POLITICS-MADAGASCAR: Scores Dead in Political Violence

"The capital has never known such stillness," Marie Ratonvonirina said of the one-day stayaway declared by the mayor of Antannanarivo, Andry Rajoelina, on Jan. 29.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Formal Economy Returns to the North

Mamadou Dembélé has removed all the contraband products he has sold for the past in six years at his shop in Bouaké in central Ivory Coast. This is due to the gradual return of government control in the area - occupied by the rebellion launched in the country in September 2002.

CHINA: Striking Hard in Tibet 50 Years After The Uprising

China is preparing for the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising - which saw the Himalayan territory’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, flee into exile - with a 'strike hard' campaign and propaganda on the evils of feudal oppression in pre-1949 Tibet.

SRI LANKA: India Speaks Up For Embattled Tamils

As humanitarian agencies warned of a major crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee made a quick dash Colombo to extract promises concerning the safety of some 250,000 ethnic Tamils trapped in fighting between separatist rebels and government troops.

PAKISTAN: Slum Fire Reignites Housing Concerns

A fire which razed a slum settlement and killed 40 of its residents earlier this month has brought to the fore the deplorable conditions in which half of the 12 million people of this port city live - and official indifference to their plight.

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Malaysian, Thai Officials Trafficking Burmese Migrants?

A scandalous trade in Burmese migrant labour involving Malaysian and Thai officials and international human traffickers is now coming to light.

RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: 'Plight of Tamils Similar to Gaza Civilians'

While the Sri Lankan army has announced the capture of Mullaitivu, the last bastion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the plight of more than 250,000 civilians caught in the fighting continues to be as grim as that of civilians in Gaza, say those involved in humanitarian work.

HEALTH: Obama Lifts "Global Gag Rule"

U.S. President Barack Obama Friday lifted an eight-year ban on U.S. funding for overseas family-planning groups and clinics that perform or promote abortion or lobby for its legalisation.

LABOUR: ‘Meltdown Leaves Migrant Workers Prone to Abuse’

The global recession is causing a heightened sense of job insecurity among millions of migrant workers making them more vulnerable to abuse, say migrant rights advocates.

POPULATION: Bridging the Family Planning Gap

Some 43 countries around the world now have populations that are either essentially stable or declining slowly.

HEALTH-THAILAND: Burmese Migrant Workers Key to Fighting Bird Flu

Thailand’s plans to contain the spread of the deadly avian influenza virus must involve the tens of thousands of Burmese migrant workers employed in this country’s poultry industry, say experts.

SOMALIA: Poverty Forces Children Into the Streets

Hassan Maye, 13, has been fending for himself and his family in the streets of Mogadishu since he was ten. He shines shoes in the Sinai neighbourhood in the southern part of the Somali capital. On a good day, he says he earns 18,000 shillings - equivalent to roughly 50 cents.

THAILAND: Burmese Refugees Set Adrift, Hundreds Feared Dead

Hundreds of Rohingya (Burmese Muslim) refugees are feared dead after being pushed back into the sea by Thai authorities, according to human rights activists based in Thailand.

HEALTH-LATAM: Too Many Women and Children Dying

"Latin America is not in the tragic conditions of the least developed countries, but an average rate of 130 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births is very high," UNICEF representative Egidio Crotti told IPS.

PAKISTAN: Nightmare for Civilians Uprooted by Conflict

"We are in hell! No electricity, no clean drinking water! This is no life, we were better off at home!" fumes Arjumand Khanum, a refugee from Bajaur Agency, on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

BOLIVIA: Mothers Teaching Mothers to Combat Malnutrition

One of every two children under the age of five in the southwestern Bolivian highlands municipality of Betanzos suffers the effects of chronic malnutrition.

CUBA: Racism – “Taboo, Complicated and Thorny” Issue

The persistence of racism in Cuba is disturbing to some of the island's thinkers, who are calling for a debate on the problem in this country, where equal rights have not guaranteed equal opportunities for all social groups.

PERU: A Mining Town’s Woes

A four-hour drive from the Peruvian capital, the town of Morococha ("coloured lake" in the Quechua language) is a living example of what the mining industry has brought to many poor rural villages and towns in this country.

TRINIDAD: Where Are the Missing People?

When 15-year-old Devika Lalman left her home a few days before Christmas to buy school supplies for the new academic term, her parents had taken all the necessary precautions to ensure her safety.

INDIA: Delivers Diplomatic Ultimatum to Pakistan

India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday that his government has delivered a dossier to Pakistan containing evidence of the involvement of Pakistanis in the Mumbai massacre - an act that strategic experts say amounts to an ultimatum to bring the perpetrators to Indian justice.

PERU: Open-Pit Mine Continues to Swallow City

An immense open-pit mine located 4380 metres above sea level is swallowing up the centre of the city of Cerro de Pasco in Peru’s central highlands, while the damages, in the form of toxic waste, spread to nearby villages.