RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Victims Speak Out and Demand Respect

"One encounter, many paths: united against forgetting," the placards read, as 3,500 victims of the civil war in Colombia demand recognition and respect, from the authorities and society.

ENVIRONMENT: Tiny Tuvalu Fights for Its Literal Survival

The second smallest nation on Earth hopes to turn itself into an example of sustainable development that others can emulate.

ARGENTINA: Regional Leader in Traffic Deaths

Traffic accidents in Argentina have been claiming an average of 20 lives a day over the past decade, making it the top country in Latin America for these tragedies. They are also the main cause of death among people under 35, but in spite of this there are no official plans to end the slaughter on the roads.

SRI LANKA: Not All Tsunami Reconstruction Is Equal

It has been 30 months since the waves struck the coasts of Sri Lanka in the morning hours of Dec. 26, 2004. Since then, in a pattern that has become symbolic of the divided nature of the South Asian island, parts of the country have motored ahead with the reconstruction effort, while others have lagged woefully behind.

BOLIVIA: Indigenous and Mestizo Power Flexes Muscles

An immense tide of people demonstrating to keep the Bolivian seat of government in this city took to the streets last week to show support for the indigenous Aymara and mestizo leadership, in the greatest expression of popular power in the history of the country.

POLITICS: Most Muslims Reject Extremism

Growing numbers of Muslims in the Middle East and in predominantly Muslim countries in Asia and Africa are rejecting "Islamic extremism" and the use of suicide bombing, according to a new 47-nation global attitudes survey released by the Pew Research Centre on Tuesday.

POLITICS: Poor Countries More Optimistic About Future

Public opinion in most poor countries and Central Europe is generally significantly more optimistic about future living conditions for their children than in wealthy, developed nations, according to newly released findings of the latest Pew Global Attitudes Project (GAP) survey released here Tuesday.

Q&A: "What&#39s Important Is the Need, Not the Politics"

When conflicts and natural disasters flare up around the world, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) plays a critical role in delivering relief through a wide and complex array of U.N. agencies and non-governmental aid groups.

PARAGUAY: Stroessner’s Crimes Under the Microscope

Paraguay's Truth and Justice Commission has launched a campaign to collect testimonies from 2,000 victims and relatives of people who disappeared during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled this country with an iron fist for 35 years.

ENVIRONMENT-PAKISTAN: Relief for Flood Victims – Too Little, Too Late

''Our stuff is already packed and we’re ready to evacuate," said Allah Rakha,50, at a mobile medical camp set up on the Main Nara Valley (MNV) embankment which is, miraculously, still standing up to rainy weeather and pressure from flood waters.

COLOMBIA: &#39Independence? What Independence?&#39 Indigenous Peoples Ask

Colombia celebrated 197 years of independence from Spain on Friday, Jul. 20. On Monday, at dawn, some 5,000 indigenous people set off on an 800-kilometre journey to ask the government, "what independence?"

CHILE: State Upholds Gender Discrimination Within Marriage

Discrimination against married women under the law providing for joint ownership of marital property led Sonia Arce Esparza to take the Chilean state to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2001. An amicable agreement reached in March this year has not been implemented.

POLITICS: Young Hmong Americans Confront a Dark History

The Hmong American community was catapulted into the national spotlight when, on Jun. 4, 11 California residents were arrested for plotting to overthrow the government of Laos.

BALKANS: Some Get Lazier, Others Work Harder

Contrary trends arise in Serbia these days, where official statistics show Serbs are a lazy nation, while those who seek new opportunities show otherwise.

COLOMBIA: Displaced People Find Relative Calm in Bogota

What do Colombian children displaced by the war like most about this city? The tall buildings, the avenues, the museums and the cars. They love the parks, the sports fields and the rides in the amusement parks, according to a report by the Catholic Church and the main non-governmental source on displaced people.

PORTUGAL: Epidemic of Conscientious Objection to Performing Abortion

Pleading "conscientious objection," a significant proportion of doctors in Portugal are preventing women from making use of the law authorising abortions up to 10 weeks of gestation, which entered into force on Sunday.

MIGRATION-GERMANY: New Hope Arises for Integration

A summit on integration of some 15 million migrants into German society has produced an ambitious new programme.

DEVELOPMENT-TANZANIA: More Women Dying Preventable Deaths

"I began walking when I felt contractions. I delivered on the roadside five kilometres from the hospital," says the 22-year-old Veronica Joseph.

SECURITY-BRAZIL: Oedipus Caught in the Crossfire

A child mown down by a hail of bullets from a rifle aimed by an unseen gunman is one of the drawings kept on file by psychologist Ricardo Parente, and produced in evidence to support his claim that Freudian theory must be revised when treating cases in the violent shantytowns of Brazil.

BOLIVIA: La Paz Struggles Against Suffocation

The noise of traffic, dissonant car horns, people marching and shouting slogans, and firework and dynamite explosions is beginning to suffocate the urban centre of La Paz, Bolivia's seat of government, and is forcing consideration of medium term solutions.

COLOMBIA: Using Communication to Build Peace

"We don't want to give birth to children who go off to war. We want our children to be filmmakers, painters, dentists, whatever they want, but not to repeat this disgraceful war," a Colombian woman tells IPS.