Robbing Hood?

In a recent recall referendum the people of Venezuela reaffirmed their faith in President Hugo Chavez. As a token of gratitude Chavez vowed to step up certain agricultural reforms. However, the "revolutionary" social policy, like many others before it, promises to generate more controversy than good.

66 women

The Thread of the Voice Venezuela The texts of 66 Venezuelan women writers of poetry, narrative, plays, essay and reportage have been collected in an anthology, El hilo de la voz (The Thread of the Voice), which could become the main reference point for women's literature in this country. The book also contains an essay about the "female condition" in Venezuela throughout the 20th century. Biographies and bibliographies portray the personal and professional histories of each of the authors.

Civil disobedience, and bribery

Snippets

• Argentina's education ministry has kicked off a unique project called "When You Read, You Always Win". Organised with the support of the Argentine Football Association, local football clubs, publishing houses and the print media, the initiative is designed to encourage people to read, and to curb violence in stadiums. As fans will now file into stadia, they will be handed free booklets containing short stories by prominent local authors. It is hoped that the booklets won't be used as confetti to celebrate or protest.

Turtle in trouble

South America's largest freshwater turtle, the Arrau, is facing extinction. To ensure survival of the species, Venezuelan activists have resorted to raising hatchlings in captivity before liberating them in the wild.

Chock a clock

It might sound bizarre, but is true. Venezuela's electric clocks are ticking slowly due to power shortage. The sluggish timepieces miss every midnight by 150 seconds. "The computers are not affected. The televisions function normally. No other devices, but the clocks are affected," said Miguel Lara, general manager of the country's National Power Grid.

Rooting out biopiracy

biopiracy by commercial enterprises in recent years has robbed the indigenous Venezuelan communities in the Amazonian forests of their traditional medicinal resources. To counter this imminent threat faced by these communities, the Venezuelan authorities have devised a unique scheme. Titled the BioZulua project, the scheme will document data about medicinal plants and food crops provided by the 24 ethnic groups living in Venezuelan part of the Amazonian jungle.

UNHEALTHY CATCH

Tuna caught with purse seine nets causing dolphin deaths cannot be labelled 'dolphin safe' for sale in the US. This has been ruled by a US appeals court recently. The court ruling comes as another blow to tuna-exporting countries of the eastern tropical pacific ocean, including Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador, which have been engaged in a decade-long trade argument with the US on the issue.

VENEZUELA

Hundreds of people are suffering from a lethal form of dengue fever in Venezuela. According to officials, more than 24,364 cases of the disease have been reported this year -- more than double the number for the same period in 2000. To contain the outbreak of the disease, president Hugo Chavez has declared a health emergency.

VENEZUELA

Amid environmental concerns, a Venezuelan power line was inaugurated in Brazil recently. The us $400 million high-voltage line runs through Venezuela's ecologically sensitive southeast corner, including the Canaima National Park, which is the site of the Angel Falls -- the world's tallest waterfall. Due to this, the project had been austerely criticised by the indigenous people of the area and environmentalists.