FOZ DO IGUAÇU/PAULO AFONSO, Brazil, Jan 22 (IPS) - The Itaparica hydroelectric power plant occupied land belonging to the Pankararu indigenous people, but while others were compensated, they were not. They have lost land and access to the São Francisco river, charge native leaders in Paulo Afonso, a city in northeastern Brazil.

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (IPS) - The appointment of a new transitional president, Catherine Samba-Panza, in the Central African Republic (CAR) is generating optimism in some quarters that the country's first female leader will manage to quell mounting ethnic strife.

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 22 (IPS) - It's hard to tell if Gelegay Tsegaye is smiling, since a flap of skin covers half his mouth, but his eyes crinkle when he talks and his muffled voice rings with an upbeat cadence. He's sitting in a special ward of the Korean Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's most modern healthcare facility. 

MEXICO CITY, Jan 22 (IPS) - As the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passes its 20-year milestone, Mexico is seeing the displacement of traditional crops like maize by marihuana and opium poppy as a result of falling prices for the country's most important agricultural product.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 22 (IPS) - With no acute crisis on the radar, this year's Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) will move away from the response mode of the past years and "look for solutions for the really fundamental issues," its founder Klaus Schwab said at the pre-meeting press conference.

TRIPOLI, Lebanon, Jan 22 (IPS) - In northern Lebanon's largest city, Tripoli, Syria Street cuts through neighbourhoods that back opposite sides of the war raging in Syria, 30 km away. Clashes between them resumed this weekend after a cross-border rocket attack.

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (IPS) - A controversial new certification process that could cover a significant portion of the U.S. oil-and-gas "fracking" industry began accepting applications on Tuesday, indicating the formal start of an initiative that has the backing of some key industry players and some environmentalists – but by no means all of either.

KAMPALA, Jan 21 (IPS) - Last week, Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, refused to sign a controversial anti-gay bill that would mean life in prison for people convicted of homosexual acts.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan 21 (IPS) - Afghanistan is rediscovering the joy of cricket. It is seen as a tool of progress, a means of entertainment, and a way to wean youth away from violence in a country that has been ravaged by conflict for more than 30 years.

SANTIAGO, Jan 21 (IPS) - A hydroelectric project under construction near the Chilean capital poses a threat to the supply of drinking water to more than six million people living in the Santiago Metropolitan Region.