CAMBODIA: It’s Gambling Time Again, but Locals Still in Poverty

Gambling kingpins in this frontier town can see their business fortunes restored now that the Thai-Cambodia border is open and the two countries are mending fences, but for many Thai workers and Cambodians here, their lives will still be mired in poverty.

RIGHTS: Lucrative Market for Illegal Adoptions Fuels Abuse

A growing industry dedicated to finding infant children to fill the demand for adoptions within a country or abroad generates millions of dollars of profits each year, representing the accumulation of the exorbitant sums paid by adoptive parents.

IRAQ: For Bangladeshi Workers, End to War Means Return of Jobs

The rural market hubs on the way to Hagradi village all have one common sight: hanged effigies of George W Bush, with old shoes strung around the U.S. presidential neck.

PAKISTAN: Poverty, Lack of Options Keep Women in Sex Work

Najma says she does not like her work, but that circumstances compel her to continue being a sex worker.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Rape a Horrific Weapon of War – Activists

The worst and most horrific cases of violence against women occur in times of war, when existing discrimination is exacerbated, agreed United Nations experts and humanitarian activists gathered in this Swiss city.

CUBA: Housing Shortage, Strict Regulations Create Straitjacket

Cuba's severe housing shortage - a cause of divorces, marriages of convenience and serious family conflicts - leads many couples to indefinitely postpone the dream of a home of their own and forces growing families to live in crowded conditions.

LATIN AMERICA: The Traditional Model of Masculinity or ‘Machismo’

According to the code of the true Latin American ''macho'', a real man is tough, independent, aggressive, dominant, sexually experienced, competitive and emotionally cool.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Policy on Timorese Refugees ‘Immoral’ – Critics

Australia's international profile, already hurt by criticism against its role in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, is under fire for is its desire to boot out East Timorese asylum seekers who fled the former Indonesian territory more than a decade ago.

MEXICO-US: Repercussions of War on Iraq Felt along Border

The war on Iraq has slowed the flow of trade across the Mexican-U.S. border due to the heightened security, and many Mexicans are reluctant to face the ordeal of passing through customs, where they often meet with discrimination, according to analysts.

POPULATION-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Society Reconsiders Polygamy

Polygamy is an age-old African custom that is being reconsidered throughout the traditional and largely impoverished nations of the southern Africa, but current times of poor economies and social uncertainties have kept the practice of multiple-wives a reality for millions of largely rural women.

UNITED STATES: Hunger in a Wealthy Nation

While the U.S. government spends billions of dollars to wage war against Iraq, some 30 million people in the United States go hungry, 12 million of whom are children, says Anuradha Mittal, co-director of the California-based Institute for Food and Development Policy (IFDP).

POPULATION-BANGLADESH: Men a New Target in Family Planning Drive

Bangladesh is furiously drawing up plans to redeploy family planning workers at the field level in an effort to get crucial demographic numbers swinging downwards once again.

IRAQ: Forecasts of Massive Refugee Flows Miss the Mark, So Far

Calm prevailed along Iraq’s borders through the second day of hostilities, with the exception of the southern frontier with Kuwait, where U.S. and British forces penetrated Iraqi territory Friday.

POPULATION-VIETNAM: Communities Discourage Brides Bound for Taiwan

When Nguyen Thi Phuong is not petitioning local authorities to help her get her children back, she takes part in forums on the risks and realities that Vietnamese women face when they after they go to Taiwan as brides.

IRAQ: Humanitarian Agencies Prepare Relief Efforts

International humanitarian agencies are preparing a major emergency deployment for assisting refugees, in the countries neighbouring Iraq.

RELIGION-AUSTRALIA: Intolerance in Anglican Church Sows Worries

The description of non-believers as devil worshippers by the new Anglican dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, is fuelling a religious row, drawing accusations of insensitivity and intolerance in this multicultural country.

INDONESIA: Would-be Migrants Chafe against Ban on Unskilled Labour

''I don't know when we will leave,'' teary-eyed Indonesian worker Siti Aisah said. ''The longer we stay here, the more we will incur debts,'' Tri Widjayanti, Aisah's friend, added.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Culture Can Add to Weight of Domestic Violence

Several South-east Asian countries have adequate laws in place to promote gender equality and protect women against violence, but societal norms and attitudes often prevent their full implementation, say researchers and community development workers.

JAPAN: Officials Clamping Down on Underage Sex Offered On-line

At first glance, it looks like an innocent posting on the Internet about a teen crush, with red hearts framing the letters.

UAE: Job Nationalisation Drive Gets Locals in, More Foreigners out

It is amnesty season in the United Arab Emirates, and thousands of undocumented foreign workers are queuing up to get a passage back home.

AUSTRALIA: Book Renews Debate on Attempts to Stop Refugee Boats

A newly-released book that says Australian Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock asked in 2001 about stopping and sabotaging boats carrying asylum seekers to the country has rekindled a controversy about Australia's policy toward such arrivals.