RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: They Will Have to Shoot Me First

Thousands of foreign residents of Cape Town have sought refuge at police stations, churches, community halls and in camps set up by municipal disaster management services.

CULTURE-PAKISTAN: Afghan Refugee Poets Behind Pashto Revival

Afghanistan’s tumultuous history of the last three decades is behind the incredible popularity of poetry in Pashto, the language of the majority Pakhtoons in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

RIGHTS-JAPAN: Calls for Peace Echo at Children's Forum

In a fittingly solemn gesture of peace and renewal, children and adults belonging to different faiths offered flowers and prayers, Monday, for the thousands of people who became the first ever victims of a nuclear bombing in this city 63 years ago.

Q&A: ''Failing to Act For the Benefit of Children Is a Crime''

The world's religions are poised to step out of their 'comfort zones' to heed the feeblest of voices - those of children. Under the aegis of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), these religious institutions are learning to set aside differences and work together for the sake of 2.2 billion children around the world.

RIGHTS-JAPAN: Youths Find Their 'Voice'

If the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step then such a step has just been taken by a group of children from different parts of the world, guided by an older generation dedicated to giving youth a brighter and safer future.

RIGHTS: Dutch Offer a Discriminatory Welcome

The civic integration test that would-be migrants of certain nationalities need to pass before being allowed into the Netherlands to join their families is discriminatory, says a Human Rights Watch report released last week.

JAPAN: Religious Leaders Renew Pledges to Children

Renewing solidarity and respect for the fundamental rights of children, over 1,300 religious leaders of different faiths, grassroots workers, and decision makers from about 60 countries are gathered in this historic Japanese city to give the younger generation a much-needed 'voice'.

VIETNAM: Infant Abandonment Worse Than Adoption Fraud?

While Vietnam has stopped its adoption agreement with the United States in reaction to an embassy report alleging corruption, baby selling and forced relinquishment by birth mothers, the question of abandoned children remains unaddressed.

MIDEAST: The Anniversary Is Over, the Agony Is Not

Holding up an old copper key, Yousef al-Hums settles down to retell the story of his eviction from what was once his home, and now is Israel. Because only the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel is over, the occupation of home of which al-Hums still keeps a key is not.

IRAQ: Praying, Not Playing

In the struggle now just to stay alive, everyone has forgotten that Iraq has lost, among other things, its tradition in sports. Some of its best sportsmen are now refugees.

LABOUR-SRI LANKA: Domestic Workers Promised New Deal in Kuwait

Will a new agreement between licensed labour recruiters in Sri Lanka and Kuwait protect the rights of domestic workers who face serious abuse in the Gulf state?

RIGHTS-KENYA: Home Is Where the Fear Is

The Kenyan government has begun transporting certain internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the camps they have occupied for the last four months back to their homes. The IDPs have been assured of support by government once back on their farms.

COLOMBIA: Therapeutic Abortion – A Right in Name Only?

A woman in Pasto, the capital of the western Colombian province of Nariño, found out that the baby she was expecting was severely deformed. But when she went to the provincial university hospital for an abortion, the chief obstetrician gynaecologist told her that "If your son is born deformed, take him to a circus."

AUSTRALIA: Women in Top Posts but Discrimination Prevails

While some have hailed the recent announcement that a woman is to be Australia’s next governor-general as a breakthrough for women - the first time that the English monarch’s representative in this country will not be male - advocacy groups argue that discrimination against women remains prevalent.

POLITICS-US: Is Immigration Off the Table in Election 2008?

These days, while you can still pick up a newspaper or turn on a radio or television gabfest and read, hear and see the issue of immigration batted around, it has become less of a hot-button political issue in the United States.

MIDEAST: Egypt Braces for New Gaza Influx

With next-door Gaza Strip in a humanitarian crisis, the government is desperate to avoid a repeat of January's Palestinian influx into the Sinai Peninsula. In recent weeks, the security presence along Egypt's 14-kilometre border with the hapless territory has been significantly reinforced.

IRAQ: Refugees Look to Europe

"I'll go to any country," says Zirgon Tomas al-Aya, a 60-year-old Iraqi standing outside the UN Refugee Agency headquarters in Damascus.

MIDEAST: Israel Could Make Orphans Homeless Again

Nibaal Shriteh may soon be homeless. The 17-year-old Palestinian lives in a Hebron orphanage but, if the Israeli military has its way, she and 240 fellow orphans like her will be out on the streets.

BULGARIA: Two Iraqis Did Make It

Bulgaria, sometimes considered a safe haven for Iraqi asylum seekers, has denied refugee status to all but two applicants from Iraq since December last year. Bulgaria's move contributes to blocking land access to Europe for Iraqis fleeing violence.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Displacements Set To Increase

Climate change is likely to lead to an increase in conflicts and forced migrations of poor people in the south, a new report warns. Developing countries can reduce this impact by adopting preventative measures now, while international law and human rights principles need to be updated.

IRAQ: Poverty Gets the Survivors

More than a million Iraqis were lucky enough to flee into Syria. But in this relatively safe haven, there is no getting away from poverty.