ENVIRONMENT-NIGERIA: Villagers Flee Landslides

It all started some 30 years ago as development began to creep into this small community following Nigeria's oil boom of the 1970s.

EDUCATION-BRAZIL: Bill Would Reserve Quotas for Blacks, Indigenous Students

Universities, which have traditionally reproduced or heightened social inequality in Brazil by consolidating the position of the wealthy élite, are now being called upon to do the opposite, by opening their doors preferentially to the poor, and to blacks and indigenous people.

HEALTH-ANGOLA: The Dangerous Profession of Motherhood

Walking into the Angolan capital's main maternity hospital, the first thing that hits any visitor is the stench: a nauseating combination of blood and excrement. After a short while, the stomach settles and the eyes adjust to the poor light in the Maternidade Lucrecia Paim; then, the true wretchedness of the grey walls and broken windows begins to sink in.

CHILE: Indigenous Children Torn Between Farm Work and Homework

They dream of becoming doctors, lawyers or reporters, but they are more likely to face a future of working as chauffeurs or domestics. Raised in poverty, Aymara and Mapuche indigenous children from the northern and southern regions of Chile tend to drop out of school to go to work.

RIGHTS: First-Ever Treaty for People with Disabilities Gains Ground

After a three-week marathon session, a United Nations committee has expressed confidence in finalising a new international treaty to protect the disabled by the end of the year.

ARGENTINA: ‘Storytelling Grandmothers’ Spark Interest in Reading

In the northeastern Argentine province of Chaco, the poorest part of the country, the Storytelling Grandmothers programme has been so successful that the Ministry of Education has taken up the idea and turned it into national policy.

SCIENCE-BRAZIL: An Astronaut Opens a Door to Space

When the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Cesar Pontes, leaves for outer space in March, he will be opening the doors to the heavens not only for some renowned scientists in his country, but also for dozens of children at 39 municipal schools.

ARGENTINA: Bringing Preschool Education to the Slums

Almost half of all children in Argentina between the ages of three and five are not enrolled in any preschool programme. The Oscarcito Project was conceived to help fill the gap and provide an early boost to the linguistic and cognitive development of children living in extreme poverty.

BRAZIL: A Push for More Local Scientists in the Amazon

Foreign experts conduct most of the scientific studies of the vast and biologically rich Amazon region. Brazil is trying to triple the number of local graduate students in related fields by 2010.

ARGENTINA: Education to Overcome Tradition of Tax Evasion

A novel plan for tax education in Argentina is using theatre, puppets, educational games, entertainment centres, and competitions to teach youngsters about the importance of paying taxes to finance and preserve what belongs to everybody. They are all useful methods, according to those in charge of the programme.

RIGHTS: In Plain Sight, But Still Invisible

Each year, more than 50 million children go unregistered at birth, depriving them of basic services like health care and education, and making them more vulnerable to exploitation later in life.

EDUCATION-LATIN AMERICA: School Is Not a Cure-All for Inequality

Education alone will not solve the huge inequalities that afflict Latin America and the Caibbean, authorities and researchers warned at the first meeting convened by UNESCO to evaluate the progress of an educational project agreed by the countries of the region in 2002.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Youths at the Service of Youth

They've spent the past year confronting many of South Africa's problems head on, from the high incidence of rape to the fact that many school children battle hunger. They expected nothing less.

HEALTH-INDIA: HIV/AIDS Messages Reach Communities Via Classrooms

Across India, from the densely-populated western metropolis of Mumbai to the conservative southern temple city of Madurai, students are taking messages to end the stigma and discrimination around HIV/AIDS from classrooms to communities.

RIGHTS: Spare the Rod, Save the Child

Fifteen years after the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, only 17 governments in the world have passed laws explicitly barring the use of corporal punishment at home.

RUSSIA: Foreign Students Under Attack

Students from developing countries are coming under increasing attacks from extremist groups in Russia.

RIGHTS: Native Canadians to Get 1.7 Billion for School Abuse

The Canadian government announced Wednesday an "agreement in principle" to pay 1.7 billion dollars to tens of thousands of Canada's indigenous peoples who were physically and sexually abused in government-financed, largely church-run "residential schools".

HEALTH-ASIA: Sex Education Can Be Creative, Say Experts

Many Asian countries now have sexual health education in schools, but teachers often focus on health and biology and leave out the very issue they need to address - sexuality, said experts at a regional conference here, this week.

WSIS: This Cranked Up Computer Could Close a Gap

This little green computer runs without electricity or batteries, and it costs 100 dollars. And it could do more than all thhe speeches made at the World Summit on the Information Society to help narrow that 'digital divide'.

EDUCATION-LATAM: The Internet, Friend or Foe of Learning?

A school in the Chilean capital has decided to prohibit students from writing their assignments on computers. "The kids just download material from the Internet and hand it in without making any changes. They don't even read it. Now they will have to write out their assignments by hand, which means they will have to take the time to read them," teacher Josefina Arriagada told IPS.

EDUCATION-SPAIN: Changes in Religious Instruction on Track for Approval

Despite the fierce opposition of Spain's right-wing Popular Party and the Catholic Church, an educational reform bill that would change religious instruction in the country's schools is on the road to approval.