NIGERIA: What Have Eight Years of Democracy Done for Women Politicians?

"Men are the decision makers; women should be cooking in the kitchen while men play politics." This is the type of comment that Dorothy Ukel Nyone's male counterparts repeatedly made when she announced her intention to contest a seat in Nigeria's state elections, which got underway Saturday.

VENEZUELA: Global Women Activists Speak Out Against War, Imperialism

Condemnation of the United States' war in Iraq was rife at the 14th Congress of the Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) which concludes this Friday in Caracas. Over 1,000 delegates representing 165 organisations in 80 countries participated.

ENERGY-MALI: Wood – The Gift That Can’t Keep on Giving

Year by year, the figures have increased relentlessly. While some 600,000 tonnes of wood were transported to the Malian capital of Bamako in 1994, according to official figures, 750,000 tonnes were sent in 1997. This year, the city is projected to consume 900,000 tonnes - and the country as a whole, seven million tonnes.

HEALTH: All Not Well With Global AIDS Vaccine Trials

Why were phase-1 safety trials for an HIV vaccine started in India days before the release of the results of the same trial in Belgium and Germany? And why were phase-2 trials of the same vaccine conducted in Africa?

POLITICS: Wolfowitz Contradicted on Family Planning Claim

Despite denials by World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz Thursday, newly disclosed internal documents indicate that the Bank may have in fact reversed a longstanding policy of promoting family planning on his watch.

EDUCATION-ZIMBABWE: ”It Is All Zero Here. We Have Nothing”

Chippy Ncube, aged 6, jubilantly hurried home as soon as she received her school report. She could not hide her excitement at being the top student in her grade one class when schools closed for the holidays recently in Zimbabwe.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Beef up Budget Allocations to Achieve MDGs

African states should put in place sufficient budget allocations and the right policies if the continent is to meet the global and regional health care targets that governments have committed themselves to, say campaigners.

COLOMBIA: Embezzling Health Funds as Children Starve

The arrest and investigation of officials accused of stealing public health funds in an impoverished Colombian region where a dozen children have died of malnutrition show to what extent corruption is an obstacle for the country's prospects of meeting poverty reduction targets.

DEVELOPMENT: War-Torn Nations in Dire Need of Schools

Children in so-called conflict affected fragile states (CAFS) represent a disproportionate number of the world's out-of-school population largely because these countries are under-funded by international aid donors when compared to other low-income countries, says a report released Thursday.

ANGOLA-MOZAMBIQUE: Women Face Unequal Inequality

The rights of women enshrined in the constitutions of Angola and Mozambique are identical. But in practice, there are enormous differences.

HEALTH-MALAYSIA: Privatisation of Health Care Feared

Civil society activists worry that a plan to fund health care in Malaysia through private initiatives is about to be put into place and in such a way that the poor will end up being disproportionately burdened.

POPULATION: Aging, But Not Obsolete

The U.N. Commission on Population and Development, meeting in New York this week, is discussing how to harness the untapped potential of older persons to strengthen families, communities and nations.

ENVIRONMENT-BURKINA-FASO: A Pilot Project That Defies Desertification

The village of Guié in central Burkina Faso may not have much name recognition in the grand scheme of things. But for more than a decade, this community has been the site of an initiative that provides hope in the fight against desertification.

ENVIRONMENT-MALAWI: Waste Not, Want Not

In many parts of Malawi, discussing human excreta is taboo. The mere mention of faeces, in any of the country's 10 official languages, makes those taking part in the conversation uncomfortable. But, excreta could be about to gain respectability.

POLITICS: Security Council to Take Up Climate Change

The U.N. Security Council, whose primary mandate is to prevent wars and preserve world peace, will once again break tradition next week when it debates the newest threat to international security: climate change.

DR CONGO: Dirt Poor Above Ground, Precious Metals Below

A coalition of non-governmental organisations from Europe, Africa and the United States launched an international appeal for the exploitation of mineral wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to yield a fair share of benefits for the Congolese people, and not only for the big foreign mining companies.

HEALTH-ASIA PACIFIC: Stress on Community Approach to HIV/AIDS

Tired of waiting for governments to deliver on promises, activists, experts and people living with HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific will push for stronger community leadership in the battle against the disease at a regional summit to be held in this city in August.

KENYA: New Health Rules a Challenge to Implement – More Costly to Ignore

Just two months remain before the international community is scheduled to take a critical step forward in addressing global health threats, marked by the entry into force of the updated 'International Health Regulations'.

DEVELOPMENT: South Faults One-Size-Fits-All Approach

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Group of 77 (G77), the two largest political and economic groups of developing nations, have expressed reservations on a proposed plan to restructure the U.N.'s operational activities for social and economic development.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: South American Arms Race Against Dengue

In the face of the current outbreak of dengue fever in several countries of South America, infrastructure for detecting cases has become a top priority. But laboratories do not obviate the need for clinical diagnosis by skilled health professionals.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Challenge of the Century?

Climate change is already altering the Arctic, sub-Saharan Africa, small islands and Asia's river deltas, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported Friday in Brussels.