MIDEAST: The ‘Unknown’ Fight the Illegal

"Make sure your father gets this," the municipal inspector tells a ten-year-old boy at the gate of the concrete house in an alleyway in the Al-Bustan quarter of Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood right under the shadow of the walled Old City.

URUGUAY: White Concrete Block Replaces Mud, Wattle and Thatch

"If it weren't for the Mevir housing project, this would be a ghost town," says the local shopkeeper who supplies the basic needs of the families living in this remote hamlet in the middle of nowhere in the South American country of Uruguay.

AFRICA: We Are the Government

As if they were going to the races, Emma Musako and Monica Mhango showed up in their finest outfits to attend a meeting on the health, social and environmental impacts of uranium mining. They came because they, like the other attendees, no longer want to remain uninformed citizens.

ZIMBABWE: Numerous Challenges For Harare Water Supply

Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda is a troubled man. When he took office in July 2008, one of his most immediate tasks was to resolve the water crisis in the capital.

DEVELOPMENT: “Africans Should Become Their Own Philanthropists”

Africans "should dare to imagine an African world not defined by the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund but one that comes out of Africa". This is necessary for Africans to grow out of dependence and become the agents of their own development.

ENVIRONMENT: China’s Climate Change Plan: The Debate Goes On

For China choosing to act on climate change is not simply agreeing to effect changes in the way its robust economy is being run. Chinese leaders have to choose between two equally unattractive options—put the brakes on growth to choke off pollution and face an array of scary scenarios, from unemployment swell to social unrest.

AFRICA: ‘Pick Up Your Money With Your Groceries’

Of the many proposals on how to combat poverty in Africa, the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is championing what must be one of the simplest - make it cheaper and easier for migrants to send money home.

NEPAL: Hopes High for Environmental Rights in New Constitution

As the new federal republic of Nepal forges ahead with writing a new constitution, activists are demanding that environmental rights be enshrined in this important document.

LESOTHO: AIDS Orphans get Helping Hand

Fifteen-year-old Ntsebeng Tlokotsi* sighs with relief as she is given 140 dollars. Along with it she receives a bag of maize meal and cooking oil. It is a government handout, and she qualifies for this only because both her parents are dead.

AFRICA: Drug Subsidy Key to Anti-Malaria Effort

Just three percent of malaria-infected children in Africa get World Health Organisation-recommended drugs. One expert has equated this to a death sentence for sick children.

MIDEAST: Peace Plan May Yet Survive New Twists

U.S. President Obama's Middle East engagement policy reverses the unsuccessful policy of his predecessor, but the U.S. is again committing faux pas aplenty.

Q&A: ‘ODA Is What Governments Want to Do at Their Whim’

Think of a world where rich nations did not fund what was popular but instead collaborated to solve the developing world’s most pressing health needs.

HEALTH: New Task Force Targets Poor in Breast Cancer Fight

The rate of breast cancer in developing countries is on the rise, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, which estimates that the poor will account for more than 55 percent of breast cancer deaths this year.

AFRICA: Malaria Vaccine Draws Closer

After 20 years of trials, scientists have announced they are on the threshold of discovering a malaria vaccine. Researchers warn that Africa may not be ready to make use of the vaccine should it be approved as expected within five years.

POLITICS-US: No Sunset for Sweeping Patriot Act Powers?

The USA Patriot Act, rushed into law by a panicky U.S. Congress in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, gave the government broad surveillance powers to spy on innocent citizens. But it also stipulated that three of its more controversial provisions should expire next month unless reapproved by lawmakers.

PAKISTAN: Vibrant City Loses Colour, Verve amid Escalating Attacks

Lahore, known to the world as "the city of the live-hearted" has been in the grip of extreme fear since Oct. 15, the day when three suicide attacks took place here simultaneously.

RIGHTS-US: Another Legal Setback for Arar Torture Case

A federal appeals court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought against a former U.S. attorney general by a Canadian citizen who sought damages for being unlawfully detained by U.S. authorities in New York and then secretly shipped to Syria, where he was imprisoned for a year and claims he was tortured.

RIGHTS-UGANDA: Baganda Fight for Their Heritage

Specioza Nakabugo (63) sits on a mat under a mango tree on a well-mowed grass patch, her expression a blend of boredom and gloom.

PAKISTAN: Polio Vaccination: One Hurdle Down, One More to Go

Until the Taliban were forced to flee by the military, the militant group’s deadly opposition to vaccination had been severely hampering efforts to make Pakistan a polio-free country in the foreseeable future.

RIGHTS-US: Govt Lawyers Seek to Quash Rendition Lawsuit

The long road to the proverbial day in court just got longer for five men who claim they were "disappeared" and tortured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

HEALTH: Vaccines, Antibiotics Could Slash Pneumonia Deaths

Seven-month-old Marta lived in the central highlands of Guatemala when she came down with a high fever and rapid, shallow breathing.