SYDNEY, Jan 07 (IPS) - Coral reefs and marine ecosystems in the Milne Bay Province of the Pacific Island nation of Papua New Guinea are at serious risk of long-term environmental damage. The reason: an oil spill from a ship that ran aground on a reef on Kwaiawata Island on Christmas Eve, and authorities' long delay in mobilising an appropriate response to the accident.

BERN, Jan 07 (IPS) - The Swiss parliament has decided to tackle wage dumping in the construction sector. With the introduction of chain liability, general contractors can soon be held accountable for labour agreement violations by their subcontractors.

KUDANKULAM, India, Jan 06 (IPS) - Mahalakshmi, a housewife married to a farmer, is afraid for her family's future. The fifty-two-year-old woman is also frustrated that Indian authorities have "betrayed" poor villagers.

HAVANA, Jan 05 (IPS) - The Cuban government's economic reforms must consider the myriad opportunities offered by the Internet, a key platform of the dominant economic model on the planet, according to interviews with both experts and average people.

, Jan 05 (IPS) - Yemeni women have played an integral role in the protests against ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year regime last year. But despite the country's upcoming political ‘National Dialogue' - brokered by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and intended to bring together a cross-section of Yemeni constituencies - females still face a wall of discriminatory laws and practices, and a status quo willing to enforce them.

WASHINGTON, Jan 05 (IPS) - With President Barack Obama reportedly primed to nominate former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to head the Pentagon early next week, the powerful Israel lobby, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), faces a major dilemma.

WASHINGTON, Jan 04 (IPS) - As the Arab Spring enters its third year, new Arab democracies and the international community should reflect on several critical lessons from the past two years.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 04 (IPS) - Anarkia Boladona has turned the streets of Brazil into billboards against domestic violence. As a self-titled feminist political graffiti artist, she represents a new trend in women's rights that seeks less academic and more daring and popular avenues of expression.

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Jan 04 (IPS) - Around the world, 2012 was the year of extreme weather, when we unequivocally learned that the fossil fuel energy that powers our societies is destroying them. Accepting this reality is the biggest challenge of the brand new year.

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 04 (IPS) - A group of Argentine paediatricians has been combining work on environmental protection and child health for more than 10 years. It appears a basic principle to apply, but the task is turning out to be increasingly challenging and complex.