DEVELOPMENT: Programme of Action Adopted for World’s Poorest Nations

"The future for least developed countries lies in trade, productive capacity and governance more than in aid," said Cheick Sidi Diarra, United Nations High representative for the Least Developed Countries, responding to criticism of the plan of action put forward as the U.N. conference on the world's poorest nations drew to a close in Istanbul.

MEXICO: Little Oversight of Radiation Sources

In spite of the potential risks posed by unwanted or uncontrolled radioactive materials, Mexico lacks comprehensive mechanisms to keep track of these "orphan" sources, originally used in medicine or industry, and to prevent them going astray.

Communists Lose by Wide Margin in Eastern India

The cheapest car in the world proved the costliest for a 34-year-old Left Front CPI-M government in India’s eastern state of West Bengal, as the communists lost the elections here by a wide margin.

DEVELOPMENT: South-South Axis Strengthens

The glass isn’t exactly half-full, but it certainly is not entirely empty either. Within the broad failure of the weeklong Fourth U.N. Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in Istanbul that concluded Friday, many delegates are taking heart in a strengthening South-South front that has emerged.

Black Market in Arms Flourishing as Arab Spring Continues

As the Syrian uprisings escalate in violence, Lebanon’s black market in arms is flourishing, with prices of light and medium weapons driven higher by Lebanese and Syrian demand.

SIERRA LEONE: Promise of More Space for Women in Decision-making

In Sierra Leone’s highly patriarchal society, where institutionalised gender inequalities are exacerbated by discriminatory customs, one group is singing its way towards changing this.

World in the Throes of a Human Rights Revolution, Says Amnesty

The growing demands for democratic reforms spreading across the Middle East and North Africa - along with the dramatic rise of social media networks - have triggered "a human rights revolution on the threshold of a historic change", says Amnesty International (AI).

Uganda Police and Opposition Supporters Clash

Up to five people were killed when Ugandan police clashed with opposition supporters who attacked cars carrying African leaders at the inauguration of President Yoweri Museveni.

POLITICS: Balkanisation of Libya

As the battle for Libya rages on - with the country’s economic heartland, Misurata, being the scene of some of the uprising’s fiercest fighting - experts are warning that a ‘Balkanisation’ of Libya is possible if the U.S. and NATO opt to exploit loopholes in U.N. Resolution 1973 by arming the opposition.

PERU: Native Birds Under Threat from Illegal Logging

Unique species of native birds live in the transition zone in Peru between the Andes mountains and the Amazon rainforest, where illegal deforestation is destroying their habitat.

PAKISTAN: More Attacks Feared as Militants Avenge Osama

Officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-western Pakistan want the federal government to send in the army, following a suicide attack that killed some 80 paramilitary police trainees at Shabqadar Fort in Charsadda town north of Peshawar Friday morning.

Pakistanis Indifferent to Anti-U.S Rallies

Two of the country’s main religious-political groups have been calling on Pakistanis to come out and protest the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, but the public response has been lukewarm.

Egypt Seeks End to Foreign Wheat Dependence

Egypt is stepping up its wheat production in a bid to stem the country’s rising dependence on foreign imports that escalated during the 30-year rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in February.

DEVELOPMENT: Market Forces Rise Above Declarations

Upstairs in halls where the conference of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is being held, all the right things were being said about the misery of poverty and the virtue of opportunity and development. Several floors below, what are called ‘market forces’ were at work.

Within the Arab Left, Contradictions Emerge Over Syria

Though the Arab Spring has heralded newfound hope and optimism across the Middle East, the mood has darkened considerably as entrenched governments have fought back viciously against democratic opposition.

AZERBAIJAN: Govt Fears Spread of Arab Spring

In the wake of anti-government protests by the opposition and youth activists in Baku, Azerbaijan, authorities have arrested and detained scores of demonstrators and journalists in deplorable and inhumane conditions.

OP-ED: Secularism to the Rescue of the Arab Spring

Spring has come early this year to the Arab world. Climate change has awakened the once comatose Middle East from the stupor of singular leaderships. A new dawn of democracy and freedom is sprouting from Morocco to Oman. Or so we are told.

Armed Conflicts Claim Unprecedented Number of Civilians

Afghanistan, once described as the graveyard of empires, is ranked number one as the country with the most "significant rise" in civilian deaths last year, turning it into a veritable killing field, according to a new report by the London-based Minority Rights Group International (MRG).

Young Panamanians Develop Antibodies Against Violence

In Panama's largest cities, minors under 18 not under supervision of an adult must be off the streets after 9:00 p.m. The juvenile curfew law means some spend several days behind bars until someone shows up to pay the fine.

Stray Dog Issue Hounds Animal Welfare in India

Moves to enact a new law on animal welfare in India have upset public health advocates, who fear it will interfere with efforts to control rabies-carrying stray dogs.

Sunni Monarchies Close Ranks

Reports that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considering some form of membership for two non-Gulf states – Jordan and Morocco – confirm that the conservative Sunni monarchies of the Middle East are closing ranks against Iran, Shiite-led Iraq and the democratic wave sweeping the region.