Uzbekistan Takes Hardline Approach on Containing Turkish Soft Power

Religion is a wedge that is driving Uzbekistan and Turkey apart.

TAJIKISTAN: Using Force to Maintain a Standing Army

Hunger, unheated barracks, beatings and regular outbreaks of disease: it could be life in a penal colony. But in this case, it describes the existence of a fresh military conscript in Tajikistan.

Tuareg Fighters Declare Mali Ceasefire

A spokesman for the main Tuareg rebel group, which recently seized the three largest areas in Mali's north, says it has declared a ceasefire, one day after the United Nations Security Council called for an end to violence in the West African nation.

Fresh Clashes in Syria Ahead of U.N. Mission

Fierce clashes have been reported between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters in Douma, near the capital Damascus, and in other parts of the country, amid doubts over the government's declared commitment to meeting an imminent ceasefire deadline.

Native Andean Women Weave a Future in Bolivia

Their skill and dexterity in weaving textiles, to be worn on festive occasions or displayed in windows for sale to tourists, have become the mainstay of indigenous women and their families in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

OP-ED: The United States as Number Two

Politicians in the United States must ritualistically assert that the U.S. is and always will be the world's leading economic, military and political power. This chant may help win elections in a country where respectable people deny global warming and evolution, but it has nothing to do with the real world.

Mexican Oases in Urgent Need of Protection

Mexico’s oases encompass significant environmental, cultural, social and economic wealth that must be properly assessed and preserved, warn experts.

For a Denuclearised Middle East

In recent months, the dispute over the nature and intent of the Iranian nuclear development programme has generated increasing tensions throughout the Middle East region. When I consider all that is at stake here, I am reminded of the words of the British historian Arnold Toynbee, who warned that the perils of the nuclear age constituted a "Gordian knot that has to be untied by patient fingers instead of being cut by the sword."

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Oil Spill Halts Fishing in Lake Maracaibo

Hundreds of fishermen in southern Lake Maracaibo, in western Venezuela, stopped casting their nets in the last week of March after observing massive numbers of dead fish and crabs along the lakeshore as a result of an oil spill in one of the lake’s tributaries, the Catatumbo River.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Destruction of Coral Reefs Denounced

The construction of docks for cruise ships off the Caribbean coast of Honduras poses a serious threat to coral reefs, warn environmentalists.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Solar-Powered Lamp Post Designed

A post that uses the sun’s rays to light LED lamps has been developed by a design student at the Federal University of Pernambuco, in northern Brazil.

New Generation Protests Crimes of Brazil’s Dictatorship

Outside the Military Club in Rio de Janeiro, where a commemoration of the anniversary of the 1964 coup d'état was being held, hundreds of demonstrators, many of them teenagers, shouted slogans and threw eggs at arriving members in protest.

U.S.: Forming Coalitions, Tea Party Continues to Brew

In the three years since its inception, the Tea Party has cemented its place in U.S. politics, routinely making waves in political races of national interest. At the same time, some local Tea Party groups are beginning to build post-partisan coalitions that are both surprising and counterintuitive.

Memories of Osh Violence Continue to Haunt Kyrgyz Children

The physical damage done to Osh, the city in southern Kyrgyzstan that was engulfed in interethnic violence almost two years ago, is steadily being repaired. The psychological scars, on the other hand, may take generations to heal.

Could Mining Threaten Mongolia’s Tourism Potential?

Twenty years ago, when a Dutch cyclist named Rik Idema first passed through Mongolia on a round-the-world biking trip, the country struck him as the most pristine place he'd ever seen.

Rights Group Criticises Afghan ‘Moral Crimes’

A new report from Human Rights Watch says hundreds of women and girls in Afghanistan have been imprisoned for 'moral crimes', including running away from home and sex outside marriage.

Drone Technology Takes Off

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) held its conference this month in Israel for the first time. Do future wars by land, sea and air belong to robots?

Palestinian Prisoners Fight Back With Hunger

As 29-year-old Palestinian prisoner Hana Shalabi enters day 43 of her open- ended hunger strike Thursday from a hospital bed in northern Israel, over two dozen other Palestinian prisoners have now followed suit, refusing food as a way to protest their arrest, detention and treatment in Israeli prisons.

Kazakhstan Divided Over Fugitive Banker

As the trial began this week of 37 alleged participants in a strike-related riot, the man who did the most to help the striking oil workers and to publicise their cause, Mukhtar Ablyazov, remained far beyond the Kazakhstan government’s grasp.

South Africa No Longer the Gateway to the Continent

South Africa’s membership of the bloc of leading emerging economies and its unique position in Africa heralded the country’s role as a gateway into the African continent. However, trade experts question whether it can live up to this position as investors begin to increasingly look towards other African markets.

Scientists Claim Their Place in Struggle for Food Security

Weather events such as extreme temperatures and drought caused global agricultural losses of 11.4 billion dollars in 2011, while 12 million hectares of farmland are lost to land degradation every year, and unsustainable agricultural practices contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases.