BRAZIL: Agrarian Reform for Informal Lands

Brazil is attempting to promote agrarian reform in a rural context in which irregular or unofficial land holdings are widespread and failure to deal with land disputes fuels ongoing violence.

JAPAN: Debate Grows over An Empress at the Throne

Media reports suggesting that Japan's Crown Princess Masako is suffering from severe depression - linked to heavy pressure on her to produce a son - has revived a debate over the idea of allowing an empress to reign over the 2,000-year-old Chrysanthemum Throne.

MALAYSIA: Outrage over Indonesian’s Abuse Sparks Calls for Change

The widespread outrage over the torture and disfigurement of an Indonesian domestic worker has prompted new calls for reforms to protect migrant workers in Malaysia, but sceptics say the real test will be if changes happen after the media frenzy over the case subsides.

JORDAN: Away from Home, Sri Lankan Workers Seek New Relationships

Like any other domestic worker, Kanthi (not her real name) sends money home regularly to her family in Sri Lanka. But she leads a double life - she has a boyfriend and they have a child here in the Jordanian capital.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Another Step Towards Lasting Peace

Sudan has edged closer to a final peace deal after the government and rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army signed three protocols Wednesday night (May 26) that are crucial to ending Africa’s longest-running civil war.

RIGHTS-GUINEA: Trauma of War Resurfaces, Often among Women Refugees

Under a makeshift tent in the Laine refugee camp in southern Guinea, Charlesetta Kollie, a Liberian refugee, buckles down to teach dressmaking to a new group of apprentices.

AUSTRALIA: Pulling Plug on Ethnic TV Shrinks Space for Diversity

Sydney's ethnic community groups are outraged by the media regulating body's decision to pull the plug on an innovative television channel in Australia that has been giving a voice to them for 11 years now.

REFUGEES: Millions ‘Warehoused’ Without Rights for 10 Years or More

More than seven million of the world's nearly 12 million refugees have been "warehoused" in dangerous border areas or urban slums without regard to their basic human rights for 10 or more years, according to the 2004 'World Refugee Survey' released Monday by the U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR).

CUBA: Emigres Caught Between Bush and Castro

Once again, a U.S. government seems to be achieving exactly the opposite of what it says it is aiming for with its Cuba policy.

COLOMBIA: Commission to Investigate Massacre of Wayuu Indians

A commission will be sent Saturday to the northern Colombian desert region of La Guajira, home to the Wayúu Indians, to verify reports of brutal attacks on indigenous men, women and children, including a massacre.

CHINA: Macau Bets on Las Vegas Touch

Macau is betting on Las Vegas' glitz and mainland China's rising wealth in order to transform itself into the Monte Carlo of the Orient.

CUBA: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

''We are like a crab: one step forward, two steps back,'' said Aurelio Fuentes, a 62-year-old Cuban who retired two years ago from a state-run company and now supports his family as a fisherman.

SOCIETY-IRAN: Soap Opera Sparks Feminist Backlash

A soap opera on Iran's state-run television has created a backlash among female journalists and other educated women in the capital, who have denounced the show as a ''propaganda machine for sexism and discrimination against women.''

EDUCATION-JAPAN: Visa Crackdown Adds to Foreign Students’ Woes

It took Chaturani Perera two years to convince Japanese immigration officials to grant her a student visa. The 20-year-old Sri Lankan had to prepare the necessary documents and accrue a hefty 10,000 U.S. dollars - her family's life savings - in a bank account

POPULATION: For Cubans, Emigration is ‘Forever’

The dream of travelling to another country in search of opportunities, to help support one's family and someday return to the homeland, is an impossible dream if the emigrant is Cuban.

LABOUR-MALAYSIA: Discriminatory Laws Tear Families Apart

Exhausted and at her wit's end, Rosnah (not her real name) was unable to hold back her tears as she related her horrid experiences of the past three months.

MIGRATION-CUBA-U.S.: Washington Tightens Grip, Havana Loosens Up

While the U.S. government hardens its stance towards Cuba, to such an extent that it is as seen as hurting the Cuban community in that country, the Caribbean nation loosens its position on emigration and opts for dialogue.

BRAZIL: Justice Turns Blind Eye to Sexual Violence Against Children

Araceli Cabrera Crespo was nine years old when she was tortured, raped, strangled to death and burnt with acid by a group of youths under the effect of drugs in Vitoria, the capital of the west-central state of Espíritu Santo, in 1973.

GULF: Despite Bad Press, Tourism Growing in Region

Standing at her hotel's exhibition booth at the Arabian Travel Market earlier this month, Anne Bleeker was all smiles. She thinks business is brisk and can only get better.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Brace for More Destruction

More and more Palestinians are facing homelessness after the fighting last week.

AUSTRALIA: Gov’t under Pressure to Free Children of Asylum Seekers

Pressure is growing on the Australian government to release 150 children being held in immigration prisons, in the wake of a major investigation into the effects of the practice.