For the people living along Burma's Payapon river the slow-moving waters have always been a sustainer of life, providing irrigation, fish and clean water; but now the same river is delivering the corpses of hundreds of people killed by Cyclone Nargis.
A federal ruling that Bush must decide whether to save the polar bear brings to a head to stand-off between one of the world's best loved animals and one of its most unpopular leaders, between the planet's largest bear and its most powerful man.
Our seas are on the brink of an ecological catastrophe, but as scientific guidelines are ignored and catches become ever bigger due to industrial-scale overfishing, the international community has failed to act.
Out of the 600,000 people displaced by December's post-election violence in Kenya, many were farmers who were unable to plant crops in time, causing disruption that has combined with rising prices to bring the country to the brink of a food crisis.
The Chávez government attracts attention for its social programmes and controversial nationalisations of industries, yet the Bolivarian revolution's little reported effect on Venezuela's art scene has been just as striking.
As the Olympic flame continues its tumultuous journey, the lives of two young Chinese women have taken centre stage in the black and white world of Chinese public opinion, which views one as an angel and the other as a traitor.
Australian treasurer Wayne Swan will unveil an ambitious $2 billion climate change program in Tuesday's budget, the biggest investment of its kind, the largest slice of which will be pumped into developing low emissions technology programs.
Having adopted Australia's National Water Initiative, the Victorian government has moved regulate the state's thirsty timber plantations, making them accountable for the water they use.
British foreign office minister Lord Malloch-Brown believes that it is time to acknowledge that Africa deserves not just a development policy but a foreign policy.
News that Canberra is poised to amend laws that discriminate against same-sex couples was met with widespread celebration this week, but for many elderly gays the welcome announcement comes too late to make much difference.
