IPS Inter Press Service

Patricia Grogg*

HAVANA - At the age of 17, Meybelin Bernárdez is clear about the future: "When I finish my studies, I'll return to help my community get on its feet," the young Garifuna woman from Honduras, who is studying medicine in Cuba, says without hesitation.

Q&A: "Being Poor and White Is Not the Same as Being Poor and Black" in Cuba

CUBA: Raising Awareness about Racial Discrimination

LATIN AMERICA: Black Population – Still Largely Invisible

NICARAGUA: Caribbean Women Face Double Discrimination

COLOMBIA: Black Communities Organise in Country’s Poorest Region - 2008

CLIMATE CHANGE: A Year On, Little Change in Political Climate
Matthew Berger
WASHINGTON - This time last year, United States federal legislation on climate change was starting to take shape, seemingly more pressing matters were taking up the bulk of U.S. policymakers' time, and a major climate conference was looming at the end of the year.

ZAMBIA: School Policy for Teen Mothers a Partial Success
Violet Nakamba Mengo
LUSAKA - Naomi Mulenga is determined to beat the odds by finishing her school education and becoming a nurse – despite being a teenage mother.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The U.N.'s Boys' Club
	U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's decision to appoint a 19-member, all-male high-level advisory group on Climate Change Financing (CCF) has triggered strong protests from women's groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) outraged by the composition of the panel.

DEVELOPMENT: Bad Water More Deadly Than War

Q&A: Tapping Women's Enterprise to Topple Rural Poverty

EDUCATION-MALAWI: Local Language Dictionary Released
	The thickest book on secondary school teacher Hellen Ndalama’s desk is her indigenous language dictionary. It is also her most-used book.

ECONOMY-SENEGAL: 'Only The Rich Get Loans'

WEST AFRICA: Stopping the Polio Virus

NEPAL: Crippling Power Outages Throw Life Out of Gear
	When it gets cold during Nepal’s winter nights, Yem Prasad Gurung turns on his heater run by liquefied petroleum gas. When it gets dark, he switches on the lights that rely on a solar inverter – and to make sure he gets water, he turns on a generator-powered water pump.

MEDIA-ASIA: Exiled Radio Plays A Cat-and Mouse Game

POLITICS: The Pentagon's Propaganda Networks – Part 2

DEVELOPMENT: 'Aid Industry is Part of the Problem'
	Aid organisations perpetuate humanitarian disasters. That is one of the conclusions made by war correspondent Linda Polman in her latest book as she describes the world of humanitarian aid.

Q&A: Tapping Women's Enterprise to Topple Rural Poverty

RIGHTS: EU Selling Torture Equipment

GUATEMALA: Ok for Ex-President's Extradition to US Just One Step
	Civil society groups in Guatemala say a court decision authorising former Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo's extradition to the United States is just a first step in a lengthy process.

CLIMATE CHANGE-BRAZIL: The Threat Posed by Livestock

PERU: Priest on Campaign Trail Defrocked

MIDEAST: 'Day of Rage' Engulfs Palestine
	On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper.

WORLD CUP: But South Africa Will Win

MIDEAST: Israel-U.S. Tensions Continue to Percolate

HEALTH-US: Maternal Deaths on the Rise
	Despite the fact that the United States spends more on maternal health than any other country in the world, deaths in childbirth among U.S. women are on the rise and already surpass the morbidity rates in most developed countries.

MIGRATION-US: Mixed-Status Families Face Hard Choice

POLITICS: The Pentagon's Propaganda Networks – Part 2

NEPAL: Crippling Power Outages Throw Life Out of Gear
	When it gets cold during Nepal’s winter nights, Yem Prasad Gurung turns on his heater run by liquefied petroleum gas. When it gets dark, he switches on the lights that rely on a solar inverter – and to make sure he gets water, he turns on a generator-powered water pump.

CLIMATE CHANGE-BRAZIL: The Threat Posed by Livestock

CLIMATE CHANGE: The U.N.'s Boys' Club

MEDIA-ASIA: Exiled Radio Plays A Cat-and Mouse Game
	For exiled journalists working on shortwave radio programming aimed at Burmese and Tibetan listeners, dodging the ‘enemy’ in the name of freer speech is often a cat-and-mouse game.

EDUCATION-MALAWI: Local Language Dictionary Released

WEST AFRICA: Stopping the Polio Virus

WEST AFRICA: Stopping the Polio Virus
	The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its partners hope to eliminate the circulation of the polio virus in West Africa as soon as June by launching the first round of national synchronised immunisation days against the debilitating disease.

HEALTH-US: Maternal Deaths on the Rise

DEVELOPMENT: Bad Water More Deadly Than War

DEVELOPMENT: 'Aid Industry is Part of the Problem'
	Aid organisations perpetuate humanitarian disasters. That is one of the conclusions made by war correspondent Linda Polman in her latest book as she describes the world of humanitarian aid.

PERU: Priest on Campaign Trail Defrocked

LATIN AMERICA: NGOs Demand Transparency, Reforms in IDB