LEBANON: "Not Going to School Is Like Being Put Back in Time"

High costs for private education following displacement has caused major gaps in provision of assistance to Iraqi refugees living in Lebanon, especially in the area of education.

FINANCE: Critics Press IMF on Social Spending

When Dominique Strauss-Kahn takes over as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month, he will confront demands for the agency to more actively support health and education spending in the world's poorest countries.

CUBA: Providing the Tools for an Active, Fruitful Old Age

Becoming a senior citizen in Cuba has ceased to be seen as a tragedy, the end of useful life and a resigned waiting for death. Embracing old age without fear, with its pain and its wisdom, appears to be the purpose of thousands of women and men who attend classes at the University for Older Adults.

CUBA: Citizen Action Transforming the Barrio

Two women set out nine years ago to help the barrio of Balcón Arimao, on the outskirts of the Cuban capital, tackle its numerous problems through community participation.

POLITICS-IRAN: Islamist, Socialist Revolutions Don&#39t Mix

An attempt to rope in the son and daughter of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara to forge a parallel between Iran’s Islamist revolution and the socialist revolution in Latin America through a four-day conference has ended in fiasco.

BRAZIL: Warning – These Computers Come With Strings Attached

The declaration the Dell computer maker is requiring its Brazilian customers to sign, promising their computers will not be exported to the "axis of evil" or used for weapons development, according to reports, highlights the difficulties faced by scientific research due to U.S. geopolitical considerations.

PORTUGAL: Brain Drain Still Bleeding Ex-Colonies Dry

The violence, corruption and generalised poverty marring more than three decades of independence in Portugal’s five former colonies in Africa, and five years of independence in East Timor, have been the main obstacles for development in these countries, but not the only ones.

RELIGION-PAKISTAN: Shia-Sunni Tensions Surface on Campus

Prayer time at Pakistan’s hallowed University of the Punjab (PU), normally a solemn averment of the brotherhood of the faithful, is nowadays marked by the deep Shia-Sunni schism that has riven the Muslim world.

DEVELOPMENT-MALAWI: Lack of Running Water Puts Girls&#39 Education at Risk

Rita Kalikokha of Dowa, a rural district in central Malawi, thinks about abandoning school every time she menstruates.

TURKEY: Now to Jobs and Education

While two-thirds of the country fasts in this holy month of Ramazan, the Turkish version of Ramadan, and activities slow down during the day, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to get to grips with the post-electoral challenges of his government.

EDUCATION-IRAQ: Back to School, Back to Horror

As another school year begins in Iraq, parents approach it with dread, fearing for the safety of their children.

CUBA-US: Academic Exchange Continues, Despite Embargo

Relocating the 27th Latin American Studies Association (LASA) International Congress from the United States to Canada has meant that 138 Cuban academics have been able to take part in the event, which promotes dialogue and academic exchange in the region.

IRAQ: Children Starved of Childhood

The violence around the continuing U.S. military operations in this city has robbed children of their childhood.

HEALTH: No Sex Education Please – We’re Indian

Though adolescents are said to be at the centre of the AIDS epidemic and India has the largest number of infections in Asia, this conservative country continues to shy away from incorporating sex education in school curricula.

POLITICS-THAILAND: Islamist Teachers Fuelling Insurgency – Report

The image of a leading private school in southern Thailand took a beating after a new report, released Tuesday, fingered its teachers and alumni as being instrumental in an increasingly brutal insurgency in the region that borders Malaysia.

EAST TIMOR: Keeping Youth Off Political Violence

Once a month, 24-year-old Emilia Soares scours the streets of her neighbourhood persuading youth to attend a local assembly. She is a youth leader in Suco Bidau Santana, a residential area in the east of the capital and one of the rare ones who escaped the civil strife of the last few years.

FRANCE: Differences Arise Over Education Law

The government of President Nicolas Sarkozy announced after it was swept into power this spring that its policies would bring a "tranquil rupture" with many cherished traditions, particularly in education.

VENEZUELA: A New Life for At-Risk Kids, and Music Too!

On tour in Germany after performing to rave reviews at the BBC Promenade Concerts in London, the members of Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Youth Symphony Orchestra and its wild-haired conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, have made a remarkable journey from their less than promising social origins.

Q&A: “I Have Ideas for Things That Need To Be Done in All Social Sectors”

It's a long way from the north of France to West Africa - and from studying mathematics at the University of Lille to becoming a mayor in central Cameroon. But Marie-Hélène Ngoa has successfully undertaken both these journeys.

TRADE-EAST AFRICA: Learning From Past Glories

East African scholars are delving into history for clues on cultivating economic ties and dealing with challenges in a new era of expanding trade with China and India.

BRAZIL: Schools as Tools to Combat Violence

The assault on a physical education teacher was the last straw. Three teenagers beat him with sticks, causing a head injury which required 17 stitches. The school closed for three weeks from that day, Apr. 30, 2003.