MOROCCO: Not Everyone Has the Right to Cure

Despite an annual health budget of half a billion euros, large numbers of people in this nation of 30 million still have no access to essential medical care.

ENVIRONMENT-COTE D’IVOIRE: Acacias Come to the Service of Mangroves

Mangroves, it could be said, have perfected the art of multi-tasking. Found along tropical coastlines, these trees and shrubs may prevent soil erosion, while their roots create breeding places for various marine species. So, when a particular mangrove forest is shown to have been reduced by two thirds in less than 20 years, there is major cause for concern.

DEVELOPMENT: A New Breed of Hero

In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders came together and agreed to a set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

Q&A: Elections "Will Indicate Maturity in the Democratic Process"

Just hours remain before polling stations are scheduled to open in Sierra Leone for general elections that will see seven parties vie for the presidency, and control of the West African nation's parliament.

ENVIRONMENT-INDONESIA: Riding Water Taxis to Clean Rivers

On weekends, groups of children and their parents crowd around South Jakarta’s Halimun Pier waiting to take a joy ride on one of two water taxis, recently introduced by the administration.

ENVIRONMENT-MALAYSIA: Water a Sacred Gift Affirm Interfaith Leaders

When religious leaders from different faiths sought to jointly affirm the sacredness of water as the source of life but were shooed away by authorities, it was seen as a move to scuttle interfaith harmony as well as support plans to privatise a common resource.

LATIN AMERICA: Indigenous, Black Women Face ‘Triple Glass Ceiling’

Indigenous and black women in Latin America and the Caribbean face three-fold discrimination because of their gender, race and social class, in politics and at work.

KENYA: More Women in Parliament, Hopefully – By Way of the Constitution

Kenya's parliament will soon debate a constitutional amendment bill to improve female representation in the legislature by creating 50 special seats for women. At present, only some eight percent of parliamentary posts in the East African country are occupied by women.

ENVIRONMENT-SPAIN: Offshore Wind Power for Earthly Benefits

A boost for renewable energy, a growing sense of corporate responsibility for the environment, and the decision to create a large offshore wind park are news items that have had little impact in Spain.

HEALTH-INDIA: Novartis Patents Case Far From Dead

Cancer patients in India have reason to be relieved at a high court ruling this week which dismissed a petition by Swiss pharmaceuticals multinational corporation (MNC) Novartis challenging an Indian law which denies patents for minor or trivial improvements to known drugs.

AFGHANISTAN: Reconstruction Can Help Win War Against Taliban

On Jul. 26, coalition aircraft pounded Taliban targets in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, killing 78 civilians and reducing to rubble, countless mud-walled homes.

ENVIRONMENT-PAKISTAN: Drip Irrigation – Answer to Water Shortages

Faced with acute water shortages, the Pakistan government has launched a 1.3 billion US dollar subsidised drip irrigation programme that could help reduce wastage over the next five years.

CENTRAL AMERICA: ‘The Big Challenge Is to Distribute Wealth’

Economic growth in Central America is not matched by equitable distribution, according to Luis Alberto Cordero, head of the Arias Foundation, who thinks that ostentatious wealth causes frustration in those who have nothing, and that this sometimes translates into violence.

SIERRA LEONE: A Women&#39s Issue That Women Are Wary of Campaigning About

Female genital mutilation (FGM) can make sex painful, complicate childbirth, lead to urinary tract infections, enable the transmission of HIV - and induce a host of other ills. So, promising to fight this practice should be a winning strategy for someone hoping to be elected to parliament this Saturday in Sierra Leone - where about 90 percent of girls and women undergo FGM, according to rights watchdog Amnesty International.

Q&A: "In Sierra Leone They Just Cut You, And There&#39s Not Much Problem With That"

Certain comments resonate long after they are made, and Shirley Yeama Gbujama's reported threat to "sew up the mouths of those preaching against Bondo" is certainly one of them.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Poverty and Violence in Times of Peace

Twenty years after the signing of the agreement that laid the foundations for peace in Central America, the economic and social causes of the civil wars that shook the region are still in place, and represent latent threats of new conflicts, analysts warn.

LATIN AMERICA: Political Parity for Women Still a Long Way Off

Legislation in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean has not succeeded in ending discrimination against women in political and public life, say participants at the 10th Regional Conference on Women being held in the Ecuadorean capital.

HEALTH: India Verdict Welcomed by Advocates for Affordable Medicines

Non-governmental organisations that advocate poor countries’ access to affordable medicines applauded an Indian court’s dismissal of a challenge brought by Swiss-based drug-maker Novartis.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Making a Voting Right a Voting Reality

Having the right to vote is one thing; using it properly, or indeed at all, is quite another, as Sierra Leone has shown ahead of general elections this Saturday.

BOLIVIA: Work Comes First for Women

The role of self-sacrificing wife and mother who stays at home is no longer the main goal of many Bolivian women.

BRAZIL: Amazon Fruit Gatherers Face Biofuel Dilemma

The babaçú, an abundant native palm tree in the eastern Amazon and in the north and northeast of Brazil, has great potential for the production of "biodiesel" and biomass fuel, but the women who make their living from gathering its fruit fear the loss of their traditional source of income.