POLITICS-AFRICA: Sudanese Women Meet at AU Summit

Pressure the Sudanese government to resolve the Darfur conflict and monitor United Nations troops for sexual offences, a delegation of Sudanese women told leaders at the African Union (AU) Summit here.

RIGHTS: Ignoring Girls&#39 Welfare Carries High Price

Investing in young women and girls in developing regions must be a top priority for governments, multilateral agencies and the private sector, say the authors of a report released here this week.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: Seeking Refuge Could Become Criminal

Plans by the European Union to allow police to study data on asylum-seekers have run into difficulty amid concerns that the move could result in victims of persecution being treated as criminal suspects.

GUINEA-BISSAU: One Step from Becoming First African “Narco-State”

Guinea-Bissau is an ideal African springboard for Latin American mafias to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into the wealthy European Union market.

GREECE: Police Show Lawyers A Brutal Face

Electra Floropoulou of the Lawyers Group for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants was not expecting the police to turn violent when she began taking photographs of the queue of migrants outside the Athens Directorate for Foreigners.

Q&A: “Mum, Were We Meant to Suffer All Our Lives?”

The post-election violence here has turned nearly 500,000 Kenyans into internally displaced persons (IDPs). Caught up in this unrest are refugees from neighbouring countries - such as Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia - who sought refuge in Kenya but now find themselves destitute once again.

Q&A: ‘Half Our Job Is Done If We Have The Imams On Our Side’

At 31, Dr Donya Aziz, was the youngest legislator to join the previous Pakistan Muslim League (Q) government. Busy running for the February elections, Aziz wants to get back into the assembly and resume the work she had to leave off when President Pervez Musharraf clamped emergency rule on Nov. 3, 2007 and dissolved the house.

EL SALVADOR: Benefits of Free Trade Deal Still Remote

The Salvadoran government had proclaimed that from the moment of its entry into force, the free trade agreement with the United States would boost the local economy, creating thousands of jobs, so that even street vendors would be exporting their typical snacks. But nearly two years later, the economic paradise has yet to arrive.

BRAZIL: Ban on Alcohol Sales in Roadside Businesses

As of Friday, the first day of Carnival, a government ban will go into effect on the sale of alcohol at all restaurants and service stations located along highways or freeways in Brazil, as part of a programme aimed at bringing down the high number of fatal traffic accidents.

MEXICO: Crime-Ridden City Where Anything Goes – And Frequently Does

"Keep your heads down, close your eyes and put your hands on your knees, bitches," said the man who climbed into the old taxi, holding up the couple inside at gunpoint. Seconds later another man joined him, wielding a butcher’s knife. Another armed robbery in the Mexican capital was under way.

LEBANON: Palestinians Rush for Confirmation They Exist

The Palestinian Liberation Organisation headquarters in the posh neighbourhood of the now closed Summerland Hotel in Beirut is buzzing with activity. A few men in black, Kalashnikovs firmly in their hands, guard the entrance to the elegant building. A handful of veiled women and older men carrying papers scurry past them up the stairs to the PLO offices.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Diversity, a Birthright Waiting to Be Recognised

For many people, the World Social Forum (WSF)’s influence and effect is waning, perhaps because it has outpaced public opinion and the dominant political processes, but not the real needs of the times, which require complex and urgent solutions.

Q&A: ‘Barring Electoral Fraud, the Opposition Will Triumph’ in Paraguay

The countdown to Paraguay’s presidential elections in April has begun, and the candidate for the Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC), former Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo, looks likely to pose a serious threat to the six-decades-old Colorado Party monopoly on power.

MIDEAST: Alarm Bells Sound Over “Jewish State”

Within recent months, several Israeli and U.S. officials have stressed Israel's unique character as a "Jewish state". But according to many Arab observers, the designation negates the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel, and leaves the door open to expulsion of Israel's Arab citizens.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Apology, No Compensation For Lost Generations

While aboriginal groups have welcomed the Australian government’s pledge to apologise to the 'stolen generations', they argue that the gesture should be backed up with compensation.

KENYA: Reports of Bodies Piled In Morgue Spur Anger, Grief

Reports that more than 200 bodies of Kisii people have not been identified for burial in neighbouring Kericho district has sparked anger in the community which has been taking care of thousands of internally displaced persons since post-election violence broke out four weeks ago.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Palestinians in Lebanon Seek Right of Return

"We know when we start a campaign we work for an achievable goal," declares Wafa Yassir, the energetic head of Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), which runs programmes for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

RIGHTS-GUATEMALA: Legal Action by Activists Against Judges Stymied

A Guatemalan court rejected accusations lodged by Coordinación Genocidio Nunca Más (Genocide, Never Again) Wednesday against the members of the Constitutional Court, which in December blocked the extradition to Spain of seven people accused of crimes against humanity.

EUROPE: Schengen ‘Wall’ Moves Further East

The enlargement of the Schengen free-travel zone has been celebrated as an opportunity to reunite Western and Eastern Europe, but those further east feel it was done at their expense, and some in the West have not welcomed the change.

PERU: Intercultural University Scores Poorly on Equality

Peru’s only intercultural university was established in the country’s Amazon jungle region to provide higher education for indigenous people, thanks to a concerted struggle by native leaders. Yet only 40 percent of the students are actually from indigenous communities, while the majority are "mestizos" (people of mixed-race) from urban areas.

SPAIN: Alliance of Civilisations Gets Off to an Auspicious Start

The First Forum of the Alliance of Civilisations sponsored by Turkey and Spain concluded in Madrid with concrete commitments, including generous funding, and the announcement that the second forum will be held in Turkey in 2009.