Argentina's Desaparecidos – the Epilogue
The identification of the remains of victims of forced disappearance of Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship – whose bodies were buried in secret graves or thrown into the sea - is moving...
View ArticleExpo 2012 Shadows Rio+20 on Sustainable Oceans
When the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) takes place in Brazil next week, it will be closely shadowed by another event thousands of kilometres away in the South Korean coastal town...
View ArticleHostile Witnesses Weaken Criminal Justice
Four years after three middle-aged men were murdered in cold blood in central Kashmir, their case lies forgotten, collecting dust in the court's record room, while culprits roam free. Meanwhile, a...
View ArticleSharing Southern Africa's Water
The Southern African Development Community's protocol on shared watercourses is recognised as one of the world's best. But sound agreements on the sustainable and equitable management of joint water...
View ArticleU.S. Rejected 2005 Iranian Offer Ensuring No Nuclear Weapons
France and Germany were prepared in spring 2005 to negotiate on an Iranian proposal to convert all of its enriched uranium to fuel rods, making it impossible to use it for nuclear weapons, but Britain...
View ArticleU.S.: Law of the Sea Treaty Ratification Faces Unsettled Waters
Given the wide range of its supporters – everyone from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces to Greenpeace – one would think that Senate ratification of...
View ArticleRefugees Crowd Behind Five-Star Checks
A group of Palestinian Jerusalemites steps down from a crowded bus to let two Israeli soldiers climb aboard to check identity cards, below the aluminum roof of this newly operational checkpoint...
View ArticleChild Victims of Côte d'Ivoire's Crisis Survive Off Trades
Twelve-year-old Ahmed* pauses on his crutches in the narrow lane that leads from his house to the main road, glancing at the bullet holes still visible on the walls here in the Abobo Park 18 area of...
View ArticleTahrir Square: Round Two
The long-awaited verdict in Egypt's 'trial of the century' - a life sentence for ousted president Hosni Mubarak and acquittals for most other defendants - has brought the people back to Cairo's Tahrir...
View ArticleSamoan Breadfruit Makes a Splash in the Caribbean
Can a single species of tree significantly reduce hunger, unemployment and deforestation in the tropics? Researchers and scientists behind a surge in breadfruit activity think so.
View ArticleBrazilian Street Stars Dance and Shine in Spain
Arrayed in colourful garments they have made themselves, six teenagers who used to be street kids in Fortaleza, in northeast Brazil, visited this southern Spanish city to recount their life...
View ArticleIndia Grapples With Garbage
"We tell friends planning to visit us to follow the stench of rotting garbage," says Jeevaratnam (one name), a homemaker in this village 16 km from Kerala state's capital of Thiruvananthapuram.
View ArticleMoney Still "Buys" You Gold at the Olympics
The Olympic Games are widely viewed as a chance for countries to showcase their fastest, strongest, most skilled and disciplined athletes, a time when political, economic and cultural differences are...
View ArticleDistribution of Laptops Expands in Latin America's Classrooms
In Latin America, the distribution of laptops in public schools, an effort that has enjoyed success in countries like Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, is being studied by the governments of other...
View ArticleSYRIA: Conscience Is Their Only Armour
With the international community vowing to ratchet up pressure on the Syrian government, non-violent activists say they remain undeterred even as the situation seems to be deteriorate daily.
View ArticleElection Year Sees Increasingly Polarised U.S. Congress
All signs are pointing to a more polarised, less moderate U.S. Congress in the near future.
View ArticleGermany's Energy Revolution Hits Potholes
When the German government decided last year to phase out nuclear energy by 2022, following the catastrophe at the Fukushima power plant in Japan, it was clear that the process would require...
View ArticleEthics for an ‘Ecological Civilisation'
Leading Japanese ecologists are pushing for the concept of environmental "ethics" to influence the upcoming Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, an approach they contend will foster accountability towards...
View ArticleDam Threatens Turkey's Past and Future
Hasankeyf, a small village in southeastern Turkey, has been under threat for 15 years. Home to approximately 3,000 people, the site is one of the oldest continuously inhabited human settlements, with...
View ArticleIsrael Opens Doors to Push South Sudanese Out
Moses Gadia speaks quietly, a detailed and colourful map of South Sudan on the wall next to him. In the courtyard outside, a group of six men, all South Sudanese refugees, chat in the shade of plastic...
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