Group Says Botswana Bushmen Evicted over Diamonds

An international boycott of Botswana diamonds aims to draw greater attention to the government's mistreatment of native Kalahari Bushmen.

Sexual Violence Is Not “Collateral Damage”

On the tenth anniversary of a groundbreaking U.N. resolution, a conference on "Women and War" opened here Wednesday to discuss the disproportionate impact violent conflict has on women and possible ways to prevent these atrocities.

BRITAIN: Not Executing, Just Enabling

European Union officials are reluctant to tighten up rules covering the trade in products designed for torture or the death penalty, despite suggestions that a British company has been exporting lethal injection drugs used in executions.

The Orange-Senqu River Commission, ORASECOM, wants to educate children about conserving river systems.

The Orange-Senqu River Commission, ORASECOM, wants to educate children about conserving river systems. Zukiswa Zimela attended the launch of project, in the Free State province of South Africa.

AFRICA: FIFA Moves Against Trafficking of Young Footballers

When he was 15, Maurice Koné dreamed of becoming a great footballer. Adored for his technical skill and eye for goal by fans in Koumassi, a neighbourhood in the south of Abidjan, he dreamed of living the life of a professional overseas.

CARIBBEAN: Progress Stalls on HIV/AIDS

Despite the gains associated with antiretroviral treatments (ART) over the last decade, HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of death among young and middle-aged adults in the Caribbean, warns a new U.N. report.

Caribbean Fighting a Losing Battle Against Food Imports

For much of late October, Caribbean ministers of agriculture, journalists, farmers and academics gathered in this tiny but picturesque south Caribbean island in a rearguard bid to refocus a region used to existing mostly for tourism on agriculture, given a mounting food import bill and fears of yet another global food crisis.

Safeguard Issues Shadow Forests Rescue Plan

As national policies are developed to implement REDD, the U.N. effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, a key question has been how to ensure social and environmental standards are upheld in REDD projects, both at the national and international level.

Only seven African nations have ratified the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance which promotes good governance on the continent.

Only seven African nations have ratified the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance which promotes good governance on the continent. But delegates to the Pan African Parliament are confident they will soon garner the eight more needed to put the charter in place. Tinus de Jager reports from Midrand, South Africa ….

Zimbabwe Women Make Themselves Heard on Draft Constitution

A parliamentary select committee has begun compiling comments on a new constitution, gathered at 4,000 meetings held across Zimbabwe over the past three months. Gender activists are confident that women's views have been expressed; it will be up to the eventual drafters of the new constitution to ensure they are reflected.

HAITI: Quake Refugees Seek Moratorium on Evictions

The children standing at the tent beside the filthy pool of water put their needs simply when asked what they wish for: "À manger; l'école," they said, practically in unison. In English, "We want to eat; we want to go to school."

Salvadoran Prisons – Hubs of Organised Crime

Decades of government neglect, a corruption-racked penitentiary system and a growing wave of violent crime have combined to move El Salvador's prisons even further away from their stated purpose of rehabilitation while strengthening their role as veritable schools of crime.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Testing the Waters Ahead of Closer Collaboration

You would expect to find children in the Vaal River outside Parys on a hot afternoon. But 28 of them, on the Gauteng side of the river, are not swimming; they are doing research for ORASECOM.

MIDEAST: Past Fails to Pass Barriers

A Swedish attempt to bridge conflicting historical narratives has failed to bring Israeli and Palestinian educators together in teaching the other side's views on history.

U.S. Polls Bode Ill for Immigration Reform

With conservatives likely to be the biggest winners in Tuesday's U.S. congressional elections, efforts to achieve a more compassionate national immigration policy may be one of the biggest losers.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Trees Are the Key to Sustainable Farming

Farmers and members of a cooperative in Valle del Ribeira, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, are developing a farming technique that uses less water and no agro-chemicals, and is based on planting trees.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Saving Lake Yojoa

Environmental, community and government organizations are putting the final touches on a plan to save Lake Yojoa, the largest lake in Honduras -- and on the verge of turning into a swamp.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Irrigation Plan to Fight Climate Change's Effects

Renewing water pumping equipment, rehabilitating wells and using technology in irrigation are the steps necessary to mitigate the impacts of climate change and adapt Mexico's agriculture to the new reality, propose two environmental organizations.

SOUTH AFRICA: Neglected Johannesburg Neighbourhood Rises Again

A month after property developer Alex Montwedi bought a 42-unit high-rise apartment building in Johannesburg’s Berea neighbourhood, he found himself chased out of the building by his own tenants.

DEVELOPMENT: ‘Vulnerable’ Asia Seeks To Reduce Disaster Risks

Even as Asian ministers discussed ways to reduce disaster risks here, news broke of a twin tragedy in Indonesia – a tsunami triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake, and the eruption of the country’s most active volcano, Mount Merapi, whose name means "mountain of fire".

Children in Namibia, especially in the smaller towns like Rehoboth, are increasingly dependent on social grants.

Chris Stein reports that even more money is needed to help the poor in Namibia.