RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 05 (IPS) - An indigenous community in Brazil has decided to single-handedly take action against illegal loggers who are moving into their territory in search of highly valued timber.

DOHA, Mar 05 (IPS) - Afghanistan's Kabul Bank is back in the news, with the sentencing of two of its top executives to five years in prison for fraud. But being in the limelight - for good or bad - has been part of the bank's saga since its inception in 2004.

PESHAWAR, Mar 05 (IPS) - The applause has continued long after the curtain came down on the last performance of Khushal Khan Khattak in the northern Pakistan city of Peshawar last month. The enthusiastic reception should have the Taliban worried.

WASHINGTON, Mar 05 (IPS) - As President Barack Obama travels to Israel and Palestine in the spring, Washington's unconditional backing of Israel could soon begin to harm U.S. interests and security in Arab Muslim countries.

WASHINGTON, Mar 05 (IPS) - Civil society opposition here has strengthened against a U.S.-proposed free trade zone that would include some dozen countries around the Pacific Rim.

MALAGA, Spain, Mar 04 (IPS) - "We used to be seen as really useful, and now we're a pain in the neck," said Roberto Suárez, an Ecuadorian who was complaining about proposed fines or prison sentences that could target Spanish citizens who help undocumented immigrants.

NAIROBI, Mar 04 (IPS) - On Monday, Mar. 4, Betty Amollo was one of the millions of Kenyans who turned out in large numbers to cast her ballot in the country's first general election since the 2007 disputed polls left almost 1,200 people dead and displaced 600,000 in the resultant inter-ethnic violence.

GENEVA, Mar 04 (IPS) - The global economy is facing strong headwinds that have set back world trade and output growth. Despite the measures implemented in many countries to contain the slowdown, production and employment trends continue to be negative. In the light of these developments, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently revised its forecast for world trade growth in 2012 to 2.5 percent, down from the previous 3.7 percent forecast. We foresee a volume of trade growth of 4.5 percent in 2013, below the long-term annual average of five to six percent that we have enjoyed for the last 20 years.

HAVANA, Mar 04 (IPS) - Cuba continues to focus heavily on oil for its energy needs, through agreements with partners like Venezuela, with the hope of discovering commercially exploitable wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 04 (IPS) - The fact that women are underrepresented in the media industry should surprise few. The severity of this imbalance and its consequences, however, are less obvious. In a new report, the Women's Media Centre exposes these disparities and their effects on society.