United States : Growing elite opposition to military option against Iran (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
Like the imminent prospect of one's hanging, to paraphrase the 18th century British essayist Dr. (Samuel) Johnson, the suddenly looming possibility of war can concentrate the mind wonderfully.

United States : Plan for popular presidential vote quietly advances (PRIV)
(IPS, Atlanta)
Unlike many of the younger democracies around the world, the United States still does not elect its president by popular vote. Indeed, a majority of US citizens elected Al Gore to be president in 2000, but because the US elects its presidents by way of a convoluted system called the electoral college, George W. Bush was declared the winner that year instead.

Brazil : Community radio flourishes online (PRIV)
(IPS, Rio de Janeiro)
Community radio stations in Brazil are finding the internet and user-friendly information technologies to be valuable allies for their broadcasts, which focus on citizenship, social equity and human rights.

Argentina : Drought threat looms again (PRIV)
(IPS, Buenos Aires)
The low humidity in Argentina's most agriculturally productive region has already caused a decline in grain yield - in particular corn and soybean - with ensuing losses for producers and the government.

Argentina : Falklands/Malvinas, from rhetoric to pressure (PRIV)
(IPS, Buenos Aires)
Although the latest rhetoric seems to signal a hardening of the historical sovereignty dispute between Argentina and Britain over the Malvinas/Falkland Islands, some experts are sceptical and say nothing will change in essence.

Afghanistan : Thirty-eight attacks a day take their toll (PRIV)
(IPS, Kandahar)
A red flare lights up the moonless night at a remote military outpost in southern Kandahar, a signal to land for the incoming helicopter. Bordering Pakistan, this desolate strip of desert is deadly, especially during peak ‘fighting season' every summer between NATO-ISAF military forces and the Taliban.