Development : Erosion of right to privacy in fight against terrorism    (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Concerns were voiced this week over the erosion of the right to privacy in the fight against terrorism through the use of surveillance powers and new technologies such as "bugs", tracing technologies and the use of bio-metrics and full-body scanners without adequate legal safeguards.

Development : Africa's success stories in gender empowerment    (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Whenever gender empowerment is a vibrant topic of discussion internationally, some of the countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America are invariably singled out for their success stories in politics, education, health care or civil liberties even as Africa is mostly left out of the political reckoning - and wrongly so.

Uruguay : Gardens of knowledge    (PRIV)
(IPS, 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.

Afghanistan : Fiction of Marja as city was US information war    (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
For weeks, the US public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against what it was told was a "city of 80,000 people" as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban in that part of Helmand. That idea was a central element in the overall impression built up in February that Marja was a major strategic objective, more important than other district centres in Helmand.