BRAZIL: Community Action Beats Back Adversity

When the town of Pintadas dared elect a mayor from the leftist Workers Party (PT) in 1996, the retaliation was immediate: the conservative government of the state of Bahia closed the only bank in this small, impoverished town in northeastern Brazil.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: ‘Australian Peacekeeping Has an Agenda’

A survey of Solomon Islanders showing widespread support for the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has been rejected by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who says that the timing of the survey highlights the 'true agendas' behind the deployment of RAMSI.

PARAGUAY: Hunger Follows Worst Fires in History

Food shortages and hunger in the northern Paraguayan provinces of Concepción and San Pedro have followed the worst fires in this country’s history, which destroyed over one million hectares of crops and forestland and left nearly 50,000 people homeless and eight dead.

CUBA: Citizen Action Transforming the Barrio

Two women set out nine years ago to help the barrio of Balcón Arimao, on the outskirts of the Cuban capital, tackle its numerous problems through community participation.

ENVIRONMENT: Conservation Expands in Latin America

In the past 10 years the size of protected areas in Latin America has nearly doubled and the participation of local communities in their preservation and management has sharply increased, says a regional study provided exclusively to Tierramérica.

CORRUPTION-PERU: Profiting from Misfortune

Federal, provincial and municipal authorities in Peru benefited from the disaster caused by the Aug. 15 earthquake, lining their pockets with public funds and misusing humanitarian aid sent by foreign and local donors.

COLOMBIA: Local Candidates Sign Agreement with Civil Society in Slum

In Soacha, a violence-wracked slum on the outskirts of the Colombian capital, civil society groups persuaded six of the eight candidates for mayor of the municipality to sign an agreement on governance and transparency, ahead of the Oct. 28 local and regional elections.

POLITICS-AUSTRALIA: Walking the Tightrope in Asia

The reinforcing of Australia’s relationship with the United States and Japan, combined with the country’s growing ties with China - highlighted by agreements made at APEC - have led some analysts to view Australia’s position in the region as akin to walking a tightrope.

INDIA/US: Nuke Deal May Trigger Mid-Term Polls

As India's coalition government tries to complete the controversial nuclear cooperation deal with the United States, it finds itself caught between domestic opposition to the agreement from its Left-wing allies and pressure from Washington to seal the deal.

AGRICULTURE-BRAZIL: Using Alternative Methods to Adapt to Drought

"It is painful to think that global warming will further aggravate the lack of rainfall" in Brazil’s semiarid northeast, said Luiz Tomacheski, who was stunned to see firsthand the dry landscape of twisted thorny shrubs and patches of brown grass in this region.

NORTH-SOUTH: China, India, Brazil, South Africa Tilt Global Power Balance

Four developing countries - China, India, Brazil and South Africa (CIBS) - are poised to become new southern engines of global economic growth with increasing potential to provide prosperity to other developing countries, said prominent economics researchers here.

CUBA: Government, UN Seek to Boost Impact of Aid

Cuba and the United Nations have agreed to concentrate their cooperation on five areas in the next few years, in order to avoid spreading resources too thinly, and to increase synergy between projects. U.N. aid to the island will amount to more than 100 million dollars during that period.

ASIA PACIFIC: ‘China Unfazed by Democracy Partnership’

Analysts here say that while China does not welcome the ‘Democracy Partnership’ announced by United States President George W. Bush at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney, last week, it is not overly alarmed either.

POVERTY: 40-Day Global Fast for Debt Cancellation

A group of celebrities from several countries have joined a rolling 40-day fast beginning this Thursday to call for cancellation of the foreign debt of the world’s poorest countries.

ASIA PACIFIC: War Games Muddy APEC Summit

China’s display of economic clout and diplomatic assertiveness at the Asia Pacific leaders’ forum in Sydney this week has been overshadowed by a concurrent show of power in the Bay of Bengal where the United States is leading four Asia-Pacific countries in the largest war games ever held in the region.

POLITICS: Five-Nation Naval Drill Presages &#39Asian NATO&#39?

India’s hosting of large-scale military exercises involving four countries led by the United States has triggered spirited protests by left-wing parties that prop up the country's ruling coalition.

COLOMBIA: Foster Families Help Child Fighters Rejoin Society

"I took in a 14-year-old boy. I did it for Colombia, for peace. These children need another chance, to be able to live and grow up as decent citizens," says Maria*, a 29-year-old mother of three.

BOLIVIA: Unequal Battle Against Hunger

In the crowded Bolivian barrio of Achachicala, Salvation Army pastors and volunteers are fighting malnutrition by feeding 500 children on less than 50 cents of a dollar per meal.

INDIA/JAPAN: Abe’s Visit Underlines New Strategic Alliance

With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s just-concluded maiden visit to India, New Delhi has taken one more step towards fashioning a new posture towards East Asia, seeking to expand its political influence in the region and strengthen economic ties with it.

ECUADOR: Support Grows for Letting Sleeping Amazon Oil Lie

The innovative offer by the government of Ecuador to refrain from exploiting its largest oil reserve, in exchange for international compensation for nature conservation, is attracting increasing support.

ZIMBABWE: Rights Groups Disappointed at SADC Summit

Last week's regional Southern African summit, which focused on the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe, has not impressed human rights groups, which were hoping for specific plans to be made concerning the daily rights violations in Zimbabwe.