Scrambling for a Solution on IMF Governance Reform

Among the topics expected to be discussed at the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) that started this week and will continue through the weekend is the reform of the IMF’s governance.

MILLENNIUM GOALS: A Question of Political Will

"I am not pessimistic, but I am realistic. Under present conditions and the prevailing system of world government, the Millennium Development Goals simply cannot be achieved," Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno said in an interview with IPS.

BIODIVERSITY: Japan Cooks Up New Ideas as Fish Consumption Depletes Stocks

A processed fish cake, made of a mixture of deep sea fish species pounded into paste and sold either deep fried or frozen, is the brain child of Takuhira Kaneko, head of Act for Company, which trades in fish and located in western Fukuoka city in Japan.

CAMBODIA: Gov’t Heats Up Anti-Smoking Campaign

For anti-smoking advocate Mom Kong, the ubiquitous flashy cigarette advertisements he sees throughout Cambodia’s capital city are a major barrier to reducing smoking.

NEPAL: Adoption Suspension Leaves Children in Limbo

A big question marks looms over the future of many Nepali children in various child homes in the country in the wake of the suspension by 11 countries of their child adoption programmes for this Himalayan nation.

POLITICS: Cautious Optimism on Arms Trafficker’s Extradition to U.S.

In the shadowy global network of arms traffickers, Victor Bout enjoyed a special place, according to Western intelligence sources. He was the poster boy, the kingpin, the lord of this deadly illegal trade.

Mixed Civil Society Response to New EU Aid Funds

Civil society organisations welcomed the announcement of an additional 1.27 billion dollars in development aid funding by European Commission president José Manuel Durâo Barroso, but said it was insufficient to reduce extreme poverty by 2015, as stipulated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

AFRICA: Stronger Will Needed from Governments to Save Poorest Children

"Herding goats is tough with the thirst, sun, loneliness and hunger each day. And it can last forever. You herd as a girl, then as a wife, as a pregnant woman, as a mother and even as a grandmother," says Rukia Ibrahim whose 13-year-old younger sister was married off to a herdsman.

HEALTH: H1N1 Pandemic Is Over, But Vigilance Needed – WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is urging countries in Asia to remain vigilant about the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus, which the international body declared was no longer a pandemic a month ago.

SPAIN: Puppet Marathon for Building School in Bolivia

The 17th Titirilandia (Puppetland) Festival will conclude with a marathon puppet show, to be held Sunday Aug. 29 in Spain's capital city in aid of a school in the remote Bolivian mining province of Potosí.

DEVELOPMENT-AUSTRALIA: It’s Not Just About More, But Better, Aid

Australia’s foreign aid budget is likely to double by 2015, but civil society groups say this is far from enough if it is to keep to its "fair share" of commitments to poorer countries.

DRC Farmers Welcome Support

Farmers in the southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo are looking forward to increased production after 16 tractors and 200 ox-drawn carts were distributed across three regions in the province of Bandundu.

MEXICO: Craftswomen Weave a Better Future Out of Recycled Garbage

Women's laughter fills the rectangular room on the ground floor of a building that houses a school for 250 local children, on the southern edge of Mexico City's sprawling metropolitan area.

MALAYSIA: Thousands of Refugees Living in Constant Fear of Arrest

As Rajoo, 27, makes tea at a rundown shed in Brickfields, a depressed suburb of the capital inhabited by hundreds of Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka, he evinces no sign of anxiety and a deep yearning for something.

AUSTRALIA: New PM Called On to Tackle Climate Change

Australia’s newly appointed prime minister, Julia Gillard, has hardly warmed her seat, yet she has already been urged to take action on climate change.

POLITICS: All Quiet on the Australian Front on Role in Afghanistan

The lack of debate here concerning Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan is unlikely to change in the near future despite the recent deaths of five Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in the war-ravaged nation.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Leper Colonies on the Road to Extinction

The Culion island, in the western Philippines, is increasingly becoming a magnet for tourists drawn to its corals in the shallow waters close to its shore, its deep green hills and its ancient Spanish fort.

INDIA: Animals Nearing Extinction Need Urgent Attention – Experts

With threats looming large on the survival of several wildlife species in the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, experts warn that these species could go extinct in the coming years unless immediate steps are taken to prevent their extinction.

RIGHTS: Problems Beset Cambodia’s Anti-Trafficking Campaign

Worrying trends continue to plague Cambodia and provide considerable concern for the future despite the gains it has reportedly made in combating human trafficking.

GUATEMALA: Giving Poor Women Entrepreneurs a Boost

Rosenda Gómez, a 53-year-old mother of five, knows all about challenges. To overcome them, she started a modest sausage business in Guatemala, and thanks to her leadership skills and training and other support she received, she is now an example of the economic empowerment of women.

HEALTH-NEPAL: Multiple Problems Mar Fight Against HIV/AIDS

To women who have lost their husbands to the killer AIDS disease, learning a skill to earn a living could be a matter of life and death.