CAMEROON: Protect Your Daughters, Iron Their Breasts

"Please God, make my breasts disappear." Joyce Forghab used to pray the same line every night during the month she was suffering from breast ironing. The shocking practice, carried out by a quarter of mothers in Cameroon, is meant to reverse female sexual development.

Bahrain Medical Staff Sentenced for Treating Protesters

Thirteen doctors and nurses who treated anti-government protesters during demonstrations in Bahrain earlier this year have been jailed for 15 years for crimes against the state.

South Sudan’s Most Vulnerable

At first sight, the village of Rokwe on the outskirts of Juba looks like any other village in South Sudan. The sun shines bright on the grass roofs of the mud huts and sounds from a church choir practising can be heard in the distance. Only the scenery at the local health centre gives away that this is no ordinary place.

Barroso: Greece Will Remain in the Eurozone

Greece will remain in the eurozone but must meet its reform commitments in full, Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, has said.

Foreign Fighters Support Israel’s Settlements

Two weeks ago, an announcement appeared on a French website, calling for "militants with military experience" to participate in a solidarity trip to Israel between Sep. 19 and 25.

Dozens of Bodies Found in Eastern Mexico

The bodies of 35 people who allegedly had links to organised crime have been found in two abandoned lorries on a highway underpass in eastern Mexico, authorities say.

Deadly Fighting Rages in Yemeni Capital

Deadly fighting has spread across Yemen's capital as tribesmen joined battles between rival military units, raising fears among residents the country is descending into civil war.

OP-ED: Palestine and the U.N.: A History of Double Standard

Failure to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Israel's 40-year occupation, in the words of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, would "continue to hurt the reputation of the United Nations and raise questions about its impartiality".

Accessible Micro-Loans Help Poor Women in Rural South Africa

While women still lag grossly behind men in terms of bringing home the bacon, a new entrepreneurship organisation, Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship (FITE), is working to swing the balance of economic power in South Africa by providing micro-loans to hard-up women.

Street Clashes Resume in Yemeni Capital

At least 21 people have been killed and over 100 injured in fresh clashes on the streets of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, a day after 26 anti-government protesters were shot dead and hundreds wounded by troops and gunmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

OP-ED-US: How the Road from 9/11 Led to My Door

For ten years, the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, have been used as a pretext for war - tens of thousands dead in Afghanistan, more than a million killed in Iraq and a campaign of repression at home, carried out against thousands of Arabs, Muslims, and now, even the peace movement.

NATO-Led Forces Secure Kabul After Attacks

Afghan and NATO forces have ended their assault on Taliban fighters, 20 hours after the group launched coordinated attacks in Kabul, targeting NATO's headquarters, the U.S. embassy and the Afghan intelligence agency.

PLO to Seek Full U.N. Recognition

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) will go to the United Nations Security Council and seek full membership in the world body next week, despite the looming threat of a U.S. veto, a Palestinian official said.

OP-ED: Double Standards: the Case of Itamar Awarta

Last March, a vicious crime occurred in the occupied Palestinian territories. Five members of an Israeli settler family were slain in their home in Itamar, a settlement in the northern West Bank. A mother, father, two young children and a three-month-old were all stabbed to death.

Deaths Reported in ‘Fresh Syrian Assault’

Syrian forces have killed at least 21 people in a massive tank-backed raid on the central city of Homs, rights activists say, after the government postponed a visit to the country by the Arab League chief.