Responsible Tourism at the “End of the World”

Tour guides were the first to notice that the birds on the Beagle Channel islands, home to many unique species, were frightened away by the arrival of noisy boats full of visitors.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Solar Power for Coffee Drying

Small-scale coffee growers in the northern Honduran region of Subirana are promoting the use of solar power to dry coffee beans in order to mitigate the pollution caused by other processes. Similar initiatives are also underway in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: First Wind Power Project to Debut in Indigenous Region

Twelve wind power turbines are really to be installed in Alta Guajira, a region in northwestern Venezuela bordering on Colombia, in what will be the first phase of a wind park that will supply electricity to some 10,000 families. Most of the project beneficiaries belong to the Wayúu indigenous ethnic group, whose members live on both sides of the border.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Cyanobacteria Could Be Used for Biofuel Production

The use of cyanobacteria as an alternative source of biofuel production is being studied by a team of researchers at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA) at the University of São Paulo.

NIGERIA: Police Crack Down on Fuel Protests

Police fired tear gas and beat protesters to force them out of a square they had occupied in an overnight sit-in in Nigeria's northern city of Kano as part of demonstrations over soaring fuel prices, an organiser said.

Facing Budget Cuts, U.N. Readies for Austerity in 2012-13

Weighed down by a 260-million-dollar cut in its budget for 2012-2013, the United Nations is bracing itself for a major austerity drive, including possible layoffs, salary freezes, reduction in official travel and drastic cuts in printed documents.

MAURITIUS: Women Find a Political Voice, Locally

Under a new gender quota law introduced in Mauritius, at least one-third of the candidates in local elections must be women. But the adoption of a national quota is not yet on the horizon, even though just 18 percent of legislators are women and there are only two female cabinet ministers.

CUBA: Pope to Visit a Country in Flux

On his upcoming visit to Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI will find a country immersed in dramatic changes, as it "modernises" its socialist system and continues to open up to religion, marking a difference from the society found by John Paul II when he visited almost 14 years ago.

Nigeria on Edge Trying to Avert North-South Clashes

Africa’s top oil producer is on edge, poised to deter possible sectarian clashes between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south, while Christians are becoming more vulnerable to attacks from Islamist militants.

KENYA: Inflation Deflates New Year Joy

Kenyans entered the New Year with less pomp and colour that has characterised previous new year celebrations. Due to the harsh economic situation and the fact that it is time for most students to go back to school, many families shied away from entertainment places to save that elusive shilling for their school-going children.

SUDAN: No Clear Studies on Impacts of Merowe Dam

The multi-billion dollar Merowe Dam on the Nile River more than doubled Sudan's electricity supply, but its environmental impacts are still unknown to the public, and communities whose villages were flooded have not yet received compensation.

KAZAKHSTAN: Give Them Bread, But Not So Much

Kazakhstan, intent on diversifying its economy away from oil and mining, has extended its cereal acreage by a third in the past ten years, doubled the value of its grain harvest. It has eradicated rural poverty in the north, the country's breadbasket.

INDIA: Fighting for a Less Corrupt New Year

After failing to muster support in parliament for the passage of a watered- down anti-corruption bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must find ways to satisfy opposition parties, allies and civil society that his United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is serious about curbing graft in the New Year.

NEPAL: Peace Brings More Violence Against Women

Four months after her murder, you can see Rosy Maharjan flashing the two- finger victory sign - from a Facebook page. With police arresting the 21-year- old’s boyfriend and the people he hired to kill her due to jealousy, agitated civil society members have opened accounts on social networking sites, demanding justice for the slain college student.

ISRAEL: Triggering Tourism

Commandos embedded in a pristine touristic resort bordering Egypt and Jordan sounds unreal? Though theirs are borders of peace, it appears Israel’s best defence against would-be Islamist militants isn’t just a good fence. Crack fighters might help make better neighbours. And, better tourism.

CUBA: Men for Non-Violence

Promoting the first Men for Non-Violence platform is one of the challenges undertaken by a group of social actors who devoted November and December 2011 to the most intensive Cuban campaign ever against gender-based violence.

Despite Initial Euphoria, Palestine Remains Grounded at U.N.

When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the 193- member General Assembly in September, the rapturous welcome he received implicitly indicated the vibrant support for U.N. recognition of Palestine - if not in the Security Council, at least in the organisation's highest policy making body.

Defence Act Affirms Indefinite Detention of U.S. Citizens

Civil liberties groups and many citizen activists are outraged over language in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA) that appears to lay the legal groundwork for indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without trial.

HONDURAS: The Society of Fear

As the new year rolls in, Honduras is feeling more than ever the challenges posed by soaring rates of violent crime, police corruption, the penetration of the police by organised crime, and a wave of selective killings of journalists and experts in the fight against drugs.

The Oil That Comes in from the Cold

Thanks to soaring oil prices and new technology, oil producers in the hot sands of Arabia, the torrid Niger delta or the humid plains of the Orinoco are facing new competition from rivals in the frozen North.

AFGHANISTAN: Killing Heroin With Saffron

Weaning Afghanistan’s poppy farmers away from growing the raw material for the bulk of the world’s illicit heroin has never been easy, but Kashmir’s saffron cultivators may have the answer.