POPULATION: Aging, But Not Obsolete

The U.N. Commission on Population and Development, meeting in New York this week, is discussing how to harness the untapped potential of older persons to strengthen families, communities and nations.

CENTRAL AMERICA-MEXICO: Summit Relaunches Development Plan

The flagging Plan Puebla Panamá (PPP) received a new boost at the summit that brought together the leaders of the countries that launched the development plan six years ago: Mexico, the seven countries of Central America, and a new partner, Colombia.

IRAQ: And These Refugees Are Lucky

Salim Hamad, 33, glances at the sprawling buildings of the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus and sees business. He has set up a small tea shop at the camp.

BRAZIL: Continued Turbulence Ahead in Air Traffic Crisis

Brazil's air transport crisis, caused by an air traffic controllers' strike, is not yet over. The crisis has also opened up two additional battle fronts for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: discontent among the military, and the looming threat of a parliamentary inquiry.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Challenge of the Century?

Climate change is already altering the Arctic, sub-Saharan Africa, small islands and Asia's river deltas, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported Friday in Brussels.

POLITICS-CHILE: Women Assess Bachelet’s Record

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is being showered with criticism from both left and right over her ability to govern. But she is being unfairly condemned for the mistakes of others, like the crises affecting parties in the governing coalition and "machista" or male chauvinist attitudes that exaggerate her every slip, Chilean women say.

POPULATION: U.S. Funding Cuts Undermine Terror War

A proposed 25-percent cut in U.S. international assistance for population in the upcoming 2008 budget threatens to undermine the war against terrorism, a Washington-based non-governmental organisation warned Wednesday.

EAST TIMOR: Elections on Track, Under Heavy Guard

With less than a week to go to the presidential elections in East Timor, the violence has not let up in this small island nation that was born in May 2002 after nearly five centuries of Portuguese colonial rule and 25 years of brutal occupation by Indonesia.

MEXICO: Beach-Going in the Land-Locked Capital

Crowds of people flocked to the Mexican capital's first artificial beach Tuesday - a stretch of bright white sand studded with palm trees and beach chairs, and with plenty of hot sunshine. At an elevation of 2,250 metres above sea level and more than 400 kilometres from the nearest coast, it is surrounded by a cement jungle and chronic smog.

ENERGY-CUBA: Looking to Windward

Cuba is interested in developing wind power and other renewable energy sources to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels for generating electricity, without setting aside its hopes for new oil finds.

PAKISTAN: Security Concerns Force Afghan Refugees to Stay

"Lack of security in Afghanistan is the main obstacle standing in the way of our going back," said an Afghan vegetable-seller, straddling a muddy narrow lane in Kacha Garhi, the oldest refugee camp in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), with a push-cart.

POPULATION-SRI LANKA: Ageing Adds to Unemployment Worries

The clock is ticking fast for Sri Lanka to take advantage of its 'demographic dividend' and get young people to participate in the country's economic future - before ageing hits the population in the next 25 years.

ECONOMY-UAE: Indians, Pakistanis Fuel Fresh Real Estate Boom

Indians and Pakistanis are leading several other Asian nationalities in spending millions of dollars gobbling up real estate investment opportunities in the northern emirates of this tiny Gulf state, industry sources here say.

RUSSIA: Foreign Vendors Face the Boot

Foreigners engaged in retail trade and food product markets face a ban on doing business from Sunday.

BRAZIL: Youth Still in Trouble, Despite Plethora of Social Programmes

The Brazilian government has a total of 45 different programmes targeting young people, according to the National Secretariat of Youth. Nevertheless, young people face high unemployment and are sucked into a spiral of violence in which they are both victims and actors.

MEXICO: Gov’t, Military Scramble to Deny Rape of Indigenous Woman

The handling of the case of an elderly indigenous woman who was allegedly raped by soldiers and died soon afterwards has seriously undermined public trust in the governmental National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), the Mexican government and the armed forces, which deny that she was sexually assaulted.

NICARAGUA: Sandinistas Wage a New War – Against Hunger

With the support of international cooperation, the Nicaraguan government is preparing to launch an all-out offensive against hunger, as part of an ambitious plan to help the rural poor achieve food sufficiency.

HEALTH: Living in Portugal, Giving Birth in Spain

Drastic public health budget cuts in Portugal have led to the closure of emergency and maternity services and prompted protests against the government of socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates.

ITALY: Not Too Young to Know Their Rights

Minors landing on Italian coasts will be taught their rights under a new law.

VENEZUELA: Colombian Refugees Flee to Lawless Border Region

"The ELN (guerrillas) tried to recruit my 19-year-old son last year. When he refused, they killed him. A neighbour told me where they buried him, and out of vengeance, they killed my neighbour's son," says the peasant farmer under the hot sun on the Venezuelan plains, squeezing his eyes together to keep the tears back.

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: Trial Delays Spark Justice Vs Executive Spat

The government of Néstor Kirchner is mounting an offensive against judges sitting on Argentina's highest criminal court, accusing them of delaying the course of justice in cases involving human rights abuses committed during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. But this action may itself prove an obstacle to the course of justice, say activists and lawyers.