EDUCATION-URUGUAY: Gardens of Knowledge
By Silvana Silveira
MONTEVIDEO - "Nature is wise, and if we take the time to observe it, we can learn so much" is the underlying philosophy of a number of innovative programmes being carried out in Uruguayan schools that are using gardens as a teaching resource, explained Edith Moraes, director of the national Primary Education Board.
MORE >>

LATIN AMERICA: Abortion - Still Illegal, Still Killing, Despite Growing Awareness
By Estrella Gutiérrez
CARACAS - Although most of the governments in Latin America today are described as progressive, abortion is only legal in one country, while in five countries it is banned under all circumstances, even when the mother's life is at risk.
MORE >>

ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities
By Gonzalo Ortiz
QUITO - Science fiction blockbuster Avatar was the big loser in the Oscar awards ceremony - not only a blow for director James Cameron but also seen as a symbolic reverse in the struggle to recover Amazon rainforest areas in Ecuador from the effects of oil pollution.
MORE >>

PERU: Suspension of Mining Operation Merely a Placebo
By Milagros Salazar
LIMA - Although the Peruvian government reported that it had suspended the exploration activities of the Afrodita mining company in the country's northern Amazon jungle region to avoid further protests by local indigenous people, officials took no actual steps to bring the firm's work to a halt.
MORE >>

RIGHTS-CUBA: Hunger Striker Refuses to Go into Exile
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA - The state news media in Cuba reported Monday on the case of dissident Guillermo Fariñas, who has been on a hunger strike for 13 days and refuses to go into exile in Spain.
MORE >>

BRAZIL: Ambitious Development Plan to Cut Inequality
By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil will be "radically less unequal" and less vulnerable to shocks from the outside when it celebrates 200 years of independence from Portugal, if the Strategic Affairs Secretariat's (SAE) plans for the next 12 years are put into practice, according to a high-ranking official.
MORE >>

ENVIRONMENT-MEXICO: Green Areas to the Highest Bidder
By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY - Activists in Mexico complain that the deforestation threatening the environmental health of Mexico has been accentuated by the granting of public areas to private companies.
MORE >>

COSTA RICA: Headhunting First-World Seniors
By Daniel Zueras
SAN JOSÉ - The Costa Rican government has declared retirement communities, aimed at attracting U.S. pensioners, to be "of national interest." Plans to create "retirement clusters" providing complete health services for older adults are seen as a profitable prospect for this Central American country.
MORE >>

MEXICO: Scientists Reinvent the Corn Tortilla
By Verónica Díaz Favela*
MEXICO CITY - The process of making corn tortillas - the filling, age-old traditional food throughout much of Mexico and Central America - pollutes huge volumes of water and consumes a great deal of energy.
MORE >>

RELIGION-MEXICO: Legion of Christ Scandal Escalates
By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY - A new scandal has increased the pressure on the conservative religious order Legion of Christ, one of the most influential in the Catholic Church, to compensate the victims of alleged sexual abuse by its founder, Mexican priest Marcial Maciel, and carry out internal reforms.
MORE >>

Next >>