Ecobreves – CHILE: Environmentalists on War Footing

More than 70 national and foreign organizations together issued a public statement in opposition to the proliferation of open-pit coal mining projects in Chile, citing their disastrous environmental consequences.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Coral Reefs Have Legal Protection

The Honduran Parliament approved a special law to preserve coral reefs in the Islands of Bahía, in the Caribbean, said legislator Germán Leitzelar, of the Innovation and Social Democratic Unity Party.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: A Bicycle in Exchange for Zero Garbage

The government of the northern Venezuelan state of Miranda, which covers 8,000 square kilometers and includes the eastern one-third of Caracas, launched a "Zero Garbage" program at the Monagas school to convince students and teachers alike to recycle plastic, paper and glass.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Lack of Seeds for Reforestation

The scarcity of seeds and seedlings of native species is blocking Brazil's plan to plant 20 billion trees over the next five years.

PAKISTAN: Afghans Find Their Welcome Running Out

The number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who will return to their homeland this year is expected to be double the 2009 figure, but it’s not only a longing for their native soil that is fuelling the Afghans’ departure.

Death by Remote: But Is It Legal?

As the Barack Obama administration continues to roll out justifications for its policy of targeting U.S. citizens and others thought to be attacking U.S. troops, legal and national security experts are pondering a central question: What if there's a mistake and the wrong person gets killed?

Gender Meet Ends on High Note with New “U.N. Women”

Nearly 50 government delegations spent the past week at U.N. headquarters in New York hashing over the progress that has been made and challenges that remain in pursuing gender parity worldwide, one of the crucial elements of the Millennium Development Goals.

UGANDA: Getting the Common Market to Benefit the Common Woman

July 1 marked the moment when the East African Community common market protocol kicked into operation. But Ugandan women face several obstacles before they will benefit from the boost that the protocol gives to the free movement of goods, labour and capital.

URUGUAY: Women Join Forces in the Parliamentary Trenches

Women lawmakers in Uruguay have joined forces across party lines, in spite of criticism from colleagues in their own parties, and have built majorities to approve laws in favour of gender equality and other rights that have been denied for years.

Britain to Probe Collaboration with CIA Renditions

Breaking from President Barack Obama's insistence on "moving forward, not backward" in investigating U.S. detainee torture, the British government appears poised to investigate its own complicity with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in "rendering" British citizens and residents and subjecting them to "enhanced interrogation" techniques.

FILM: One West Bank Town’s “Unarmed Courage”

Ayed Morrar is just one man. A quiet man, of small stature, whose kind but intense eyes look out from behind wire-rimmed glasses. But he is a man who has become the face of the Palestinian non-violent resistance movement.

Jobs Pact Spotlights Women’s Role in Economic Recovery

One year after the creation of the Global Jobs Pact, members of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are considering the measure's impact - and what comes next.

Liberia Gets Debt Relief, DR Congo on Hold

Liberian efforts to enact economic and governance reforms came to a head Tuesday as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund announced they were supporting 4.6 billion dollars of debt relief for the West African country.

Caribbean Summit Seeks United Front to Economic Crisis

Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders are gathering here next week for their annual summit still struggling to recover from the two-year global economic and financial crisis that has taken a major toll on their individual economies.

MIDEAST: When the Police Have an Illegal Headquarters

Talks aimed at reaching an intelligence-sharing agreement between the European Union and Israel have skirted around the location of Israel's national police headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem.

Talks Hit a Rock Called East Jerusalem

The sound of stun grenades and gunfire resounded through this embattled Palestinian neighbourhood. Amidst increased tension over plans to tighten Israel's grip over the occupied eastern part of the city, Israeli border police and Palestinian youths confronted each other all through Sunday night. Dozens of Palestinians were wounded, mostly from tear gas inhalation; six policemen were hurt by stones.

SRI LANKA: A Former Woman Combatant Struggles to Pick Up the Pieces

As a young woman, Ranjani (not her real name), a 32-year-old Tamil from Sri Lanka's eastern Batticaloa district, only had bright hopes for tomorrow.

UGANDA: Too Young to Know, Yet Too Young to Die

Thirteen-year-old Jacinta Okello and her fellow primary school classmates call it "doing bad manners". But when you ask her what she knows about sex, she breaks into a shy smile, looks to her feet and giggles.

URUGUAY: Incubating Businesses and ICT Job Prospects

"Without this opportunity, I might never have been able to get a higher education," says Paolo Carabajal, one of the beneficiaries of a digital development plan in this city in northwestern Uruguay.

As Canada’s Democracy Trembles, a New Global Architecture Emerges

Nearly 600 people were arrested as global leaders and elites met behind a fortified perimetre during the G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto this weekend.

WORLD: “Anti-Counterfeit Deal Threatens Accessibility of Drugs”

A proposed anti-counterfeit trade deal between 10 countries and the European Union (EU) could create "a new set of barriers to the export of generic medicines to low income countries".