MANAGUA, Aug 23 (IPS) - The law passed in Nicaragua to grant a concession to a Chinese company to build a canal between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans repealed legislation that protects Lake Cocibolca and its tributaries.

SANTIAGO, Aug 23 (IPS) - Declining mineral content, the need to preserve the environment, and technological advances are causing big mining companies to turn back to underground mining in what is a rising trend in Chile and around the world, experts say.

WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (IPS) - Glimmerglass, a northern California company that sells optical fibre technology, offers government agencies a software product called "CyberSweep" to intercept signals on undersea cables.

COMILLA, Bangladesh, Aug 23 (IPS) - Seven months pregnant, 24-year-old Shumi Begum has travelled 220 km from her village with her paternal grandmother to consult a specialist on childbirth.

KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 23 (IPS) - After a string of setbacks in India in recent years, the genetically modified seed industry is now targeting Pakistan as its next frontier, say activists.

CAIRO, Aug 23 (IPS) - The ongoing crackdown on Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi has prompted some analysts to warn of the apparent resurgence of the Mubarak-era police state.

HAVANA, Aug 22 (IPS) - The spread of the virus that causes dengue fever has created an emergency situation for institutions, governments and scientists in Latin America seeking sustainable solutions for a health problem that could worsen as a result of climate change.

BOGOTA, Aug 22 (IPS) - An "ethical and political trial on pillaging of natural resources" in Colombia condemned three foreign corporations, including Canada's Pacific Rubiales Energy, which has dozens of oil and natural gas operations around the country.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 (IPS) - The United States, Britain and France, three veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, are making a strong push for an "urgent" U.N. investigation of the alleged use of chemical weapons Wednesday in Syria.