Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Take Over Forest Management

Two communities in the west-central Honduran region of Orica will be in charge of control and management of 496,000 hectares of forest as part of the benefits granted under the March 2008 Forestry Law.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Wanted: Plan to Fight BP Oil Spill

Mexican environmentalists are demanding that the Felipe Calderón administration do something to prevent the massive oil spill off the U.S. coast in the Gulf of Mexico from reaching this country's coast.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Referendum on Agro-Chemical Plant

Residents of Casilda, in the eastern Argentine province of Santa Fe, will gather at the voting booths in July to vote on whether an agro-chemical factory can be built in their town.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Self-Sufficient Streetlights

A self-sufficient streetlight created by engineer Fernando Ximenes, of the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará, could save up to 21,000 reais (11,280 dollars) per kilometer of public lighting.

ENVIRONMENT: Thailand Fights Addiction to Plastic Bags

Buy a hairpin and the sales clerk has a microscopic plastic bag for it. A soda purchase from a corner store may end up having the liquid poured into a plastic bag, and then topped off with a plastic straw. There is no plastic bag yet that could fit a car, but if there was one country that could come up with one, Thailand would probably be it.

This Light Is Always Red

A traffic light, yet no traffic at all. In fact, a traffic light...for pedestrians only. And even they move little. There are restrictions on walking out of this village (pop. 3,000).

PAKISTAN: Prevalence of Hepatitis Infection Still Alarming

Unable to afford treatment for his disease, Azizur Rehman, 29, has been suffering from hepatitis C for the past one year. "My elder sister died of the same killer ailment one year ago for lack of treatment," he laments.

LAOS: Water Headaches Follow Growth of Cities

At 63, Kingkham Duoangsavanh has it made. Now retired after decades of working as a nurse, she lives happily with her grown-up children in a well- appointed home with all the amenities. But up until recently, a constant shortage of water has marred her comfortable existence.

Gulf Spill Could Produce Wealth of Scientific Knowledge

Eventually, the oil spewing from the ruptured well of BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore rig will stop. And some time after that the bulk of the mess will be cleaned up. By then, though, the amount of damage done to the Gulf of Mexico may be catastrophic - but will we know just how catastrophic?

Shift in Illicit Drug Use Bodes Ill for Developing World

While drug use has largely stabilised in industrial countries, there are signs that it may be on the rise in developing countries, says a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the impact of a rise in drug abuse could cause a lot more damage in developing countries than it has for their richer counterparts.

BRAZIL: Murky Finances Haunt 2014 Football World Cup

Delays in construction to prepare for the 2014 football World Cup, to be hosted by Brazil, bring to mind the budget overruns and the secretive bidding process ahead of the Pan-American Games held in Rio de Janeiro in 2007.

FILM: A Congolese Woman’s Journey of Survival and Triumph

Suffering through the atrocities of war affects people in different ways. Some become crippled by anger, others by fear. Some become violent and want only revenge. And some, like Rose Mapendo, an inspiring survivor of the war and ethnic cleansing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, come out with a strong commitment to work for peace and reconciliation.

Canadian Rendition Probe Expands to U.S., Syria

The Canadian government has quietly been conducting an international criminal probe of the actions of Syrian and U.S. authorities in the case of Maher Arar, the Canadian who was arrested in 2002 by U.S. officials and then rendered to a Syrian jail where he was held incommunicado and tortured for 10 months before being released without charge, it was revealed Monday.

Peace Groups Slam High Court Ruling on “Terror Support”

In the wake of Monday's Supreme Court decision upholding a law making it a crime to provide any "material support" to an organisation designated as a "terrorist" by the U.S. government, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter charged that the law "actually threatens our work and the work of many other peacemaking organisations that must interact directly with groups that have engaged in violence".

FILM: Daring to Be Gay in Small Town USA

Washington, D.C. residents Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer weren't expecting to become filmmakers when they placed an announcement of their wedding in Wilson's hometown newspaper.

LABOUR-US: Domestic Workers Unite for Their Rights

Ephese speaks rapidly, her hands sweeping the air around her for emphasis. Peach-tipped fingernails come to rest momentarily on her peach-coloured skirt as she leans forward, eyes intent behind wire-rimmed glasses. Her French is direct; her words uncompromising.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Yellow Butterflies Return to Caracas

The yellow butterflies have returned, after a harsh dry season, as the rainy months begin in the valley where Caracas is located. These insects have been absent for nearly three decades as a result of urban sprawl.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Agatha Cost 72 Million Dollars

Tropical storm Agatha left a wake of destruction in her path across Honduras three weeks ago, causing 72 million dollars in losses in farming and road infrastructure, say officials.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Quake Alert Continues

Cuba has beefed up its system of prevention for dealing with a major earthquake disaster after the series of temblors that followed the tragic January quake in nearby Haiti.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Logging Town Halts Deforestation

The Green Municipality program in the district of Paragominas, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará, is held up as an example for having dramatically reduced deforestation, planting 50 million trees and standardizing rural properties -- which means better environmental regulation.

HEALTH-NEPAL: Multiple Problems Mar Fight Against HIV/AIDS

To women who have lost their husbands to the killer AIDS disease, learning a skill to earn a living could be a matter of life and death.