ENVIRONMENT: Nepali Women Live With Climate Terror

Suntali Shrestha wrings her hands in tension and despair as she recounts how she has been spending sleepless nights fearing that the flood alarm in her village would go off while she slept and she would be submerged.

OP-ED: Rwandan Refugees Fear Cessation Clause

They should be wary of each other. The historical conflict between their ethnicities has resulted in Africa’s largest genocide.

Brazil Takes the Fight Against Hunger Abroad

The Brazilian government is extending its fight against hunger to the world stage, by inaugurating a Centre of Excellence Against Hunger to transmit its positive experiences to other developing countries with the help of United Nations agencies.

Global Crisis Makes U.N. Reform Imperative

Reinventing the United Nations is crucial to protect the poorest inhabitants of the planet, at a time when the global economic crisis, the effects of climate change, and food insecurity are undermining development efforts.

LIBERIA: Runoff Goes Ahead Despite Boycott and Killings

Liberians headed to the polls in what appeared to be modest numbers Tuesday morning for a presidential runoff that has been marred by an opposition boycott and the deaths of at least two demonstrators at an opposition rally.

Brazilian NGOs Say Rio+20 Paper Short on Details

Environmentalists criticised the lack of concrete proposals in the Brazilian government's submission to the preparatory process for the Rio+20 conference, to be held in this city in June 2012.

ARGENTINA: Women Gain Budget Know-How

"After so many years of feminist activism, we still hadn't realised that you need money to get things done. When I finally understood that, it was like seeing the light. It was a whole new avenue to explore," Argentine activist Noemí Chiarotti told IPS.

Q&A: “Reducing Inequality Should Be a Political Priority”

According to the Human Development Report 2011 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) this week, Latin America remains the region with the highest income inequality, even as the situation has improved in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.

GUATEMALA: “We Want Girls to Be Visible”

"I learned to not be afraid, and to love myself. Before, I never wanted to talk to people because I felt like they looked down on me and that I was no good," says 12-year-old Hilda Tura, one of the participants in a programme fostering leadership among indigenous girls in Guatemala.

As Arab Spring Turns to Winter, Women Fear Pushback

For the women who participated in the political and social revolutions during the Arab Spring in 2011, there is a significant opportunity to enact real change for women's roles and relationships in the region - and also the possibility things could go the other way.

MALAWI: No Social Safety Nets for the Poor

In Mbedza village, a remote rural community in southern Malawi, Fedson Feston beams an infant’s awkward smile and swings his tiny arms up towards the face of his mother. Four months old, Fedson is too young to know how lucky he is to be alive.

POPULATION-CUBA: Young People as Agents of Change

At 19, Liz Sandra Falcón had never imagined that every decision she made could have an impact beyond her own life: not only on people close to her, but on Cuban society itself, and even – although it might seem like an exaggeration – on global tendencies.

GHANA: No Pensions for Majority of Elderly Women

On the grubby edge of Old Fadama, Accra’s infamous illegal slum settlement, 67-year-old Mariana Sayitou sits under a parasol and tends to her livelihood – selling several dozen kola nuts and a few piles of bagged beans to passers-by.

Q&A: Cooperatives: “Meeting Human Need, Not Just Human Greed”

Different countries may celebrate Oct. 31 in a variety of ways, but this year, the 193 member states of the United Nations (U.N.) launched the International Year of Cooperatives 2012 to raise awareness about the impact of cooperatives on the development of communities where they operate.

Women Losing Ground in Economic, Political Equality

While gender equality ratios have improved in 85 percent of countries over the past six years, economic participation and political empowerment for women has failed to match the steady progress of health and education, says a new report by the World Economic Forum.

Q&A: Female Empowerment, In-Depth: More Than Just a Resolution

The first United Nations (U.N.) Security Council resolution to specifically address women's contributions to conflict prevention and sustainable peace was passed just 11 years ago, on Oct. 31, 2000.

Argentina Lags in Microfinance, Despite Huge Potential

Although microfinance is more deeply rooted in Latin America than in other regions, in Argentina the sector is less developed, but has enormous potential, experts say.

DR CONGO: Rehabilitating Former Child Soldiers Who “Liked” Killing

Murhula’s* life changed forever when he was nine years old. It was the year that he learned to kill, torture and rape.

Climate Change Could Unravel Development Progress

The United Nations unveiled its 22nd annual Human Development Report on Wednesday, with grave warnings that unless countries take action against climate change and implement sustainable solutions, progress in human development will be in serious jeopardy.

HORN OF AFRICA: Human Trafficking on the Rise Amid Drought and Famine

Amina Shakir (not her real name) fled the drought and famine in Somalia for a better life in Kenya. But she did so illegally, placing her faith in the hands of a criminal network headed by Mukhalis or agents in Swahili. In the end her faith was misplaced as she was "sold" into employment upon finally reaching Kenya.

EDUCATION: Bangladeshi Humanitarian Wins Half-Million Prize

A Bangladeshi humanitarian with a British knighthood - and head of one of the world's largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) promoting the cause of education - walked way with half a million dollars in prize money and a gold medal at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in the Qatari capital of Doha.