POLITICS-NIGERIA: Benin Border Reopens

Economic activities have returned to Seme, a town on the border with the Republic of Benin, which was closed a week ago over cross-border crimes including armed robbery, fuel smuggling and human trafficking.

Special Series/ARGENTINA: Water and Sewage Privatisation Gone Sour

Ten years after the privatisation of the sewage and water systems in the Argentine capital, many areas of the greater Buenos Aires have not yet been connected to the water and sewer mains, and services have not improved, despite the fact that rates have doubled.

LATIN AMERICA: Women Scale the Hierarchies of Justice

Women do not yet represent 50 percent of the ranks of Latin America's judicial systems, but many of the trials that are in the media spotlight - those involving major corruption scandals or human rights violations - are in the hands of female judges and prosecutors.

PARAGUAY: Emergencies and Expectations Await New President

Paraguay's president-elect, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, will be sworn in Friday to the highest office weighed down by the country's economic crisis, endemic corruption and widespread poverty. Even though his Colorado Party has governed uninterrupted since 1947, the Paraguayan people are expecting change.

HEALTH-INDIA: Death Penalty Prescribed for Makers of Fake Medicine

The death penalty again hangs over the denizens of Bhagirath Palace, a sprawling mediaeval structure in the old quarter of the Indian capital, once infamous for political intrigue and now home to the buccaneers who run a sizeable chunk of the world's industry for spurious pharmaceutical drugs.

POLITICS: US Relief Groups Urge Bush to Deploy Forces in Liberia

U.S. relief and development agencies continue to urge President George W. Bush to immediately deploy more soldiers to Monrovia to make Liberia's capital city secure for the delivery of "desperately needed'' humanitarian aid, a possibility that is under discussion, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

POLITICS: What Is a Neo-Conservative Anyway?

With all the attention paid to neo-conservatives in the global media today, one would think that a standard definition of the term would exist. Yet, despite their now being credited with a virtual takeover of U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush, a common understanding of 'neo-cons' remains elusive.

EDUCATION-NEPAL: Backlog in Teachers’ Appointment Exposes Weaknesses

Picture these statistics: More than 68 percent of the 170,389 students who took this year's secondary-level leaving examinations in Nepal failed them. Likewise, there are some 40,000 vacancies in the public schools across this Himalayan kingdom.

RIGHTS-BENIN: Civil Society Seeks Release of a Popular Lawyer

The detention of a popular lawyer for 'insulting a judge' has sparked a wave of protest and indignation within the civil society in Benin.

POLITICS-INDIA: Law to Clean up Election Spending Impresses Few

While India's Parliament made legal this week the funding of political parties by private corporations and individuals, few believe that this would make a dent on the country's vast parallel economy that survives on political patronage.

CORRUPTION-SOUTH AFRICA: Inquiry Unlikely to Affect Next Year’s Elections

South African deputy president Jacob Zuma is a returnee, like President Thabo Mbeki. He was born in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa's most populous province and one that remains firmly in the hands of Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a self-proclaimed Zulu aristocrat who heads the Inkatha Freedom Party.

POLITICS: Peacekeepers Tread Carefully in Liberian Capital

West African peacekeepers, who deployed in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, this week, say they will start to enforce a cease-fire and clear the way for humanitarian aid soon.

HEALTH-NIGERIA: New Efforts to Fight Fake Drugs

The death of two children, administered with cardiac stimulant, after successful heart operations in the eastern Nigerian city of Enugu has exposed the dangers that fake and adulterated drugs pose to patients.

CORRUPTION-SOUTH AFRICA: Arms Deal Probe Worries Ruling Party

After months of investigations, South Africans are no nearer to the truth behind accusations that the country’s deputy-president, Jacob Zuma, was part of alleged corruption in the government’s multi-billion-dollar arms acquisition deal.

POLITICS-LIBERIA: Women Appeal for Peace

Women in Liberia, tired of carrying the burden of war, have appealed for peace in the strife-torn West African country.

ECUADOR: Ex-President Finds Refuge from Corruption Charges

The Dominican Republic granted former Ecuadorian president Gustavo Noboa asylum Wednesday, adding another link to the long chain of politicians who have opted to leave the country to avoid trial on corruption charges.

RIGHTS-MEXICO: The Lost Cause of Court-Appointed Lawyers

A defendant in the hands of a court-appointed lawyer facing trial in the courts of the Mexican capital can practically be assured of losing the case, as well as a great deal of money and patience.

POLITICS-SUDAN: Church Asks Mediators to Ensure Lasting Peace

The church has appealed to the mediators of Sudanese peace talks not to abandon the process even after a final deal is signed in August or later this year.

THAILAND: Despite Crackdown, ‘King of Commercial Sex’ Thrives

''The reason I like 'Emmanuelle' is because all around service is the best,'' a man writing as 'ABC' says about a place here in the Thai capital that fronts as a 'massage parlour' but caters to the sexual fantasies of men.

CORRUPTION-PARAGUAY: Incoming Gov’t Plans Clean-Up Coup

Hopes run high that Paraguay's president-elect, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, will make good on his promise to fight corruption - which costs this impoverished country 5.0 billion dollars annually - as changes occur in the leadership posts at key government ministries.

POLITICS-SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE: Nigeria, UN Condemn Military Coup

Nigeria and the United Nations have condemned the military coup in the tiny West African island state of Sao Tome and Principe, which toppled President Fandique de Menezes this week.