Wild Seismic Predictions Disputed

Without in-depth scientific documentation of marine mammal strandings, natural history and animal behaviour, the prediction of seismic events based on behaviour of marine mammals is not widely accepted. Sceptics often dismiss such predictions as conjecture.

BRAZIL: Lending a Hand to Less Developed Countries

Mothers' milk banks that are helping reduce infant mortality in Guatemala and are starting to be set up in Africa as well form part of the numerous social technologies developed by Brazil that are driving the fast growth of its international development cooperation.

Three-Day Summit Cements US-China Frenemy Status

On the tail end of Chinese leader Hu Jintao's three-day visit to the U.S. capital, observers are cautiously pleased with what they see as a constructive summit between the two nation's leaders, but eager to see whether this week's promises will translate into tangible results.

Clinton Raises Curtain for Upcoming Hu-Obama Summit

Ahead of a key bilateral summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao, which begins here Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a sweeping China-U.S. policy speech Friday, setting the tone for next week's meet.

Wikileak Cables Reveal China’s Modernising Military Might

A Wikileaked January 2009 diplomatic cable from the United States' Beijing embassy forecasting the next three decades of U.S.-China relations warned of the Asian giant's "rapid military modernisation".

Overhaul Foreign Aid to Rebuild Haiti

The international community's response was fast and effective during the emergency cause by the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti that claimed at least 230,000 lives. But the "impressive" outpouring of solidarity stalled when reconstruction began, as international and local institutions failed to measure up to the challenge.

ECONOMY: Namibia Embarks on Nuclear Policy

Namibia is set to develop its rich uranium resources and intends to pursue uranium enrichment locally. It also plans to build its own nuclear electricity plant.

Q&A: Portugal’s Development Aid Untouched by Crisis

Despite the global economic crisis that has hit Europe especially hard, Portugal's official development aid to its former colonies will not decline this year, although "unfortunately no increase is expected either."

BRAZIL: Family Farming Matters in South-South Cooperation

Cooperation between countries of the developing South took another step forward with the recent signing of international agreements in Brazil aimed at stimulating public policies to support small farmers.

ECONOMY: East Timor Extends a Hand to Troubled Portugal

With the announcement that his country is ready to buy Portuguese debt, the president of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, set a precedent in international economic relations that was universally praised in political and financial circles in this southern European country.

Internet At Home – A Distant Dream in Cuba

A submarine fibre optic cable which is expected to greatly increase internet connection speed in Cuba will soon be operational, and is creating moderate expectations among civil society on the island, where private access to the net is not a government priority.

INDIA: India Edges Closer to Permanent UN Seat

A permanent seat in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is no longer a pie in the sky for India with U.S. President Barack Obama formally endorsing the candidature of this Asian giant with 1.2 billion people.

DEVELOPMENT: ‘Vulnerable’ Asia Seeks To Reduce Disaster Risks

Even as Asian ministers discussed ways to reduce disaster risks here, news broke of a twin tragedy in Indonesia – a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake, and the eruption of the country’s most active volcano, Mount Merapi, whose name means "mountain of fire".

Brazilian Communities Find Ways to Live in Semiarid Environment

No longer is the image of women trudging through fields carrying heavy water vessels on their heads just a "quaint" scene of Brazil's semiarid northeast, for outsiders.

Cuba, Brazil Unite for Africa’s Health

The risk of meningitis outbreaks rises during the dry season -- December to June -- in some 20 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Meningitis in the region is too often deadly, though the disease can be prevented with vaccination.

Organic Gardens Feeding People from Argentina to Haiti

Neither hurricanes nor floods, nor the devastating January earthquake or Haiti's chronic political instability managed to wipe out the organic gardening initiative underway in that country since 2005. The seed was planted in Argentina twenty years ago.

HEALTH: Thai Touch in HIV Care Attracts Doctors from Asia, Africa

Northern Thailand’s Chiang Rai province has many charms to draw foreign visitors, from hilltribe communities dressed in colourful ethnic clothes, trips to gentle hills close to the Burmese and Lao borders, excursions to once infamous opium trails and a journey along the Mekong River.

GUATEMALA: Spreading Expertise on Integrated Waste Management

Guatemala has more than 700,000 clandestine garbage dumps. But a growing network of public and private sector employees are receiving training in integrated waste management that they in turn pass on to others, as part of a unique cooperation initiative with Mexico and Germany.

LABOUR: Garment Workers of the South Unite

They left behind months or years of slaving away -- in some cases, literally -- in garment sweatshops, working long hours for little to no pay. But breaking free from modern-day slavery or forced labour wasn't enough for a group of textile workers from Argentina and Thailand, who have gone on to forge a new kind of cooperation reaching halfway across the globe.

LATIN AMERICA: Radioactive Attack on Flesh-Eating Screw-Worm

A biological control method used to eradicate screw-worm, a livestock parasite, in the United States, Mexico and Central America, has just been tested successfully in South America, where its adoption is being considered in the countries of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur): Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

SOUTH AMERICA: Student Exchanges to Foster Mercosur Identity

An exchange programme was launched this week for university students in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, to foster a broader sense of belonging to South America's Mercosur bloc.