BOLIVIA-CHILE: Conflict Over ‘Outlet to Sea’ Blocks Integration

Projects to boost the physical integration of transportation in South America will face a major obstacle unless the conflict between Chile and Bolivia over the latter's demand for an outlet to the sea is worked out, say analysts and political leaders in both countries.

RIGHTS-VENEZUELA: National Guard Guilty of Excesses, but no Killings

Venezuela's National Guard used excessive force in putting down opposition demonstrations in late February and early March, but none of the deaths that occurred during the protests can be blamed on the militarised police force, according to Ombudsman Germán Mundaraín.

RIGHTS: Zimbabwe and the World Bank Under Scrutiny at CIVICUS

Human rights activists from Zimbabwe have called on African leaders to condemn what they describe as ongoing human rights violations in their country. This came during the biennial meeting of the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), which ended Thursday (Mar. 25).

POLITICS-SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Moderate Islam Stands Tall

The likelihood of Malaysia going in the direction of countries known for their intolerant strand of Islam - such as Saudi Arabia - has just been stopped in its tracks by ballots, not bombs and bullets, at the weekend's polls.

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Polluter Pays Principle May Yet Gain Ground

If the Indian government carries out a threat to disconnect electricity and water supplies to 16,500 polluting industrial units in Delhi, it will be the first major attempt to enforce the ''polluter pays principle'' in this country.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Examining a Decade of Democracy

Academics and political analysts from around the world have gathered in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, for a conference on the achievements of the first decade of democracy in the country.

MIDEAST: Peace Will Get Harder to Find on the Roadmap

Israelis here are just waiting for a wave of retaliatory attacks over the killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The consensus seems to be that some major strikes will come sooner rather than later.

MIDEAST: Peace Will Get Harder to Find on the Roadmap

Israelis here are just waiting for a wave of retaliatory attacks over the killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The consensus seems to be that some major strikes will come sooner rather than later.

POLITICS-EU: War on Terror ‘Threatens Aid’

A rush of new EU proposals seek to link aid to the fight against terrorism. Inevitably, a group of leading non-governmental organisations have objected to the moves.

SOCIETY-SRI LANKA: Detained Would-be Migrants Live in Limbo

For almost three months, Shiran Russel and 268 others have been taken to a courthouse in the Sri Lankan capital every two weeks from a southern prison 45 kilometres away, unsure of their fate after having been caught trying to sneak into Italy by boat.

MIDEAST: Assassination Deepens Atlantic Divide

The differing reactions to the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual leader of the Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement, underline the divergences in the European and the U.S. approaches to the Middle East conflict.

JAPAN: Child Abuse Forces Tough Look at Isolated Society

A rising tide of child abuse cases is forcing the Japanese government to boost efforts to prevent adults from inflicting gross physical and emotional harm on children, a trend that experts link to increasing isolation in an affluent, modern society.

DEVELOPMENT: Billions Suffer Lack of Vitamins, Minerals

Simple and cheap measures, similar to fortifying salt with iodine, could help control vitamin and mineral deficiencies that afflict up to a third of the world's people, particularly children, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a study released Wednesday.

/UPDATE/RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: President Hands Over Former Torture Centre

In a ceremony outside of the Navy School of Mechanics (ESMA) - the most notorious detention centre operated by Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship - President Néstor Kirchner apologised in the name of the state for the silence that has surrounded the atrocities committed by the de facto regime.

HUMAN RIGHTS: UN Commission Condemns Israel for Hamas Leader’s Death

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights condemned the assassination of Palestinian sheik Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), by Israeli troops in Gaza on Monday.

HAITI: U.S. to Ship Guns to Neighbouring Dominican Republic

Washington is poised to start shipping 20,000 M-16 rifles to the Dominican Republic, the nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, where well-armed rebels helped to force President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power Feb. 29.

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: President Hands Over Former Torture Centre

In a ceremony outside of the Navy School of Mechanics (ESMA) - the most notorious detention centre operated by Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship - President Néstor Kirchner apologised in the name of the state for the silence that has surrounded the atrocities committed by the de facto regime.

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: President Hands Over Former Torture Centre

In a ceremony outside of the Navy School of Mechanics (ESMA) - the most notorious detention centre operated by Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship - President Néstor Kirchner apologised in the name of the state for the silence that has surrounded the atrocities committed by the de facto regime.

POLITICS-U.S.: Disillusioned Arab Americans Abandon Bush

Although xenophobia has ebbed somewhat in the 30 months since the terror attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, some rights groups are worried that Arab and Muslim Americans are once again being demonised as national security takes centre stage in the nascent U.S. presidential campaign.

HEALTH: Experts Divided in War Against Tuberculosis

World Tuberculosis Day found the scientific community divided on the status of this disease: the optimism of the World Health Organisation contrasts with the gloomy forecasts of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF).

POLITICS: EU Opening Arms to China

Moves to lift the EU arms sale embargo on China are creating differences both within the Union and between the EU and the United States.