CHILE: Flood Deaths Inquiry Targets Hydropower Firm

The Chilean Congress is demanding that the government take measures to regulate the operations of hydroelectric dams, while it prepares to investigate whether or not the Spanish firm Endesa was to blame for the flooding seen several weeks ago in central and southern Chile, which left 25 dead.

COLOMBIA: Displaced Women Build New Lives, Brick by Brick

"The City of Women", in the northern Colombian municipality of Turbaco, 11 kilometres from the fortified walls of this tourist resort city, bears no resemblance to Federico Fellini's 1980 film by the same name, or to the similarly dubbed Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Puerto Madero, where almost all the streets and public spaces are named for famous women.

CUBA: Church Humanitarian Work to Feel Impact of US Plans

The latest plans by the U.S. government in its policy towards Cuba will have a heavy impact on the humanitarian efforts of religious organisations that work with needy sectors in this Caribbean island nation.

CUBA: Rejection of EU Donor Funds Endangers Social Projects

The Cuban government's rejection of European Union funds for cooperation projects, and its new regulations for seeking international funding, threaten the continuity of European non-governmental agencies' work on the island.

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: From Value Added to Income Gained

Over 80 percent of Kenyans depend directly on agriculture for their livelihood, according to government statistics. But, certain farmers in the East African country find themselves hard pressed to derive the full benefit from their produce, because they cannot add value to it.

COLOMBIA: Armed Conflict Generates Hunger, Violence in the Cities

Ciudad Bolívar and Altos de Cazuca (Cazuca Heights) form an endless landscape of humble dwellings along mud or cement streets and sidewalks on the barren hills south of the Colombian capital, where thousands of displaced people continue to suffer the effects of the civil war.

DEVELOPMENT: It Takes a Village to Save the MDGs

It may be simpler to fight and even end extreme poverty over the next decade than is commonly understood by powerful global policymakers like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Aid Initiatives Not to Be Taken on Faith

Faith-based organisations that wish to succeed with humanitarian projects in Swaziland have been advised to take into consideration the views and sensibilities of indigenous populations, even if the benefactors believe they are on a mission from God and know what is best for the local people.

POLITICS-US: Washington Cuts All Aid to Palestinian Authority

One week after the Palestinian Authority (PA) swore in its new Hamas-led government, the United States Friday announced that it will suspend all direct aid to the PA while sharply increasing humanitarian assistance to the people under its control.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: Medical Brain Drain Puts Southern Africa in a Quandary

The figures tell it all. In South Africa, 37 percent of the country's doctors and seven percent of its nurses have migrated to Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Britain and the United States.

AFRICA: Resources for Development “Scarce and Grossly Mismanaged”

The first United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) could arguably be seen as the mother of MDGs, as a country's ability to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty will be a determining factor in whether it attains the other seven goals.

ENVIRONMENT: Int’l Cooperation Weak on Ocean Fisheries

With a quarter of all ocean fish stocks now depleted, policy-makers and conservation groups say it is critical to bring more countries on board an international treaty on sustainable fisheries management.

BIODIVERSITY: Brazil’s Lula Lashes Out At Rich Nations

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva Monday castigated the wealthy and technologically advanced countries of the world for failing to live up to their responsibility in tackling poverty and environmental degradation on the planet.

POLITICS: Israel Lobby Dictates U.S. Policy, Study Charges

The pro-Israel lobby in the United States has manipulated Washington's policies in the Middle East to the point where it is the U.S. that does most of the fighting, dying and rebuilding while Israel reaps most of the security benefits, argues a new study by two U.S. scholars.

DEVELOPMENT: Trade Rules a Stumbling Block to Realising the MDGs

Less than a decade remains for countries to reach the ambitious targets laid out in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - agreed on by global leaders at a summit in 2000.

MALAWI: Farmers Need Mechanisation, Irrigation – And Some Free Stuff

Having experienced a disastrous harvest last year - the worst in a decade, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) - Malawi now appears set to improve its food situation.

POLITICS: Bush Seeks to Draw India, Pakistan Closer to U.S.

U.S. President George W. Bush hopes his maiden tour of India and Pakistan this week will draw both South Asian giants more firmly into Washington's orbit, as well as help restore his battered foreign policy image back home.

RIGHTS: First-Ever Treaty for People with Disabilities Gains Ground

After a three-week marathon session, a United Nations committee has expressed confidence in finalising a new international treaty to protect the disabled by the end of the year.

CARIBBEAN: Integrate or Perish, Regional Leaders Warn

Caribbean Community leaders were in an upbeat mood as they prepared to leave Jamaica Wednesday, having formally launched the long anticipated Caricom Single Market (CSM) and agreed on a six-month timetable to create a regional fund to finance the initiative.

CARIBBEAN: Common Market Opens, Sans Eastern States

The official ceremony will take place in Jamaica on Jan. 23, but at the start of 2006, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries quietly launched their long talked about single market designed to allow goods, services and skilled workers to move more easily throughout the region.

WTO-SPECIAL: Developing Nations Push Back

Once downtrodden at international meetings, developing countries, led by India and Brazil, are showing renewed assertiveness in the face of pressure from industrialised nations that are lobbying to open new markets at a global trade meeting here.