Brazilian Prosecutors Try to Bypass Amnesty to Try Human Rights Crimes

A group of young lawyers in Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office are seeking to break through the wall created by the amnesty law that blocks the investigation and prosecution of serious human rights violations committed during the country’s 21-year military dictatorship.

Helping Child Cancer Patients Reintegrate in Cuban Society

The days of doctors, needles and uncertainty seem far-off to Elián Acosta, a Cuban boy who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2006 and is in remission. Now the challenge is for him to be reintegrated into the community without being seen as "different."

Saving Face for Pakistan

By winning an Oscar at this year’s Academy awards, filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has brought home the genius of Pakistan’s women as well as the extreme violence they often suffer in a male-dominated society.

Myanmar Ethnic Groups Resist Forced Labour

In a move expected to deepen political reform, the quasi-civilian government in Myanmar (also known as Burma) is permitting the distribution of leaflets that will help thousands of people in the country’s ethnic enclaves learn to resist forced labour.

Dissidents Occupy Church Ahead of Pope’s Visit to Cuba

A small group of dissidents who identify themselves as members of the Republican Party of Cuba (PRC) continued to occupy a Havana church Thursday, demanding a response to their grievances, despite the fact that the Catholic Church rejected the use of its churches for political ends.

Mining Industry Puts a Freeze on Mapping of Argentina’s Glaciers

Since late 2011, scientists in Argentina have been carrying out an inventory of the country’s glaciers, with the aim of monitoring and preserving them. But they have failed to reach the most critical areas, where large-scale mining projects are encroaching on the ice fields.

‘Shopping Tourism’ Promotes Regional Unity in the Balkans

The region of former Yugoslavia has developed a new phenomenon in response to economic hardships that continue to linger in Europe years after the climax of the global financial crash in 2008.

To the Rescue of Children in Hands of Peru’s Shining Path

The armed forces of Peru have launched a campaign to rescue at least 50 children who are in the hands of the last surviving remnant of the Maoist Shining Path guerrillas.

Malaysians Miss Indonesian Hired Help

Ideally, Malaysia’s affluent households could meet their need for domestic help by tapping on Indonesia, a large country with linguistic and cultural similarities - but Jakarta has placed a ban on its nationals working as domestics in the neighbouring country.

You Name It, We Lost It

Millions of Chinese micro-blog users will be forced to hand over their details this week in a real-name registration drive. The new state regulations - piloted in five Chinese cities - have created uproar amidst fears the move will bring heightened censorship and a crackdown on users.

Lukewarm Response to Guilty Verdict for DRC Warlord

The International Criminal Court delivered its first verdict Wednesday: Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was found guilty of recruiting children under the age of 15 to fight in a militia group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Public Water Management Services Need “Committed Citizens”

The trend of privatisation and commercialisation of water services, which set in in the 1980s and continued throughout the 1990s, has come to a halt due to the process’ own failures, and has given rise to a return of those services into efficient public management, according to a new book.

Humanitarian Disaster Unfolding in South Sudan

Less than a year since South Sudan's independence, thousands of people in the region continue to face the stark realities of secession.

Seoul Summit Aims at Nuclear Safety Amidst Rising Threats

Against the backdrop of a politically-waffling, nuclear-armed North Korea as its unpredictable neighbour, South Korea is hosting a nuclear security summit later this month to be attended by over 40 heads of state and government.

Q&A: “Cuba’s Presence at OAS Summit Would Have Caused Serious Problems for Obama”

Colombian diplomat Clara Nieto says President Juan Manuel Santos managed to work out in his favour the boycott that was looming over the sixth Summit of the Americas, after several countries threatened to stay away if Cuba was not invited.

Palestinian Rights Retreat to Backburner

The latest tit-for-tat confrontation which earlier this week pitted Israel against Islamist factions operating from the Gaza Strip follows a conditioning pattern which highlights the marginalisation in the international arena of the Palestinian aspirations to freedom and independence.

Antibiotics Toughen Bacteria on German Farms

The recent death of five prematurely born children in the northern German city Bremen as a result of infections acquired in the hospital has strengthened fears among environmental and health experts that massive use of antibiotics in industrial livestock farming is creating extremely resistant bacteria.

Libyan Youth Yearn for Normalcy

Young men and women socialise together at Tripoli University’s ‘campus B’ tarmac parking lot as they prepare to sit for examinations during this tumultuous school year.

Syria Mines Border Escape Routes, Rights Group Charges

The Syrian military has placed anti-personnel mines along its borders with Turkey and Lebanon, which have provided asylum for a large number of civilians fleeing the crackdown on year- long pro-democracy uprisings there, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Victims of War, Victims of Oblivion

"In 1982 they killed my mama and 15 other people, and they burned down our house. Now we are trying to get support, because we have not received any aid," says Jacinto Escobar, an Ixil Indian who is seeking reparations for the damages sustained during Guatemala’s 1960-1996 civil war.

Floodlights Illuminate Historic Cricket Moment in Kashmir

While the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association is hogging headlines over the alleged embezzlement of sports funds, Kashmiri youth are gearing up to write history in Kashmir’s cricket record.