News headlines in July 2009, page 11

The overthrow of the government of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras revived fears of something similar happening in neighbouring Guatemala, although analysts, political leaders and social activists do not see it as likely.

Representatives from four major cotton-producing African countries came to Washington this week to engage in a dialogue about what they consider to be unfair U.S. trade practices.

El Tatio geyser field, a tourist destination in the northern Chilean region of Antofagasta, is at the heart of a controversy over a geothermal energy project being developed four kilometres away. The entire area is claimed by Atacama indigenous communities, who now stand divided.

Sooner or later Bosnians will have to abandon their status of quasi-protectorate, and take control of their own state if they ever want to join the European Union.

Delivering his first state of the nation address in June 2009, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma described sport as 'a unifying force' that people must use to live together. A social soccer club in Cape Town's informal settlement of Masiphumelele is taking his challenge seriously: Kanana Football Club has recruited foreigners as a gesture of goodwill and harmony.

Israel's newly installed ambassador in Washington says the 'disagreement' with the U.S. over Israel's settlement policy will be resolved 'soon'. Speaking on Israel Radio, Michael Oren was giving his first interview since taking up his post.

The central focus of the WTO annual report - the tricky balance between the need to protect national production and the negative economic impacts of such measures during times of crisis - was actually chosen before the current meltdown, but turned out to be just what the doctor, or the world trade body, ordered.

In a signal victory for President Barack Obama and Defence Secretary Robert Gates, the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday evening to end production of an advanced fighter jet that many independent military analysts have long considered a wasteful boondoggle.

The rain - usually much desired because it is so scarce - has come in excess this year, destroying many crops. But in this farming district in far north-eastern Brazil, the impact of the heavy rainfall was less marked than in the past, thanks to the diversification of crops and productive activities.

An Argentine non-governmental organisation has warned that a mining consortium under scrutiny for polluting the environment has been funding public universities for the past two years, bringing into question the independence of any technical reports the universities may be asked to submit.