Caribbean Under Fire for Pro-Whaling Stance

The votes of six Caribbean countries could help decide whether or not the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will ease the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling and allow hunting in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary around Antarctica.

EU: To Kill, But Not Pollute

European Union subsidies earmarked for reducing air travel's contribution to climate change may help develop deadlier warplanes than those already found in the world's arsenals, Brussels officials have admitted.

RIGHTS-SINGAPORE: Hung Up on the Death Penalty

"The strict laws in Singapore have been made fun of, but crime, especially serious ones like murder and drug trafficking, are no laughing matter," said Ivan Tan, a 24-year-old undergraduate.

EU Considering Aid to Israeli Military

A leading Israeli supplier of warplanes used to kill and maim civilians in Gaza is in the running for two new scientific research grants from the European Union.

CHINA: Wives of Gays Struggle Alone

Wang Yibing had been married three years before she found out her husband was gay. He had known all along, yet, like many homosexual men in China, had chosen to enter into a traditional marriage to reduce the pressure he was feeling from his family and society.

EAST EUROPE: Healthcare Ails as Doctors, Nurses Emigrate

Senior medical figures in Eastern Europe have issued stark warnings that the region's healthcare sector is both unstable and unsustainable as health workers continue to leave in droves for jobs abroad.

INDIA: Muslim Women Explore Opportunity in Non-Traditional Fields

In a small, dingy and humid room in Metiabruz, a poor Muslim-dominated locality in Kolkata in eastern India, at least 20 Muslim women are talking with excitement about their aspirations and why they decided to study information technology (IT), a short-term course offered for a minimal fee by a non- government organisation operating in their locality.

Obama Vows Clean Energy Push, Green Groups Want Details

Despite the pleas of some conservative politicians that parallels should not be drawn between the oil spreading over the Gulf of Mexico and the need to transition out of a reliance on fossil fuels, U.S. President Barack Obama made it clear Tuesday night that he sees the race against the spreading oil as inherently connected to the race against a changing climate.

EU: With Refuge Like This…

Habtom, a 30-year-old Eritrean, has all the grim qualifications needed to be a refugee. He was arrested for protesting a dictatorship, tortured in custody, and fears his life would be at risk if he returned home. Another part of his story is also typical: he suffered lengthy detention in a European Union nominally committed to the universal defence of human rights.

Risking Life and Limb for Football in Somalia

"Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that," former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said. Uncomfortably close to a bald statement of fact for fans of the beautiful game in Somalia, who risk their lives to watch the World Cup unfolding in South Africa.

Civil Society Pushes for Action Ahead of MDG Review

As a major high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals approaches at U.N. headquarters in September, anti- poverty and human rights activists are stepping up efforts to have their voices heard.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Food Security Further Undermined by Climate Disasters

Adverse climatic conditions and weather-related disasters are damaging crops in El Salvador and neighbouring countries in Central America, aggravating the food vulnerability that the region already faces.

/CORRECTED REPEAT/THAILAND: A Year Later, Laid-off Women Still Pursuing Own Venture

They were about 1,000 when they began, but that number quickly dwindled to some 400. Now the women working at Try Arm are down to 30, yet those running the cooperative that makes women’s undergarments are determined to succeed.

U.S. High Court Derails Rendition Victim’s Lawsuit

The quest for justice for a Canadian who was mistakenly tagged as a terrorist by U.S. authorities and shipped off to a Syrian prison for close to a year of abuse came to an abrupt halt Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case.

Human Trafficking Still Widespread, U.S. Included

Ten years ago, the U.S. State Department issued its first annual review of governments' efforts to combat human trafficking. Monday, the report included the U.S.'s own struggles with the problem for the first time.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Forest Planting Begins

The Honduran authorities have launched a plan to recover 25,000 hectares of forest, with an emphasis on areas degraded by fires and illegal logging.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Patagonia Ecologists for Clean Energy

A dozen environmental organizations from the southern Argentina region of Patagonia signed a declaration on energy that opposes expansion of nuclear, hydroelectric and coal-based projects.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Sanitation Begins in the Kitchen

Recycling kitchen oils to produce biodiesel has the advantage of protecting the sewer system, as well as preventing soil and water contamination.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: United Against GM Maize

Farmers organizations and academics from three public universities in Mexico created an alliance to promote native maize and to reject the introduction of genetically modified varieties of this crop.

LABOUR-URUGUAY: Women Still at a Disadvantage

In the world of labour in Uruguay there is one indicator in which women are ahead: unemployment.

Iran “Determined to Shut Down all Dissent”

One year after massive protests erupted over Iran's disputed June 2009 presidential election - and just days before the U.N. Human Rights Council releases its report on Iran - the Islamic Republic is still conducting a widening human rights crackdown that has left hundreds of journalists, academics, lawyers, students, clerics, political and rights activists unjustly imprisoned.