EAST AFRICA: Tackling the Digital Divide From a Regional Perspective

The digital divide between urban and rural areas in East Africa - and between rich and poor - continues to loom large, highlighting the need for initiatives that will enable all to benefit from information and communication technologies (ICTs).

EARTH DAY: Happiness Is a Smaller Eco-Footprint

Today's children will live in a new world of climate change and greatly diminished natural resources, which may give way to a nightmarish reality, or it could give birth to a happier and lighter way of living on the Earth, say environmentalists.

POLITICS-NIGERIA: Watershed Elections – For Men, That Is

Declarations of no confidence in the electoral commission, threats of an opposition boycott, a key candidate clawing his way back onto the ballot at the last minute...There has been no shortage of political theatre concerning Saturday's milestone elections in Nigeria, or debate on whether the country can successfully hand over power from one civilian government to another for the first time since independence in 1960.

HEALTH-LATIN AMERICA: Girls Living with HIV Break the Silence

"I feel happy when I'm with my friends; at those times, I don't even remember that I have the infection," Keren, an 11-year-old Honduran girl living with HIV, told IPS.

RIGHTS-ASIA: Many Women Leaders, Not Much Equality

Asia, a sprawling continent which has produced the world's largest number of female heads of government, lags far behind both in gender equality and gender empowerment.

LATIN AMERICA: Justice for Women in Mens’ Courts?

Men still dominate the justice system in Latin America, especially the highest-level positions, says a new study presented at an international seminar in the Argentine capital.

BRAZIL: Indigenous Demonstrators Get Results

The indigenous protesters who camped out this week in the very heart of the Brazilian capital have victories to celebrate, like the installation by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of a national commission on indigenous policy.

HEALTH-PARAGUAY: Hello Rome, Goodbye Dengue!

The corridors in Paraguay's Hospital de Clínicas are crammed with dozens of patients with symptoms of dengue waiting for treatment, but in the nurses' station they are having a party. Mirian López, a registered nurse with several years' experience in intensive care, has just found out that she has a job waiting for her in Italy.

ENVIRONMENT-ARGENTINA: Supreme Court Precedent Against Dangerous Mines

Environmental activists in Argentina applauded an Argentine Supreme Court ruling against a projected open cast gold mine using cyanide, pointing out that it set an important legal precedent.

DEVELOPMENT: Eat the Right Chocolate to Fight Poverty

When schoolchildren in Rome tuck into a banana or a chocolate bar, they are making a real difference to families in poor countries.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: The Arrival of ”Homo Urbanus”

The year 2007 marks the birth of a new ''species'': Homo Urbanus. For the first time in history there will be as many city dwellers as rural inhabitants in the world.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: UN Habitat Fund to Finance Slum Housing

Some relief for the pressing housing needs of slum dwellers may be in sight. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) is planning a revolving fund to assist poor people with credit to build houses in slum areas.

DEVELOPMENT-U.S.: Nestle Bottling Operations Court Controversy

As Nestlé shareholders gathered Thursday in Switzerland for their annual meeting, growing numbers of voices question the company's claims on spring water around the world and its effects on local communities.

ECONOMY-ASIA: Gender Discrimination Can Hit Growth – UN Expert

Asia Pacific economies are expected to face another year of strong growth, led by China's and India's economic expansion but United Nations economists warn of impediments that range from poor management of capital inflows to gender discrimination.

LATIN AMERICA-EU: Migration, the Elephant in the Room at Ministerial Meet

The 13th European Union-Rio Group ministerial meeting taking place this week in the Dominican Republic has its attention firmly focused on neighbouring Haiti, but has drawn fire from local activists for ignoring migration issues.

ARGENTINA-URUGUAY: Another Stab at Resolving Pulp Mill Conflict

The governments of Argentina and Uruguay are tight-lipped ahead of a meeting Wednesday in Madrid, brokered by Spain with a view to paving the way to a solution for the ongoing conflict between the two South American countries over the installation of a paper pulp mill on a border river.

ENERGY-SOUTH AMERICA: Leaders Overcome Impasse on Ethanol

The controversy over whether to put the accent on fossil fuels or biofuels was overcome by the presidents in the first South American energy summit with the assertion that the answer depends on each country's specific circumstances, and that the different national policies are complementary to each other, not contradictory.

ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: Hybrid Electric Vehicles – Better Than Ethanol

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are the best way to achieve a drastic reduction in greenhouse gases produced by vehicle exhaust fumes, until hydrogen-powered models become viable. They are even more environmentally-friendly than the use of biofuels.

ECONOMY-MALAWI: Being a ”Good Pupil” Can Be Bad for You

Five years after the famine in which more than 1,000 Malawians died and 8 million of the country's 12 million people suffered from hunger, the bitter memory of bad policy advice still lingers on.

BRAZIL: Dispossessed Demand Land, Health, Justice

The Brazilian capital woke up to another "red April" Monday. Eight hundred landless peasants occupied the headquarters of the government office in charge of land distribution, while 1,000 indigenous people camped out on the Ministries Esplanade, demanding better healthcare and the formal demarcation of their territories.

COLOMBIA: Half of EU Aid to Go Directly to Victims

Half of Europe's aid for Colombia over the next seven years will go directly to victims of the civil war and civil society organisations that provide them with assistance.