MEXICO: Mazahuas Choose Jail over Going Without Water

Although they live near a gigantic water distribution system, the indigenous Mazahuas lack access to water and live in deep poverty. Since Dec. 11, when they shut off the valves of one of the system's plants in protest, Mazahua women have kept up the vigil - and warn that it could turn radical.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Not All Rosy in Latin American Economy

The economies of Latin America have been performing well over the last four years, and an unprecedented reduction in poverty has been seen. But some leftwing analysts and leaders are questioning the economic model that has been applied, and the rosy future predicted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

CHILE: Pension Reform – Just a Face-Lift, or the Real Thing?

Chile's social security system, one of the jewels in the crown of the dictatorship of the late General Augusto Pinochet, will be fiercely debated in Congress in 2007. But the reform initiative with which President Michelle Bachelet wants to "make history" has already come under fire.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Unlocking the Mysteries of Social Mobility

From sprawling shack settlements to the presence of destitute people begging for small change at traffic lights, there is ample evidence that poverty is a pervasive and destructive force in South African life. Less clear is why some manage to beat the odds to escape poverty, and others not.

ASIA: Tsunami Recovery Hit by Corruption, Apathy

Questions that have dogged the tsunami recovery effort through 2006 coalesced in a crop of media stories and critical reports as affected countries remembered in prayer and reflection the over 220,000 people killed in that December 2004 natural disaster.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Malawi Struggles With Environment MDG

Chicken was once considered a delicacy which rarely graced tables in Malawi. Now fish has taken over this position, despite Malawi being famous for its lake - which is the fifth largest in the world by volume and contains an estimated 1,000 fish species.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: China Fuels Mercosur Agricultural Boom

Grains, beef, fruit, fish, coffee, milk, sugar, honey, juice and even wine - all of this and more is produced in both quantity and quality by the members and associates of South America's Mercosur trade bloc, and will continue to be thanks to the huge and growing demand from giants like China and India.

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: Housing the Poor Where They Squat

For 35 years Rama Krishna Puram, an old south Delhi neighbourhood, has been Sheela's home. She works in the nearby government offices on yearly contracts - cleaning and fetching for officials.

DEVELOPMENT-BURKINA FASO: Price Snags for Cotton Farmers

Some call it "white gold"; but, the ever-falling price of cotton means that this nickname may end up being more ironic than complimentary. In Burkina Faso cotton producers are, for the first time, facing the prospect of a third consecutive drop in the price of the commodity.

VENEZUELA: Poverty Stats Also Politicised

The debate on poverty statistics in Venezuela has not escaped the political polarisation that continues to reign in this country. While supporters of President Hugo Chávez say the figures on education, health and poverty clearly show that progress has been made in recent years, the opposition argues that the government's statistics are not reliable.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Angola’s Oil Not Flowing for Safer Water

The cholera epidemic which has been plaguing Angola for nearly a year has placed the spotlight on the continuing lack of safe drinking water in that country.

DEVELOPMENT: Official Details Bank’s New Green Focus

In recent months, the World Bank, the largest public lender, launched a significant overhaul of its organisational structure, merging its infrastructure investment network with the department that oversees compliance with environmental and social standards.

DEVELOPMENT: South-South Trade Boom Reshapes Global Order

The world's new economic powerhouses, including India, Brazil, South Africa and China, are largely responsible for a dramatic surge in trade and investments among the 132 developing nations in the global South.

HEALTH-MOZAMBIQUE: Healers’ Practices Under the HIV Spotlight

A motley group of about 20 men and women eyed each other tentatively as they met for the first time to discuss how they could jointly fight HIV/AIDS.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: India Investing More Abroad Than Receiving

Despite persistent poverty and income disparities the fading year marks the point when, 60 years after independence from colonial rule, Indians are investing more abroad than the country is receiving as foreign direct investment (FDI).

MEDIA: IPS Honours Annan’s Four Decades of Service

When Kofi Annan leaves the United Nations next week after an eventful 10-year tenure as secretary-general, there will be one prized possession he says he will virtually hand-carry: the Inter Press Service (IPS) International Achievement Award 2006.

GRENADA: Govt Finds Silver Lining in Hurricane Stormclouds

When two hurricanes churned their way across Grenada within a 10-month period, razing almost everything in sight, the Keith Mitchell government chose to regard the destruction as a blessing in disguise, convinced that addressing the multiple rebuilding challenges offered an opportunity for a whole new approach to providing housing for its citizens.

KENYA: Oldest National Park Confronts Industry and Urban Sprawl

For people who arrive at the international airport in Nairobi, Kenya's fabled wildlife can be glimpsed almost immediately, in the Nairobi National Park which borders the airport. Driving out of this facility en route to the city, there's a chance of sighting black rhino, zebras and giraffe: just some of the many species that inhabit the park.

ENERGY-CHINA: Biofuels Eating Into Food Grain Stocks

China's biofuel industry is booming thanks to voracious demand for energy to power the country's high-flying economy. Applying modernised versions of ancient chemical processes to convert crops and oils into energy sources, Chinese entrepreneurs have created a profitable "green business" with plenty of room to grow.

ENVIRONMENT: EU Fisheries Policy a ‘Recipe for Disaster’

By 2050, seafood lovers may have to go for the likes of 'jellyfish soup' and 'tofu cod and chips' for want of fish in the sea. Because, environmental activists say, the European Union is preparing a recipe for disaster.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: The Climate Change Tipping Point?

This was the year that most people in the U.S. and Canada began to take climate change seriously and express hope that their governments would take action to reduce emissions - but it is unclear if they will take action themselves.