GUATEMALA: Evictions of Native Families Add Fuel to Fire Over Land Access

"We have nowhere to plant our corn, we have nothing," Jorge Chocoj told IPS while waiting with his wife and three children for the police to evict them from the land they farmed in northwestern Guatemala.

AUSTRALIA: Pushing Uranium Exports Despite Japanese Crisis

Many countries view nuclear energy as a way to meet growing electricity demands without releasing large amounts of greenhouse gasses. And as a major uranium exporter, Australia is keen to capitalise on future opportunities despite the ongoing nuclear emergency at Japan’s Fukushima reactors.

Asian Group in Key Role in High-Level U.N. Elections

The 53-member Asian Group, one of the largest regional groups in the world body, is expected to endorse the final candidates for two key positions in the organisation: the president of the next General Assembly sessions, beginning in September, and the secretary-general of the United Nations for the next five years, beginning in January 2012.

U.S. High Court Rejects High-Profile Death Penalty Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that it would not hear an appeal by death row inmate Troy Davis, in what could be the end of the legal road for the Georgia prisoner whose case has garnered international support.

INDIA: Govt Faces ‘Crisis of Credibility’ Amid Corruption Scandals

Members of the united opposition here say the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faces a crisis of credibility and are calling for drastic action amid charges of corruption.

EL SALVADOR-HONDURAS: Forgotten People of the Border Pact

Salvadorans who were transferred to Honduran jurisdiction following an international court decision in 1992, which settled a long-running border dispute between the two countries, are still calling for implementation of social and economic development projects needed to conquer poverty.

TURKEY-SYRIA: Why Erdogan Can’t Let Assad Down

A new week, a new campaign for Ankara's diplomacy. After a victorious arm-twisting on Saturday with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to divert the leadership of the aerial war against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from France to NATO, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned his attention to trouble closer to home, Syria.

LEBANON: Hezbollah Treads a Narrowing Path

In spite of its recent successes, Hezbollah seems to be experiencing increasing difficulty in harmonising the interests of its Shiite constituency and those of its Iranian patrons as it delves into the chaos of Lebanese politics.

BOTSWANA: Women in Politics – A House Divided… But Determined

"The Botswana Caucus for Women in Politics has failed to realise the objectives it was intended for, but we will not give up on it just yet," says Margaret Nasha.

JAPAN: Working Poor Hardest Hit By Disaster

When the massive Tohoku quake struck on Mar. 11, Yayoko Shinohara, owner of a small grocery store on the main shopping street of the now devastated Namie town, grabbed the day’s earnings and escaped to safety with her husband.

Syria Promises Reform as U.N. Condemns Crackdown

Protesters braved live ammunition from security forces Monday in the southern Syrian city of Dara'a, where rights groups say more than 60 people have been killed since pro-democracy activists took to the streets to demand greater freedoms from the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

LATIN AMERICA: Growing Opposition to Military Intervention in Libya

Latin America is still divided over the military intervention in Libya. But the nations that were initially opposed to it are gradually hardening their stance as the objective of the Western powers taking part in the air strikes authorised by the U.N. Security Council to protect civilians becomes less and less clear.

ZAMBIA: Women Resume Struggle for Representation Ahead of Elections

Zambians head to the polls sometime before October and civil society groups are working hard to ensure their voices are heard. Groups which were excluded during the 2005 elections and the National Constitutional Conference that began in 2007 are mobilising to ensure they are not excluded.

OP-ED: No-fly Zone – Clouding Words of War

Phantasms from the 1990s are upon us: no-fly zones; the rhetoric of humanitarian war in Washington, Europe and the U.N.; guarantees that no U.S. ground troops will be deployed; an air war which alone cannot decisively affect earthbound events.

U.S.: Long-term Afghan Presence Likely to Derail Peace Talks

The announcement by U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defence Michele Flournoy in Congressional testimony Mar. 15 that the United States would continue to carry out "counter-terrorism operations" from "joint bases" in Afghanistan well beyond 2014 signaled that President Barack Obama has given up the negotiating flexibility he would need to be able to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban leadership.

Libyan Rebels Facing Tough Fight for Sirte

Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi are resisting an advance by Libyan rebels towards the embattled Libyan leader's hometown of Sirte in the fiercest clashes since the start of a sweeping offensive that has brought a string of coastal towns under opposition control.

CAMBODIA: Convicted Khmer Rouge Prison Chief Appeals Sentence

The only Khmer Rouge figure to be prosecuted by a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal here is arguing that his conviction should be overturned.

Death Sentence Looms for Filipino Drug Mules in China

Time is running short for three Filipino workers in China. Ramon Credo, Elizabeth Batain and Sally Villanueva - who were convicted of smuggling heroin in 2008 - are set to be executed by lethal injection Mar. 30.

Libya Not Quite the Same as Serbia

The month of March, named after the Roman god of war, Mars, appears to be the favourite among war planners in modern times.

TAIWAN: Opposition Urges Nuclear Phase-out By 2025

Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman and former Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen have announced a proposal for a "2025 Non-Nuclear Home Plan" that would allow Taiwan to eliminate reliance on nuclear power by the end of 2025.

Democracy Movement Spreads to Syria

The revolution contagion sweeping across the Arab countries has spread to Syria leading to rare protests challenging the grip of the ruling Baath Party on the country. The regime was quick to describe the turmoil as a foreign-inspired plot aimed at punishing the country for its support of groups opposed to U.S. and Israeli policies in the region.