ECONOMY-IRAN: Gas Guzzlers Get Their Way

Iran is among the world's largest crude oil exporters, but domestic political compulsions have compelled the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to squander oil revenues and pamper motorists with heavily subsidised, imported gasoline.

ENERGY-BRAZIL: Biodiesel Lubricates Social Inclusion

The physic nut tree, which has a lifespan of over 40 years, is resistant to drought and benefits small farmers, is a potential source of biodiesel in Brazil, as is the babassu, a coconut palm from the eastern Amazonian region.

ECONOMY-US: Promise of Biofuels Boom Is Overrated, Report Says

Despite an explosion of private investment in the U.S. liquid biofuels industry, taxpayers are contributing around seven billion dollars a year in subsidies which could be better used for other energy- and environment-saving technologies, according to a major new report released here Wednesday.

ENERGY-ARGENTINA: Efficiency Is the Wave of the Future

How can energy demand be curbed and global temperatures stabilised without sacrificing comfort and productivity? An Argentine non-governmental organisation is trying to come up with an answer, a tailor-made formula for the country to reduce energy consumption by up to 30 percent by 2020.

ENVIRONMENT: France Takes a Dubiously Clean Road

France got into first gear for a clean drive this month with the opening of a bio fuel pump. But barely after the start, environmentalists are saying that the ecological balance sheet from using this green fuel may still be negative.

SOUTH AMERICA: Debate on Infrastructure Mega-Projects Finally Begins

Rather late and somewhat quietly, civil society organisations have begun to discuss the impact of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA), launched by the region's governments in 2000, which is planning 335 major projects.

ENERGY-COLOMBIA: Harvesting Sunshine for Biofuels

The sun generates energy; sugar cane, cassava, African oil palm, beets and potatoes store it; and Colombians are determined to transform the energy concentrated in these crops into biofuels.

MALAYSIA: Surplus Electricity – But Bigger Dams Planned

Even before the problem-ridden Bakun Dam in eastern Sarawak can be completed, officials are talking of plans to build two more hydroelectric dams in the state, one of which could make Bakun look puny by comparison.

ENVIRONMENT-COLOMBIA: Controversy over Forestry Law Simmers On

The implementation of Colombia's General Forestry Law, enacted by the government in April, has reopened the debate on this legislation as a result of the appearance on a government Internet site of a regulation process drawn up by an international consultancy in the industry.

ENERGY-PORTUGAL: Riding the Wave of the Future

Atlantic Ocean waves are to light up 1,500 homes in the north of Portugal. The first 2.25 megawatts of electricity produced from wave power will be brought ashore at Aguçadoura, on the northern coast, as of October.

ENVIRONMENT: Forests Worth Far More Alive Than Dead

Boreal forests provide 250 billion dollars a year in ecosystem services like reducing atmospheric carbon and water filtration, but which have gone unacknowledged by governments and industry, experts say.

ENERGY-LATIN AMERICA: Biofuel Boom Sparks Environmental Fears

The use of biofuels is on the rise in Latin America and is feeding dreams of abundance in countries like Argentina and Colombia. But the experience of Brazil, a pioneer in this alternative energy, raises questions about their potential negative environmental consequences.

ENERGY-BRAZIL: Growth Without Guzzling

The rise in energy consumption in Brazil has always outstripped gross domestic product growth, but this can and should be reversed in favour of sustainable development, according to experts, who say the benefits, including financial gains, would be enormous.

POLITICS-BURUNDI: Resuming Trade With Neighbours

The government of president Pierre Buyoya has embarked on a vigorous campaign to win over its neighbours, barely a month after they temporarily agreed to lift economic sanctions imposed on Burundi more than two years ago.

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: Expectant Mothers Find Home

Eighteen years ago, Gail Schreiner flew to Britain to terminate her pregnancy, because abortion was then illegal in South Africa.

POLITICS: Sudanese Rebel Leaders Hunt Down Each Other In Kenya

The power struggle between the Sudanese rebel leaders, John Garang and Kerubino Bol, has spilled over into neighbouring Kenya, where the two men are reported to be hunting down each other in the streets of the capital Nairobi.

TRADE-ZAMBIA: Business Links with the DRC Revived

Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed to eliminate smuggling across their 2000- km common border and to promote legitimate trade and joint-venture business.