GUATEMALA: Indigenous Women Weave Incomes, Self-Confidence

"Before forming part of the association, we were shut up in our houses. Now we have overcome our fear and shame of going out and seeing new places, and we are bringing money in for our families," says Nicolasa Raxtun, a 30-year-old Maya Cakchiquel Indian woman.

BRAZIL: GM Maize ‘Worst Tragedy’ of Lula Administration – NGOs

Non-governmental organisations actively involved in the Campaign for a GM-Free Brazil are protesting against what they call "the worst tragedy" to befall the country during the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: the release for cultivation and sale of two transgenic varieties of maize.

Q&A: World&#39s Children Have Progressed and Regressed

Most of the world's 2.2 billion children are languishing in extreme poverty, ignorance and exploitation, according to Reverend Keishi Miyamoto, who is described as the guiding spirit behind the Tokyo-based Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC).

ENVIRONMENT: First Map of Human Impacts on Oceans Released

Oceans span nearly three quarters of the Earth's surface and despite this vast size hardly a square kilometre has been untouched by humans.

TRADE: Individual EPAs ”Do Not” Undermine Regional Integration

Central African countries have committed themselves to finalising an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union by June this year.

TRADE: EPA Damages Regional Cooperation in Southern Africa

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) should engage in serious discussions to prevent the economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union from destroying its regional integration efforts.

MEXICO: Invisible Indigenous Communities in the Heart of the Capital

Chapultepec Avenue 380: the address leads to a downtown section of the Mexican capital full of the usual office buildings, restaurants and heavy traffic. Few people know that it is actually home to an indigenous community, made up of kids who clean windshields or panhandle for a few coins, construction workers and street vendors.

ENVIRONMENT-PERU: Three Weeks to Create a Ministry

A team of experts appointed by the government of Peruvian President Alan García was given three weeks to complete a proposal to create an Environment Ministry.

Q&A: "Vitamin A and Zinc Should Be an Essential Part of Malaria Control Strategies"

Malaria continues to cut a swathe through Africa, which accounts for most cases of the disease and the majority of malaria-related deaths. Globally, more than a million people die from malaria each year. In the case of children, this translates into a death every 30 seconds, according to the World Health Organisation.

ARGENTINA: Boost for Coal Mine Revives Stagnant Town

With winter temperatures that plunge to 20 degrees below zero, the small Argentine town of Río Turbio, 3,000 kilometres southwest of Buenos Aires, would not exist but for the coal beneath its soil.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Security Council Urged to Punish CO2 Offenders

The world's small island nations are calling for the U.N. Security Council to help protect their lands and resources by using its authority to demand reductions of carbon dioxide emissions, and to penalise those nations that fail to comply.

CANADA: High Housing Prices Swell Ranks of Homeless

Canada is continuing to see increases in homelessness and precarious housing situations across the country as rents increase and incomes stay level, but intergovernmental bickering over housing policy is overshadowing the need to take leadership on the issue, according to critics.

RIGHTS: Widows Face a Life of Quiet Destitution

Many years ago, as Dr. Mohini Giri was walking down a street in Vrindavan, India - known as the "City of Widows" - she noticed the body of a woman who had passed away on the road. Animals were feasting on the corpse, and no one had tried to move her or cremate her.

RIGHTS: U.N. Sees Progress in Ending Female Genital Mutilation

After nearly 30 years of intense campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM), the United Nations says that several countries, including Canada, Belgium, Spain and Italy, have passed legislation criminalising the practice, prevalent mostly among immigrant communities.

RIGHTS: Hiroshima Forum to Focus on Children Under Siege

The world's 2.2 billion children are under siege - battling poverty, hunger, military conscription, sexual abuse, labour exploitation and HIV/AIDS, according to the United Nations.

DEVELOPMENT: China Outdoes Europeans in Congo

The massive deal that China signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo last year is not the "second colonisation" that some Europeans allege it is. The agreement appears, in fact, a promising way to kick-start an economy.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: No Sex, Please – You&#39re HIV-Positive

HIV/AIDS policies and programmes disregard the sexual needs of people living with the virus, claim a number of HIV-positive women who attended the third Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights - held this week in Nigeria.

DEVELOPMENT-NICARAGUA: Despite Efforts, MDGs Still Distant Goals

Despite the social plans implemented by the government of Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua has made little progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), say independent analysts.

DEVELOPMENT: MDGs Yardstick Too Generic, Critics Say

Benchmarks used by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are misrepresentative of the progress made by African countries and contribute to an international stereotype of "African failure", according to a study presented this week at the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank.

Q&A: &#39International Battles Need To Be Fought Nationally&#39

After the recent inauguration of two regional centres in Africa and Asia, the U.N. Millennium Campaign arrives in Europe. The new European office - headquartered in Rome - will be headed by Marina Ponti, deputy director of the global campaign and director for Europe.

DEVELOPMENT-TANZANIA: A Presidential Seal of Approval

U.S. President George W. Bush will spend most of his time during a five-nation tour of Africa later this month in Tanzania, to spotlight development gains in the East African nation.