POLITICS-DR CONGO: Regional Leaders Urge Effective Ceasefire

African leaders meeting in Nairobi have called for an end to the renewed fighting in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which has displaced 253,000 people since August, according to the United Nations.

SOMALIA: Women 'Keep Life Going' in Violent Streets of Mogadishu

On the fifth day of every month a group of women entrepreneurs gather to share their experiences and discuss matters of trade. What makes this exceptional is that the women are from south-central Somalia and they meet in Mogadishu, one of the world's most devastated and dangerous cities.

POVERTY-AFRICA: Leaders Cannot Close Their Ears

Eight years ago, the leaders of 189 countries pledged to work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, eliminating extreme poverty by 2015. The Stand Up, Take Action Campaign mobilises millions of people around the world to press for action to make this a reality.

WORLD FOOD DAY: Zambia's Women Farmers Demand Policy Changes

Zambia's tens of thousands of peasant farmers are crucial to the country's food security, yet they have little voice in agricultural policy. Cecilia Violet Makota is one of the rare exceptions.

AFRICA: Civil Society Gains Strength at AU

The launch of the African Union’s official civil society council may strengthen the continent’s ability to address human rights violations and tackle poverty, activists say.

Q&A: "We Will Write About Them"

While formal publishing companies in Nigeria languished through the economic crises that accompanied the structural adjustment programmes of the late 1980s and early 1990s, young Hausa writers began writing about their lives and contemporary problems they faced. Bypassing formal publishers, they self-published their novels, often with the help of a writers' cooperative.

SIERRA LEONE: Building Peace

Sierra Leone has been a major recipient of foreign aid since the end of a devastating 11-year civil war in 2002. But government, donors and citizens are all questioning how effectively this aid is being used.

DEVELOPMENT: Accra Agenda for Action – A Step Backwards?

Ahead of the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF3), opening in Accra on September 2nd, representatives of civil society at a parallel forum have raised concerns that the HLF could represent a step backwards in efforts to improve aid effectiveness.

ECONOMY: Eastern Europe and Central Asia See ‘Remarkable Growth’

Russia and the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, former members of the now-defunct socialist bloc, were among the world leaders in growth in 2001.

DEVELOPMENT: Former Communist Nations No Paradise for Children

The former communist countries of Europe and Central Asia, in the rush for economic growth, have neglected their goals to improve the standard of living for all and to build humane and democratic societies, says a new report by the United Nations Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

POLITICS-CUBA/RUSSIA: New Era of Tensions for Former Comrades

Cuba strongly objects to Russia's announced closure of an electronic intelligence centre on the Caribbean island - a move Havana says is Moscow's "special gift" to Washington - stoking a new public dispute between the two countries, though Cuba is calling for negotiations.

POLITICS-CUBA/RUSSIA: New Era of Tensions for Former Comrades

Cuba strongly objects to Russia's announced closure of an electronic intelligence centre on the Caribbean island - a move Havana says is Moscow's "special gift" to Washington - stoking a new public dispute between the two countries, though Cuba is calling for negotiations.

CUBA-RUSSIA: Spy Base Closure Marks End of Military Alliance

The dismantling of a "spy station" located just outside Havana is to be completed by the end of the year, eliminating the last vestiges of the close military ties that Cuba had with the now-defunct Soviet Union.

CUBA-RUSSIA: Spy Base Closure Marks End of Military Alliance

The dismantling of a "spy station" located just outside Havana is to be completed by the end of the year, eliminating the last vestiges of the close military ties that Cuba had with the now-defunct Soviet Union.

DEVELOPMENT-CENTRAL ASIA: Thrashed by Drought and Soviet Legacy

A persistent drought and the economic transformations since the collapse of the Soviet Union have greatly exacerbated poverty in some Central Asian republics, said humanitarian aid organisations Tuesday as they issued an appeal for international help.

RIGHTS: Central Asian Women Increasingly Targeted by Traffickers

Networks of traffickers in humans are increasingly exploiting women from Central Asia, subjecting them to a modern form of slavery in a dynamic that is linked to the globalisation process and the transformation of local economies, said the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Friday.

ECONOMY: Former Soviet Republics Worse Off Today

The economic prostration of the former Soviet republics has reached such an extreme that they are, on average, 40 percent below their wealth levels of 1989, the year the region's socialist regimes collapsed, says a new United Nations report.

POLITICS-CUBA/RUSSIA: Putin’s Visit Leaves Loose Ends

The search for a way to resolve Cuba's financial debt to Russia was among the matters left pending for the relaunching of bilateral relations as President Vladimir Putin concluded the official portion of his visit to the Caribbean island Friday.

DEVELOPMENT-UN: It’s Hard to Be Young in Post-Communist Era

The transition from communism to the market economy opened up social and economic opportunities for the youth of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, but disease, school drop-out rates and unemployment are on the rise, says a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) released Wednesday.

HUMAN RIGHTS: EU Urged to Sue Russia over Abuses in Chechnya

Leading human rights groups are urging the European Union (EU) to pressure Russia at their bilateral summit on Sunday to launch a credible inquiry into reports that its soldiers have tortured and killed civilians in breakaway Chechnya.

POLITICS: Russia Moves to Increase Role in Middle East Peace Process

Having been left out of the recent Sharm El- Sheikh summit, Russia is currently positioning itself to ensure that it has some voice in further talks on peace in the Middle East.