AGRICULTURE-BRAZIL: Green Revolution on the Savannah

Joao Venancio Soares is a living example of the prosperity of this town in west-central Brazil and the process that turned this country into an agricultural powerhouse over the last three decades.

MIDEAST-US: The Long Propaganda War

The George W. Bush administration is badly losing the so-called "war of ideas" in the Middle East, a group of foreign policy experts suggested here Wednesday, by failing to grasp that persuasion is just as important as the more heavy-handed tactics of its "war on terror".

BOLIVIA: Morales Gets Boost from UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights

President Evo Morales’ dream of creating a "plurinational" state in Bolivia, with territorial and administrative autonomy for indigenous peoples, has just received an international boost that is as welcome as it is unexpected, arising as it did from what seemed like a never-ending debate.

ENVIRONMENT-SRI LANKA: Tsunami Alert Systems Working – Too Well

A tsunami alert, last week, sent thousands of Sri Lankans living along the coasts of this island nation fleeing inland, but authorities were exultant that the early warning systems installed after the disastrous Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were working.

ENVIRONMENT-LATIN AMERICA: Coming Together to Rescue the Reserves

Many reserves in Latin America are walking a tightrope between degradation and isolation. To overcome these problems and appreciate the contribution of natural heritage areas to fighting poverty, Argentina will host an international congress attracting wide participation at the end of this month.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Remittances for Development

Civil society organisations suggest that a plan be designed so that the money sent home by Dominicans abroad, known as remittances, will be used to foment development instead of simply going towards daily expenses.

RIGHTS -ARGENTINA: Twice Disappeared, Still Missing

One year after the disappearance of a former victim of abduction and torture under Argentina’s 1976-1983 military dictatorship, local human rights groups complain that the investigation into his current disappearance "is more of a formality than an effective inquiry."

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: Women Hold Key to Accepting Indoor Toilets

Like other women in this largely tribal, central Indian state, Draupati Bhosale was averse to the idea of having toilets built within homes, but went along because the government was building them at heavily subsidised costs. ‘’I thought it would give me extra storage space,’’ she said.

LATIN AMERICA: Native Leaders Half-Heartedly Embrace ‘Historic’ Declaration

While governments and the representatives of international agencies celebrated the approval of the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples after more than two decades of negotiations, some native leaders and experts in Latin America were less enthusiastic.

PARAGUAY: Praying for Rain to Douse the Flames

Satellite images show Paraguay’s territory covered with small red dots. Fires have devastated 400,000 hectares, and over 15,000 people are homeless. The government is being accused of excessive delay in acting on the emergency.

US-IRAQ: Religious Violence Spiking, State Dept Says

Despite the addition of 30,000 U.S. troops to enhance security in the country, the freedom of average Iraqis to practice their religions deteriorated sharply during the past year, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. State Department.

COLOMBIA: Voting for Peace

More than 100 social groups in Colombia are calling for the inclusion of a ballot in favour of peace and an exchange of imprisoned guerrillas for rebel-held hostages, in the country’s Oct. 28 local and regional elections.

BALKANS: Before EU Entry, Serbia Faces Return of Citizens

Serbia is finalising the procedure for signing the strategically important Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union (EU) as soon as possible, but several obstacles are still in the way.

BOLIVIA: Women Councillors Fight Harassment

Women town councillors in Bolivia are pressing for a law to protect them from discrimination and political harassment on the part of their male colleagues, whom they accuse of intimidation and even death threats, especially in rural areas.

ENVIRONMENT: Warming May Trigger Agricultural Collapse

India could lose up to 40 percent of its agricultural output because of global warming even as it becomes the world's most populous country, warns a new study.

VENEZUELA: Adios Lenin…and Other ‘Exotic’ Names

While Stalin led hundreds of students on a march in solidarity with Nixon, authorities in Venezuela were drawing up a law to prevent parents from giving their children names that are invented, difficult to pronounce in Spanish, or exotic.

EL SALVADOR: Closing of Dumps Necessary But Not Sufficient

After several years’ delay, authorities in El Salvador are about to permanently close down the unofficial open-air rubbish dumps that have polluted the country for decades.

Q&A: &#39Migration of Religion Can Work Both Ways&#39

Migrants most often carry their religion with them, and this often leads to clashes with people in their host country, Peter Schatzer, Director Mediterranean Regional Office and Head of Mission in Italy for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), tells IPS correspondent Sabina Zaccaro. And that makes religion a particular issue for about 95 million migrants around the world.

VENEZUELA: Prison Homicides Still Routine

In Venezuela’s prisons, "every human right is violated every single day," said a Latin American ambassador in a private conversation a decade ago, rationalising the actions of some of his fellow-countrymen who had fled from justice in this country.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Legalise Therapeutic Abortion, Say NGOs

A proposal by a coalition of civil society groups to make therapeutic abortion legal in the Dominican Republic has prompted heavy pressure on Congress from the Catholic Church.

MIGRATION-CHILE: Back Home, Things Are Even Worse

"I can't go back to my own country because things are really bad there," says Gloria, a 25-year-old Peruvian woman who came to Chile less than a year ago, pregnant with her third child. But her life here is no better: she is an undocumented immigrant with no job, living in a borrowed room.