GUATEMALA: Whitewash for ‘Adoption Paradise’

Guatemala may begin to shed its reputation as a paradise for international adoption now that its parliament has ratified a global adoption treaty and is preparing to pass a law that would regulate the phenomenon in a country where the trafficking and sale of babies have become widespread.

ENVIRONMENT-CHILE: From One Conflict to the Next

In what was hailed as a landmark ruling, the Chilean Supreme Court ordered the state to pay compensation to 356 residents affected by pollution with toxic metals in the northern city of Arica.

LEBANON: Refugee Resentment Simmers as Fighting Escalates

Fighting escalated Sunday and Monday in Lebanon as the Sunni Islamic group Jund al Asham attacked army positions outside Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, Ain al-Hilweh, in the south.

HEALTH-RUSSIA: More Funding, But HIV/AIDS on the Rise

Russia's HIV infection rate continues to rise - most notably in the heterosexual and non-drug-using populations - despite steady increases in funds to fight the disease. Experts and medical researchers say dramatic changes in sexual attitudes and behaviour are essential if the trend is to be reversed.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Don’t Cross that Invisible Line

"We can't go from one barrio to another. Whoever does that is at risk of losing their life," a community organiser in this Pacific port city in Colombia told IPS.

EDUCATION-ARGENTINA: A Library Per Household

A novel programme aimed at fomenting a reading habit among low-income sectors was launched in Argentina: the "Books and Houses" campaign will deliver a bookshelf complete with 18 volumes to each affordable housing unit assigned to families this year through government assistance plans.

Q&A: Russia’s Children Remain “Highly Vulnerable”

"While UNICEF is happy that children's rights are commemorated on Jun. 1, we would like to see every day of the year be 'International Children's Day', particularly in Russia, where children remain highly vulnerable," says Carel de Rooy, the United Nations agency's representative in Russia and Belarus.

LATIN AMERICA: More and More Countries Ban Smoking in Public Places

The 150 million smokers in Latin America and the Caribbean are finding it more and more difficult to smoke in public spaces, as a growing list of countries adopt measures aimed at protecting non-smokers from second-hand smoke.

BRAZIL: Homeless Take Fate into Their Own Hands

The occupation of the huge empty lot was carried out at night, by some 300 families. Just a few days later, there were nearly 5,000 families living in a sea of black tents in Valo Velho, a poor, sparsely populated neighbourhood in Itapecerica da Serra, on the outskirts of this Brazilian city.

SERBIA: Quiet Welcome of Foreigners Belies Insular Image

Serbia may be viewed by some as intolerant and somewhat nationalistic due to its role in the wars of disintegration of former Yugoslavia, but many of the people arriving from distant foreign lands are finding a hospitable home here.

EL SALVADOR: Water Pipes Don’t Mean Water in the Tap

"We have been facing this problem for 36 years; sometimes we have a little, but we actually spend a lot more time without water," says Ana Hortensia Cabrera, who is in fact among the lucky Salvadorans who have piped water in their home.

MIGRATION-US: A Lifetime in Limbo

Nhan (not his real name) fled Vietnam by boat in 1980. He left his wife, child and parents behind to come to the United States in search of freedom and a better life, and hoped to someday be able to sponsor his family to come over as well.

IRAQ: From Worse to Worst?

More than four months after the launch of the U.S. government's new Iraq strategy aimed at curbing violence in this war-torn country, the situation here shows no clear signs of improvement. Indeed, a recent report by a British think tank warns that Iraq is a "failure" on the verge of "collapse and fragmentation."

MIGRATION-US: No Second Chance for Troubled Youth

Kew Chea's college graduation party was also to celebrate the release of her older brother from prison.

HEALTH-ARGENTINA: Abortion – No Longer a Taboo Subject

Capitalising on a more favourable public opinion, an alliance of civil society organisations in Argentina presented to Congress a draft law Monday for the legalisation of abortion in a country where illegal abortions are the main cause of maternal mortality.

SRI LANKA: War Refugees Stressed by Mass Resettlement

An army-supervised mass resettlement plan underway for more than 100,000 people, displaced by fierce battles with Tamil rebels in eastern Batticaloa district, may be causing new problems for the refugees rather than solving existing ones, say volunteers.

BRAZIL: Homeless Squatters Find &#39Social Function&#39 for Empty Buildings

The dark entry hallway and a lower floor full of rubble that smells of excrement make it difficult to imagine that this was once a busy hotel, located next to two train stations in the central Luz neighbourhood of the southern Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.

CHILE: Rights of Mapuche Indians Still Not Ensured

Indigenous people in Chile face serious problems in terms of access to justice and protection of their rights, Sergio Laurenti, executive director of Amnesty International-Chile, told IPS.

BRAZIL: Indigenous Resistance Movement Defends Traditional Beliefs

Twenty indigenous people have been occupying the abandoned building of the Museu do Indio in Rio de Janeiro since October, to call attention to "500 years of resistance to genocide," a view of their history that has acquired new relevance in the light of the Vatican's latest position on Christian evangelisation during the colonial era.

CLIMATE CHANGE: U.N. Braces for New Breed of Refugees

As the international community continues to express fears over the potentially devastating impact of global warming worldwide, there is also growing concern over the steady increase in a new category of displaced persons: environmental refugees.

POLITICS: Major Poll Finds U.S. Muslims Mostly Mainstream

Despite deep dissatisfaction with U.S. foreign policy and President George W. Bush, U.S. Muslims tend to be better assimilated and more content with the larger society in which they live than their European counterparts, according to a major new survey released here Tuesday by the Pew Research Centre.