RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: Stigma, Harassment Add to War Widows’ Burdens

Losing their husbands in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict has been difficult enough for the thousands of war widows here, but putting back the pieces of their lives has not been any easier.

HEALTH-VIETNAM: Transplant Law Will Save Lives, Say Doctors

The need is overwhelming, the medical technology and trained teams exist, and an organ bank was set up four years ago. Yet without a law on organ transplants, Vietnam's wealthy go abroad to shop for new organs, while thousands wait at home for legislation.

MEXICO-U.S.: The Mirage of a Migration Accord

The Mexican government boasted two years ago of having taken the initiative in negotiating with the United States a broad-based migration agreement, covering issues ranging from human rights to work passes and residency - but so far has nothing to show for it.

RIGHTS-BANGLADESH: Despite Laws, Dowry Demands Still Kill Women

For the last 20 years of her married life, Maksuda Aktar, who is now 40, has been regularly and ruthlessly beaten.

SRI LANKA: Buddhists, Hindus Join to Keep New Churches at Bay

Slowly and steadily, Buddhists and Hindus in this island nation are forging new bonds as leaders of both religious communities face what they see as the threat posed by new Christian groups.

IRAN: Khatami Could Have Done Better, Says Nobel Laureate Ebadi

Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has said that Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has ''missed opportunities'' during his tenure. Speaking to IPS, the 56-year-old Iranian human rights activist and lawyer indicated her disappointment with his presidency, even as her supporters ride the jubilation that greeted her award.

CUBA: Contradiction Between Number of Abortions and Ideal Family Size

By the time they reach the end of their child-bearing years, a large proportion of Cuban women have had at least one abortion. However, many women also feel frustrated that they have not had the number of children they would have liked.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Child Marriages Need Radical Solution – Activists

The Pakistani government views the story of 13-year-old Baby Pathani, who was married off to settle a family loan, as proof of how it protects children's rights, but activists say it needs to show concern in much more than one high-profile case to make a real difference.

LABOUR-SRI LANKA: Risks to Women Migrant Workers Start at Home

When she was a domestic worker in the Middle East, Uma regularly faced sexual assault from a member of the family she worked for.

PORTUGAL: Special Treatment Upsets Non-Brazilian Immigrants

An agreement that went into effect this month in Portugal, which benefits undocumented immigrants from Brazil, has upset foreign nationals from other Portuguese-speaking countries.

JAPAN: A Year Later, Ethnic Koreans Bear Brunt of Suspicion

While Tokyo marks the first anniversary this month of the return of five kidnapped Japanese nationals from Pyongyang, Chong Hyon Suk, an ethnic Korean in Japan, says she is still trying to come to terms with those horrifying revelations.

RIGHTS-NEPAL: Often Forgotten, Tibetan Refugees Languish in Jails

On the crowded bulletin board of a vegetarian restaurant here in the Nepali capital, amid flyers advertising yoga, meditation retreats and Reiki workshops, cooking classes and overland trips to "mysterious" Tibet, there is one flyer that stands out from the rest.

RIGHTS-SPAIN: Same-Sex Marriage Receives Strong Political, Social Support

The push for the legalisation of same-sex marriage received a strong show of political and social support Wednesday in Spain when three homosexual couples applied for a marriage licence.

RIGHTS-INDIA: Recent Rape Cases Trigger New Alarm

This October, Indian President Abdul Kalam will forego the solemn, time-honoured, annual ceremony of presenting the silver bugle to his resplendent, mounted bodyguard in the forecourt of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan, once the home of the British viceroys of India.

POPULATION: Cuba’s Ageing ‘Baby-Boomer’ Generation Presents Challenges

Cuba has had to adapt to the impact of its own generation of ''baby-boomers'', born in the 1960s. First it was a question of providing enough spots in child-care centres and primary schools, and in the not-so-distant future, the pensions system will begin to feel the burden.

RIGHTS-CHILE: Women Go Public for Legalised Abortion

Abortion is illegal in Chile, but according to various estimates 75,000 to 200,000 are performed in this country every year, often in conditions that endanger the health and lives of the women who choose to undergo the procedure.

RIGHTS-JAPAN: War Orphans Feel Unwanted in Their Own Homeland

Separated from her parents who were fleeing the Russian invasion in northern Manchuria at the end of World War II, Hideko Murata, now 69, grew up in a foster home dreaming of the day when she could return home to Japan.

BANGLADESH: For Migrant Workers, Risk of Overseas Work is Worth It

Mosammat Sahana Begum's husband, Mohammad Ruhul Amin, first reached Malaysia in 1995, escorted by a manpower broker who had walked his Bangladeshi herd through the much-frequented illegal route across the jungles on the Thailand border.

POPULATION-INDIA: Shame of Female Foeticide Remains Hard to Stop

Indian tennis sensation Saniya Mirza is not content with Wimbledon titles, but is keen on serving as a powerful deterrent to parents who seek an abortion upon discovering that their unborn child is female.

AUSTRALIA: Pressure Continues for Inquiry into Deadly Voyage

Two years after an overloaded fishing boat bound for Australia sank in international waters, with the loss of 353 lives, the Australian government is under renewed pressure to appoint a judicial inquiry into the vessel's fateful journey.

MALAYSIA: Conviction Shows that Space for Dissent Remains Limited

The 12-month jail term handed down this week to a human rights activist for "maliciously publishing false news" - about atrocious conditions reported from immigration detention camps - signals that little has changed in the space for dissent and activism in Malaysia.