ARGENTINA-UK: Oil Plans Spark Tension Over Malvinas/Falklands

The imminent arrival of a British oil exploration rig in the South Atlantic ocean has recharged tensions between Argentina and Britain over the Malvinas/Falkland Islands.

DEVELOPMENT: Free Hungry Mouths of Red Tape

Developing countries must tone down the booming voice bureaucrats have in policies and target corruption if commitments to defeat hunger are to be turned into action, leaders and experts at a United Nations meeting said Wednesday.

HAITI: Food Crisis Looms

Haiti's misery after last month's earthquake will be compounded by a food catastrophe if the international community continues to ignore the country's agricultural needs, the United Nations has warned.

DEVELOPMENT: EU Countries Set to Break Promises

Promises made by the European Union (EU) on increasing aid to poor countries will be broken this year, according to new data.

ECONOMY-EUROPE: Fear of Mediterranean Contagion Grows

The deep economic, fiscal, and trade crises of several Mediterranean countries in the euro zone that is threatening monetary stability in Europe with the possibility of contagion spreading to developing countries, say studies.

EUROPE: Fight Female Mutilation Harder Activists Urge EU

With hundreds of thousands of girls and women believed to be at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Europe, rights groups have mounted a campaign to get EU leaders to stop what they see as a barbaric and dangerous procedure.

RELIGION-TURKEY: Alevi Future Bleak Despite Equality Moves

A political initiative to eliminate discrimination against the Alevi, Turkey’s main religious minority, risks being stymied by the Diyanet, the country’s powerful religious body that does not recognise anything but Sunni Islam.

HAITI: U.N. Supports Move to Protect Heritage

The United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, and the government of Haiti have joined forces to try to safeguard and protect the Caribbean nation’s artistic heritage in the wake of the Jan. 12 earthquake which destroyed not only countless lives but also many national art treasures.

/CORRECTED REPEAT*/ICELAND: Questions Hang Over EU Membership

Views within Iceland towards membership of the European Union (EU) are mixed. Though Iceland has officially decided to apply for EU membership this does not mean that it will join, even if invited to do so.

DEVELOPMENT: Africa Centre Dismissals Challenged

A European Union (EU) aid programme tasked with nurturing the private sector in Africa has become the focus of high-level diplomatic discussions after almost half of its staff were abruptly dismissed.

RIGHTS: The Seven Paragraphs that Shook US-UK Ties

A British court has ordered the publication of previously secret information that appears to reveal the UK government's complicity with the U.S. in the torture of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who was imprisoned by the U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

ENERGY: Nuclear Does Not Make Economic Sense Say Studies

The enormous technical and financial risks involved in the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants make them prohibitive for private investors, rebutting the thesis of a renaissance in nuclear energy, say several independent European studies.

BALKANS: Arrest of Wahhabis Highlights Extremist Threat

The arrest of seven Wahhabis, following a police crackdown on the remote Bosnian village of Gornja Maoca, has raised concerns over the continued presence of Islamist fundamentalists who first arrived in the country during the bloody 1992-1995 Balkans war.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Amidst Global Warming Coldest Winter in 50 Years

It was probably an irony that Europe's coldest winter in 50 years coincided with the U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen last December, which failed to deliver a treaty to reduce global warming emissions.

RIGHTS: Chinese Dissident Wins More Backing for Nobel

Politicians in the Czech and Slovak republics have won wide support for a public campaign backing a Chinese dissident for the Nobel Peace Prize.

TRADE: EU Pushes to Prise Open India

Secret discussions aimed at pressuring India into dropping all measures that shield its industry from foreign competition have been held between European Union officials and some of the world's top corporations.

RELIGION: Fighting Hunger – A Matter of Faith

The world's major religions might disagree on theology and matters like the foods we ought to eat and the days we should rest on, but when it comes to fighting hunger, they see eye to eye.

GREECE: New Migrant Law Tough But Respects Rights

The newly elected Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) government's plans to move legislation, that will greatly affect migrants and refugees, have been both welcomed and criticised by rights organisations and activists.

UKRAINE: Back Full Circle

The 2004 'Orange revolution' saw a pro-Western leadership emerge victorious in a Presidential vote that opposed them to a pro-Russian candidate accused of vote rigging. After six years of political and economic chaos, the once villain Viktor Yanukovich has reclaimed the President's post.

Q&A: ”There’s a Limit to Fish Harvesting”

The perilous state of the world's fish stocks has received less media attention than the more visible, palpable environmental problems like air pollution. Isabella Lövin is seeking to redress that balance. Her 2007 book ‘Tyst hav' (Silent Seas) hit the best-seller list in her native Sweden, garnering her three awards, including the title of 'Journalist of the Year'.

EUROPE: Poland’s Pension Cuts – Cue for Former Eastern Bloc

Poland’s pension cuts on tens of thousands of former communist functionaries and secret police officers are adding fillip to campaigns in other East European states for similar legislation.