Finance : Investment treaty-making marks a turning point (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Investment treaty-making has reached a turn ing point, as for the first time, the number of effective treaty terminations o utpaced the number of new IIA (international investment agreement) conclusions, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

United Nations : Stop neglecting African conflicts (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
Conflicts have uprooted million s across several African nations and we must not forget them, said a human ri ghts group.

Central America : Farmers join forces to live with drought (PRIV)
(IPS, Candelaria de la Frontera)
Havi ng a seven-litre container with a filter on the dining room table that purifies the collected rainwater, and opening a small valve to fill a cup and quench thi rst, is almost revolutionary for Salvadoran peasant farmer Victor de Leon.

Latin America : Intelligent land use seeks to make headway (PRIV)
(IPS, Santiago)
Consumers can be allies in curbin g desertification in Latin America, where different initiatives are being pro moted to curtail it, such as sustainable land management, progress towards neutralit y in land degradation or the incorporation of the bio-economy.