IRAQ: Plight of Christians Provokes Calls for Special Protection

While the successful penetration by suicide bombers, who killed 10 people, including four U.S. nationals, of the carefully guarded ''Green Zone'' in downtown Baghdad grabbed headlines here this week, another measure of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq came from a more surprising source.

BHUTAN: 13 Years On, No Solution in Sight for Refugees in Nepali Camps

More than 100,000 refugees from the small Himalayan nation of Bhutan continue to languish in camps in Nepal, while neither talks between the governments of the two South Asian kingdoms nor the international community have come up with any plan to put an end to their forced exile, which has dragged on for 13 years.

ARGENTINA: The Struggle for the Right of Same-Sex Couples to Adopt

Who is the mommy and who is the daddy for children adopted by same-sex couples? Does being raised in this kind of family affect the emotional and psychological development of these children?

REFUGEES-ITALY: A Hard Life in Slum and Camp

The rapid expansion of a slum built by illegal immigrants in the eastern part of Rome shows the ineffectiveness of a strict anti-immigration policy.

BOLIVIA: Indigenous and Civic Groups to Field Candidates

In Bolivia's upcoming local elections, indigenous and civil society organisations will for the first time be able to field their own candidates, thanks to a modification of the country's election laws.

RIGHTS: Relief Agencies Jolted by Deaths in Sudan

The deaths of two humanitarian workers in a landmine explosion in northern Darfur early this week and the painfully slow response of the world community to the ongoing violence and atrocities have worsened the spreading crisis in Sudan, according to senior U.N. officials and humanitarian organisations.

CUBA: Transvestites and Transsexuals Slowly Finding a Place in Society

Transvestites and transsexuals face varying degrees of discrimination and marginalisation all over the world, but in a country like Cuba, with a firmly entrenched culture of "machismo", life can be even more challenging.

POPULATION-JAPAN: Friends in Cyberspace Unite in Death

Loneliness, financial insecurity and poor communication skills were highlighted as the underlying causes of a spate of shocking group suicide pacts in Japan this week.

IRAQ: Plight of Christians Provokes Calls for Special Protection

While the successful penetration by suicide bombers, who killed ten people, including four U.S. nationals, of the carefully guarded ''Green Zone'' in downtown Baghdad grabbed headlines here this week, another measure of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq came from a more-surprising source.

THAILAND: Ramadan Sees Hope, Fear and Brutality in the South

The start of Ramadan this Friday, when pious Muslims seek to cleanse their souls and come together in the name of peace, sees mosques in Southern Thailand taking a centre- stage in a region racked by recent violence and bloody killings.

COLOMBIA: Indigenous Women Reclaim Traditional Medicine

Luxmenia Banda, of the San Andrés de Sotavento indigenous reserve in northern Colombia, remembers that when she had bruises as a girl, her grandmother would apply the leaves of the 'árnica' (Heterotheca inuloides), of the daisy family, ''to reduce inflammation'', and would use crushed oregano to prevent scratches from becoming infected.

REFUGEES-EU: Divisions Deepen over Distant Camps

Proposals to build centres for asylum-seekers outside the EU will be back on the table at the next European summit in Brussels Nov. 5.

AFGHAN ELECTIONS: Refugees Want Karzai As Their Man

As Afghanistan gets ready to start counting votes Wednesday from a historic presidential election, after several key candidates threatened to declare the poll illegal, Afghan refugees living in Pakistan were confident incumbent president Hamid Karzai would become the first-ever legitimate head of state and speed up efforts for much-needed peace in the war-torn country.

CUBA: Familiarity Breeds Tolerance for Sexual Diversity, Specialists Hope

They were born men, but they rarely refer to themselves as such. They are Cuba's transvestites and transsexuals, who are increasingly determined to defend their right to be themselves when they leave the refuge of their homes dressed as women.

LATIN AMERICA-SPAIN: The Rediscovery

Spain is celebrating Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas Tuesday with promises of stronger cooperation and business ties with the countries it once conquered.

CHINA: Tiger Leaping Gorge Draws Strength from Nu River Activists

China's nascent green movement is throwing a gauntlet to the country's new leadership in a nationwide drive to save the last of China's free-flowing rivers.

COLOMBIA: Indigenous People Say ‘No’ to IDB Loans

The leaders of Colombia's indigenous peoples categorically stated that they would refuse any loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and said they would not take part in the "formal markets, financial circuits or market economy."

POLITICS-BRAZIL: Activists Call for Reforms to Boost Women’s Representation

Brazil will continue to be a "hobbled democracy" unless electoral reforms are adopted to increase women's representation in political office, said Almira Rodrigues, co-director of the Feminist Studies and Advisory Centre (CFEMEA).

POLITICS-SUDAN: Persistent Insecurity in Darfur, Despite Global Pressure

Saleh Mahmood Osman chooses his words carefully. The human rights lawyer makes it clear that, although he comes from strife-torn Darfur, he does not bear ill will towards the Sudanese diplomats who have come to listen to his address in the South African capital, Pretoria.

RIGHTS-JAPAN: Activists Want Foreign Spouse Abuse Acknowledged

While domestic violence is now accepted as a major issue in the country, activists are working hard to draw attention to abused foreign spouses who they say suffer just as much as their Japanese counterparts

POLITICS-SAUDI ARABIA: Fair Deal for Women? Well, No One Knows

When conservative Saudi Arabia announced last year that it would hold partial municipal elections in which people for the first time could vote directly, the reaction of many in and out of the country was nothing less than shock.