ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Apr 11 (IPS) - The Ethiopian government's most serious domestic political crisis in more than a decade began over a scruffy football field appropriated by local officials for development.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 09 (IPS) - Delegates from 83 countries came together at the United Nations from March 28 to April 8 for the first in a series of landmark meetings on ocean protection. This Preparatory Committee will help forge an agreement to determine how nations move forward to protect the high seas—the 64 percent of the ocean that belongs to everyone but is governed by no one.

NEW YORK, Apr 09 (IPS) - Regardless of whether they are called fragile, failed, or failing states, scores of countries around the globe are plagued by overwhelming problems with few solutions in sight. Moreover, the instability and dire straits of these countries are spilling across national borders, destabilizing neighboring countries and regions, while posing enormous challenges for international organizations and donors.

MANAGUA, Apr 08 (IPS) - Nearly three years after Nicaragua granted a 50-year concession to the Chinese consortium HKND to build and operate an interoceanic canal, the megaproject has stalled, partly due to a severe drought that threatens the rivers and lake that will form part of the canal.

JUBA, South Sudan, Apr 08 (IPS) - Facing an unprecedented economic crisis, South Sudan -- the newest nation of the world -- has urged its 12 million inhabitants to turn to agriculture instead of depending on declining oil revenues.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 07 (IPS) - Diabetes, which now affects more than 400 million people worldwide, is closely linked to poverty in most regions of the world, World Health Organization Medical Officer Alessandro Demaio told IPS Thursday.

Mombasa, Kenya, Apr 07 (IPS) - There is a ‘Little Boy' who has nothing to do with the atomic bomb that the United States dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. This time it is about another ‘Little Boy' who has been devastating the harvests in many regions, especially in Africa.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Apr 07 (IPS) - The Chinese character for crisis combines the characters for ‘danger' and ‘opportunity'. Our ability to improve the human condition depends critically on our ability to recognize and address dangers, but also to seize opportunities made possible by recognizing that crises offer rare opportunities to pursue extraordinary options not normally available.

VAVUNIYA, Sri Lanka, Apr 07 (IPS) - Sri Lanka is facing the heat from a scorching sun for the past one month. In recent times, the country has imposed power cuts after almost a decade. The main reason was the stoppage at a coal power plant, but engineers at the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) admit that the island's hydro-power generation capacity is at such a critical low that without additional coal, diesel and renewable generation, the country's full demand for power cannot be met.

SANTIAGO, Apr 07 (IPS) - Voluntary guidelines on land tenure adopted by the international community to combat the growing concentration of land ownership and improve secure access to land have begun to make headway in Latin America, a region that is a leader in the fight against hunger and that is taking firm steps towards achieving food security.