CULTURE: Creativity Has (Cash) Value

The culture and creativity economy and its contribution to sustainable development will be the central theme at a 10-day meeting of experts, artists and government delegates from more than 70 countries, which kicks off Friday in two Brazilian cities.

MIGRATION: For U.S. Haitians, Home Is Both Near and Far Away

Roman Catholic Bishop Guy Sansaricq presides over his flock at St. Jerome's Church in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Sitting on a busy, heavily Caribbean stretch of Nostrand Avenue, Sansaricq's office in the brick church is adorned with both a portrait of the Virgin Mary and a naïve painting depicting a lyrical scene of village life from his native Haiti.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Zambezi Stakeholders to Take Action

Stakeholders in the Zambezi River Basin are holding their annual meeting this week with the aim of matching their needs with a commitment to action.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Towards the MDGs – at a Snail’s Pace

His short arms and legs are the size of a 9-year-old's, although Antonio is actually 14. Malnutrition is common in El Seibo, the first Dominican Republic province selected for a national diagnosis of what is needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

ARGENTINA: Women Have a New Tool against Discrimination

The Argentine Congress has ratified the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), after a tug-of-war between the forces of feminist organisations and the Catholic Church that has lasted for years.

DEVELOPMENT: UN Chief’s Scorecard of Success and Failure

Less than six weeks before he steps down as secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan has come up with a political scorecard on the successes and failures of the UN's much-touted development agenda.

RIGHTS-PERU: Civil War Erased Even the Victims’ Names

If they are lucky, they have a photograph to remember their dead family members, killed by Maoist guerrillas, soldiers, or members of paramilitary groups during Peru's 1980-2000 civil war. There are also numerous common graves with the unidentified remains of victims.

ENVIRONMENT-AFRICA: Greenhouse Gas Targets Elusive After Climate Talks

International talks on climate change held at a conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, ended Friday without having established a solid timetable for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires.

IRAQ: Education Under Siege

The recent kidnapping of scores of academics in Baghdad highlights the desperate situation of the educational system in occupied Iraq.

POLITICS-FRANCE: Time for a Woman President?

The extraordinary triumph of Ségolène Royal in the Socialist Party's primaries for France's April 2007 presidential elections reflects the growing global trend in which women have become fundamental actors in shaping the destinies of their nations.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: If You Can’t Escape Climate Change, Adapt to It

A conference on climate change, about to wrap up in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, has heard that adaptation to the effects of shifting weather patterns can play a key role in efforts to address climate change - alongside the bid to lessen greenhouse gas emissions.

ARGENTINA: Residents Say “Stop the Spraying!”

Cultivation of genetically modified soybeans is expanding in Argentina, and with it, the use of herbicides. The "Paren de fumigar" (Stop the Fumigation) campaign warns against agro-chemical spraying in urban areas, as activists collect information about its impacts in order to denounce it.

LATIN AMERICA: Short Lives and Unmarked Graves

The 16 or 17-year-old boy, evidently born into a poor family, was buried Thursday by staff members of Casa Alianza, a child advocacy organisation, in Honduras. His body had been found in the street, stabbed to death, and he was never identified.

BURMA: ILO Gets Tough on Forced Labour

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has hardened its stance towards the use of forced labour in Burma, and decided to turn to the International Court of Justice because of the regime's reluctance to cooperate in eradicating the practice.

DEVELOPMENT-EU: ‘Good Governance’ Not Always Unbiased

Europe applies double standards when it comes to good governance as a pre-requisite for growth and poverty reduction, senior African political leaders say.

LATIN AMERICA: Kids Pay Dearly for Lack of Clean Water

In Latin America and the Caribbean, one-third of childhood deaths are the result of diarrhoea. The problem could be resolved with clean water and appropriate sanitation systems, but millions of people, especially the indigenous and Afro-descendant populations, lack access to either.

HEALTH-MOZAMBIQUE: Ensuring that a Jail Sentence Is Not a Death Sentence

Like most other Southern African countries, Mozambique battles a high HIV prevalence rate, with those in need of anti-retroviral medication experiencing difficulty obtaining it at the best of times.

IRAQ: Farmers in Dire Straits

Despite the Iraqi prime minister's optimism for the agricultural sector, the farmers who are struggling to survive tell another story.

ARGENTINA: Flaws in Acclaimed Sexual Health Plan

Three years after it got under way, Argentina's sexual and reproductive health programme has spread from 124,000 beneficiaries to 2.3 million. But monitoring by non-governmental organisations has brought to light some problems in its implementation.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Latin America Failing to Adapt

Latin America and the Caribbean are not prepared to confront the problem of global warming, to which the region is contributing with growing emissions of greenhouses gases, says a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

ECONOMY-ZAMBIA: Conflict Looms Over Revision of Mineral Tax

The Zambian government's recent move to increase the mineral royalty tax could meet with resistance from foreign mining companies in the copper-rich country. This may bring mining interests in direct conflict with ordinary citizens who feel they are benefiting neither from the higher international copper price nor from privatisation.