UXBRIDGE, Canada -- Soaring temperatures have led to the collapse of several huge ice shelves in the Canadian Arctic over the past few weeks.

ACCRA -- The ecological impact of natural resource exploitation on the lives of the poor in Africa and other regions is not being addressed sufficiently in aid effectiveness and development discussions, aid experts say.

New Zealanders are proud of their native animals and understand the importance of preserving the environment. Since the arrival of both Maori and Europeans, species exclusive to New Zealand, such as the moa and Haast’s eagle, have disappeared and animals like the kiwi and the Banks Peninsula green gecko have been driven close to extinction.

OSLO -- ”Oro jaska beana” (Be quiet dog) is the most famous song right now among Norwegian Youth. Yesterday evening, a Sami Youth Group, The BlackSheeps won a national Song Contest directly on Norwegian national TV.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has asked Guyana to provide information on measures taken to ensure that the informed consent of the indigenous communities is being sought for all mining projects on indigenous lands.

TEHERAN -- Evo Morales, Bolivia´s president, has met his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran in an effort to boost relations between the two oil rich nations.

Gov. Sarah Palin, the first female Republican vice presidential candidate is married to Todd Palin, who is of Yup´ik Inuit descent. Their five children are also of Alaska Native heritage.

ANCHORAGE -- Hundreds of tribal leaders from 48 states will travel to Alaska later this month for a historic meeting with Bolivian President Evo Morales.

VENICE -- A film starring Brazilian Indians who had never acted before has wowed critics at the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered this week.

"Our experience of the privilege and duty of suffrage over many years - belatedly for our indigenous people - has made Australians savvy participants in our democratic system, and careful scrutineers of its performance and value", said Quentin Bryce, Australias first female governor-general.

TIANGIA -— Those who came to attack Christians here early last week set their trap well, residents say. First, they built makeshift barricades of trees and small boulders along the roads leading into this village, apparently to stop the police from intervening.

LA PAZ -- Major discrepancies emerged among the rightwing authorities and landowning and business interests opposed to Bolivia’s leftist President Evo Morales in a 10-hour meeting held to coordinate a strategy aimed at the economic suffocation of the government.

ARCTIC -- Canada´s control over the Arctic is melting with the ice. The Russian Bear is hungry again and flotillas of foreign ships (from oil tankers to tourist vessels) are poised to invade our internal waters and pollute our pristine Arctic environment.

CANBERRA -- The controversial permit system will be reimposed on Northern Territory indigenous communities under legislation passed by the lower house yesterday.

Journalist Stew Magnuson, a native Nebraskan, has taken a look at the relationship between the Pine Ridge Reservation and Nebraska’s border towns, particularly those in Sheridan County. In his just released book, “The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns,” Magnuson attempts to characterize the centuries-old debate over ownership of the land, racism, alcoholism and misunderstandings.

SYDNEY -- Publisher of a book that teaches girls to play the didgeridoo will remove a key chapter after Aboriginal claims that it is highly offensive.

BORA BORA -- A new luxury resort and hotel is now opened for guests this week. The whole luxury area is decorated with Indigenous Artwork.

MURMANSK -- Prosecutors in Murmansk say city mayor Mikhail Savchenko has failed to turn on heating in the city although temperatures have dropped below the border of eight degrees centigrade. That might have serious consequenses for the elected city leader.

SAPPORO -- Unlike his father, who used to get arrested fighting for Japan ´s indigenous Ainu people, Koji Yuki sees the key to securing his community´s rights in preserving and spreading the culture.

Gulf Coast, La. - The eye of Hurricane Gustav slammed into Morgan City on the Louisiana Gulf coast about 30 miles southeast from Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana just after noon yesterday, causing heavy damage. The center of the storm then moved northwest directly into the Chitimacha Reservation at near 15 mph, with top winds of 105 mph.

BILWI, Nicaragua -- Some 250,000 indigenous children and adolescents who had no legal identity in Nicaragua are in the process of being registered -- an essential step towards achieving recognition of their basic human rights.

SATIPO, Peru -- "We will not allow the oil company to come in because it will bring pollution and we will suffer," said Medaly Pancho, a member of the Ashaninka community in the central Peruvian province of Junín. "We hunt and fish, we live our peaceful lives, and we don´t want that to change."

TORONTO -- The Montreal World Film Festival on Monday gave its top jury prize to Japanese director Yojiro Takita´s "Okuribito" (Departures), while the top audience awards went to Canadian documentary filmmaker Benoit Pilon´s debut fiction drama "The Necessities of Life."

UPI, Mindanao -- Amidst the raging conflict between government forces and Muslim rebels on the island of Mindanao, the religiously mixed population in the North Cotabato region looks to a community radio station as a beacon of peace.

LA PAZ -— Bolivia´s National Electoral Court has suspended a referendum on a new constitution, delivering a blow to President Evo Morales´ plans to empower the long-marginalized indigenous majority.

SANTIAGO -- "Mari, mari!" shout the excited group of 20 Chilean, Peruvian and Ecuadorean three- and four-year-olds, using the Mapuche language greeting to welcome a visitor to their intercultural day care centre in Santiago.

BAMAKO -- The landlocked West African country of Mali is one of the world´s poorest nations. Since independence from France in 1960 it has suffered droughts, rebellions, a coup and 23 years of military dictatorship.

MEXICO CITY -- The Canadian mining corporation Minefinders has explored a rural area of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua for 14 years. But as it gets ready to begin mining gold and silver there, its plans are threatened by peasant farmers´ protests.

KENAI -- Members of a Kenai tribe are trying to preserve their cultural heritage by keeping their language alive.

PENDLETON -- Phillip Tiger, Cherokee, didn´t really connect with his American Indian heritage until he went to prison.