stop Viral Killers

The stories of Dr. Ciro de Quadros' work in eradicating smallpox read like the stuff of global health legend.

Caribbean Civil Society Unites to Tap EU Development Funds

Roosevelt King, the secretary general of the Barbados Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (BANCO), believes that Caribbean governments have dropped the ball when it comes to their commitment to support the initiatives of civil society.

HEALTH: S. Africa Becomes a Victim of its ARV Treatment Success

Almost a million South Africans are already on lifelong antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and this number is supposed to triple in the next decade if the South African government keeps to its implementation plan.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Fund for Climate Disasters in the Capital

The Honduran Congress approved 4.5 million dollars in a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank for recovery from the damage caused by heavy rains in Tegucigalpa.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Massive Fish Die-Off

More than four tons of dead fish - including the sábalo (Prochilodus lineatus), tararira (Hoplias malabaricus), pejerrey (Odontesthes bonariensis) and catfish - appeared last week in the reservoir of the Hondo River in northern Argentina, apparently killed by industrial pollution.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: City Beaches Could Disappear

Rising sea levels and the lack of sedimentation are leading to the disappearance of many of Brazil's beaches, according to geographer Dieter Muehe, who authored a study of the problem.

PAKISTAN: Schools Cross Extremism Out Of Textbooks

Turn schools into hate-free zones, and achieving peace in violence-wracked Pakistan may not be far behind.

HEALTH-UGANDA: Breastfeeding Dilemma for HIV-positive Mothers

The new World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation that HIV-positive mothers on antiretroviral therapy (ARVs) can exclusively breastfeed their babies for up to twelve months without infecting them has created confusion among HIV-positive mothers in Uganda as information about the new guidelines struggles to reach them.

CULTURE-SINGAPORE: Ghost Festival Far From Dying

Like a seasoned star, Ting Ting pranced around on the stage in an energetic dance routine as she delivered a pitch-perfect rendition of a high-tempo Chinese ballad. Enthralled, the 500- strong crowd surged forward, eager to catch a closer look at the svelte 25-year-old artiste, dressed in a bright pink top – and a skirt that ends too many inches above her knees.

ISRAEL-LEBANON: U.N. Treads Cautiously in Probe of Border Firefight

Three weeks after a fatal exchange of fire between Israel and Lebanon along the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has yet to make recommendations on easing tension at the border.

US: Govt Claims Slammed as “Final Kill” Looms for Gulf Oil Leak

Between April and August this year, 4.9 million barrels of oil were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. How much remains today is not yet clear and is a hot topic of debate among academic and government scientists.

Water Users Association solves bill collection problems, but now where’s the water? Lameck Masina investigates

Water Users Association solves bill collection problems, but now where's the water? Lameck Masina investigates.

New Book Assembles Eyewitness Accounts from Mavi Marmara

A growing number of activists is contradicting the claims of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) regarding the Gaza Freedom Flotilla debacle in May, including a large faction of both Israeli and U.S. Jews.

Burkinabe Women’s Economic Empowerment Key to Girls’ Education

An initiative to keep girls in school by supporting income-generating activities for their mothers is bearing fruit in Burkina Faso, where poverty and cultural values still deprive many girls of an education.

US: Deported for Running a Red Light

A government programme designed to prosecute serious criminals is instead deporting people who received traffic tickets and committed other minor offences, according to immigration rights advocacy groups.

Need and Risks Never Higher for Humanitarian Work

The United Nations and other relief organisations will observe World Humanitarian Day Thursday amid steadily increasing attacks on aid workers.

MIDEAST: Uprooted Villagers Hold Fast During Ramadan

On the eve of the start of Ramadan last week, Israeli police demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev desert. It was the third time within two weeks that the village had been razed.

MIDEAST: Towards ‘Deja vu All Over Again’

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." Sometimes, the nonsensical quote of the legendary New York Yankees baseball catcher Yogi Berra has a real message. It can pointedly be applied to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on peace with the Palestinians.

Funding Lags to Aid Pakistan’s Millions of Displaced

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon returned from Pakistan Monday calling the floods there the worst disaster he has ever witnessed and urging the world community to speed up assistance to the Pakistani people.