COMMUNICATIONS-CHILE: Better Definition, Or Less Outlay?

Until a few days ago, all the indications were that Chile would adopt the European standard for its future digital television system. But the appointment of a new minister of transport and telecommunications has raised hopes among the partisans of the standard used in the United States.

RIGHTS: Broad Support for U.N. Intervention Against Genocide

Less than two years after the heads of the world's governments endorsed "humanitarian intervention" by the United Nations against genocide and other massive abuses of human rights, a new survey released here Thursday has found strong support for the concept among general publics around the world.

AFGHANISTAN: Journalists Appeal for Release of Kidnapped Colleague

Afghan and Italian press associations appealed Wednesday for the Islamic Taliban movement to release Afghan journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi, who was kidnapped on Mar. 5.

THAILAND: Thaksin’s Friends Defy Junta, Hold Rallies

Thailand's military-installed government and supporters of deposed leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, are engaged in games of political chess centred on freedom of speech and political gatherings ahead of elections planned in December.

POLITICS-US: Public Anxiety Over Foreign Policy Nears Crisis

Increasingly anxious about the course of U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush, particularly in Iraq, the country appears to be moving toward a "full-blown crisis of public confidence," according to the latest "Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy" survey designed by veteran pollster Daniel Yankelovich released here Tuesday.

ARGENTINA: Software, a Growing Success Story

Software production and information technology services are a rapidly expanding industry in Argentina. This industry has a number of advantages: it is clean, requires little investment, provides employment for highly qualified personnel, and can operate in even the poorest regions.

AFGHANISTAN: Media, Civil Society Stake Bold Claim as Leaders

Scan the pages of major newspapers around the world and the only news coming out of Afghanistan is about bomb blasts and the escalating conflict between the Taliban and NATO forces in the country's south.

MEDIA: Freedom Fight Against ‘Freedom Champions’

The al-Jazeera television network could be emerging as a freedom champion against U.S. pressures on the channel, leading media figures say.

PORTUGAL: Salazar ‘Greatest Portuguese Ever’, TV Viewers Say

News media and academic circles in Portugal are vying with each other to explain why the public chose former dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (1932-1968) in a poll on state television channel RTP as "The Greatest Portuguese Who Ever Lived."

POLITICS-US: Film on “Radical Islam” Tied to Pro-Israel Groups

A controversial documentary on the threat of radical Islam, promoted by the two most-watched U.S. cable news networks, was marketed and supported in part by self-described "pro-Israel" groups, according to an IPS investigation.

POLITICS: Iraqis Increasingly Pessimistic, Anti-U.S.

Four years after the U.S.-led invasion, Iraqis have never been more pessimistic about their lives and antagonistic toward their purported liberators, according to a major new poll released Monday by BBC, ABC News, USA Today and the German ARD television network.

ENVIRONMENT: Across the Globe, Warming Viewed as “Critical”

Climate change is of real concern in all parts of the world, but there is disagreement over whether the problem is urgent enough to require immediate, costly measures or whether more modest efforts will be satisfactory, according to an international poll released Wednesday.

CHILE-PERU: Censorship or Prudent Relations?

Fears of censorship were triggered by a decision by Chile's public television station to postpone the broadcast of a documentary on the 1879-1883 war between Chile, Peru and Bolivia in response to a request by Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley, who had been contacted by the Peruvian government.

BRAZIL-US: Social Activist Declined Invitation to Meet Bush

Rodrigo Baggio, founder of one of the best social inclusion projects in Brazil, which has spread to eight other countries, turned down an invitation to meet President George W. Bush during his recent visit to Sao Paulo.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Kidnapping Motivated by ‘Press Freedom’?

The Taliban, the Islamist movement that dominated Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 and now is an outlawed rebel force, showed a new political facet when it kidnapped an Italian journalist this week.

POLITICS: Israel, Iran, U.S. Least Liked Countries

A majority of people from around the world hold predominantly negative views of Israel, Iran, and the United States, according to a survey of more than 28,000 respondents in 27 countries.

POLITICS-US: Right’s New Strategy Emulates the “Enemy”

The history of the modern U.S. conservative movement - circa 1964 to the present - is replete with its share of hucksters, snake oil salesman, rhetoricians, mudslingers, marketers and one-hit wonders. But it also has had more than its fair share of visionaries, opportunists (in the best sense of the word), motivated entrepreneurs, perhaps even revolutionaries.

FILM: Few Oscars for Mexicans, But They Made Their Mark

The 79th Oscar awards ceremony left Mexico with a bittersweet taste. Films by Mexican directors were nominated for Academy Awards in 16 categories, but only earned four - for art direction, cinematography, make-up and musical score. Nevertheless, Mexicans made their mark.

HEALTH-INDONESIA: Mothers Join Bird Flu Awareness Campaign

Not content with the government’s public awareness campaign against bird flu, a group of parents in Bekasi regency has taken the initiative in educating the poor and the marginalised about the deadly disease.

IRAQ: Another U.S. Military Assault on Media

Iraqi journalists are outraged over yet another U.S. military raid on the media.

CORRUPTION-HONDURAS: A Murky Transparency Law

The "law on transparency and access to public information" in force in Honduras since January is in violation of international conventions on freedom of expression and against corruption, and creates loopholes for preventing the declassification of "reserved" or restricted information.