COLOMBIA: Therapeutic Abortion - A Right in Name Only?
By Constanza Vieira
BOGOTA - A woman in Pasto, the capital of the western Colombian province of Nariño, found out that the baby she was expecting was severely deformed. But when she went to the provincial university hospital for an abortion, the chief obstetrician gynaecologist told her that "If your son is born deformed, take him to a circus."
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AUSTRALIA: Women in Top Posts but Discrimination Prevails
By Stephen de Tarczynski
MELBOURNE - While some have hailed the recent announcement that a woman is to be Australia’s next governor-general as a breakthrough for women -- the first time that the English monarch’s representative in this country will not be male -- advocacy groups argue that discrimination against women remains prevalent.
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POLITICS-US: Is Immigration Off the Table in Election 2008?
By Bill Berkowitz*
OAKLAND, California - These days, while you can still pick up a newspaper or turn on a radio or television gabfest and read, hear and see the issue of immigration batted around, it has become less of a hot-button political issue in the United States.
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MIDEAST: Egypt Braces for New Gaza Influx
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani
CAIRO - With next-door Gaza Strip in a humanitarian crisis, the government is desperate to avoid a repeat of January's Palestinian influx into the Sinai Peninsula. In recent weeks, the security presence along Egypt's 14-kilometre border with the hapless territory has been significantly reinforced.
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IRAQ: Refugees Look to Europe
By Zack Baddorf
DAMASCUS - "I'll go to any country," says Zirgon Tomas al-Aya, a 60-year-old Iraqi standing outside the UN Refugee Agency headquarters in Damascus.
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MIDEAST: Israel Could Make Orphans Homeless Again
By Zack Baddorf
HEBRON, The West Bank - Nibaal Shriteh may soon be homeless. The 17-year-old Palestinian lives in a Hebron orphanage but, if the Israeli military has its way, she and 240 fellow orphans like her will be out on the streets.
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BULGARIA: Two Iraqis Did Make It
By Claudia Ciobanu
SOFIA - Bulgaria, sometimes considered a safe haven for Iraqi asylum seekers, has denied refugee status to all but two applicants from Iraq since December last year. Bulgaria's move contributes to blocking land access to Europe for Iraqis fleeing violence.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: Displacements Set To Increase
By Tarjei Kidd Olsen
OSLO - Climate change is likely to lead to an increase in conflicts and forced migrations of poor people in the south, a new report warns. Developing countries can reduce this impact by adopting preventative measures now, while international law and human rights principles need to be updated.
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IRAQ: Poverty Gets the Survivors
By Maki al-Nazzal and Dahr Jamail*
DAMASCUS - More than a million Iraqis were lucky enough to flee into Syria. But in this relatively safe haven, there is no getting away from poverty.
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PAKISTAN: Bulldozers Poised to Raze Afghan Refugee Camp
By Ashfaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR - "We are shifting to a rented house in nearby Cherat village after being here for 20 years. We have to leave because my shop has been demolished," said an agitated Afghan refugee, Gul Wali, in the sprawling Jalozai refugee camp, 35 km east of this border city in Pakistan.
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