Unrest Spreads to Algeria

At least three Algerians have died and hundreds have been injured in four days of protests over housing shortages, rising food prices and failing economic policies that only three months ago won praise by the International Monetary Fund and other Western financial institutions.

Afghanistan Solutions Heighten Central Asian Crisis

International efforts to replace poppy fields with food crops and improve living standards in impoverished northern Afghanistan seem undeniable progress in the conflict-ridden country. But some experts worry that these efforts will have unintended negative consequences for the nation’s neighbours, where water and energy resources are sparse and tensions run high.

INDIA: 100-Dollar Laptops Bring In Distant Kids

Responding to the lack of computer training in Mukteshwar’s schools, Veena Sethi, a retired Delhi University professor, set up two used personal computers in the basement of her home with the aim of bringing the basics of computing to school children.

PERU: Storm in a Glass of Milk

During his nearly five years in office, Peruvian President Alan García has earmarked 620.5 million dollars to the "Glass of Milk" Programme (PVL), the backbone of the policies aimed at reducing malnutrition levels in the country. But the results of the nutritional supplement programme are poor.

U.N. Tight-Lipped on Use of Military Force in Cote d’Ivoire

As the continuing political stalemate threatens to unleash a civil war in Cote d'Ivoire, the United Nations is taking an increasingly aggressive stance in the widening standoff with the West African nation.

ARGENTINA: On the Path to Sustainable Development?

This year will be the ninth straight year of impressive economic growth for Argentina. Some analysts say the international context is the key to the high rates of growth since 2003, while others stress that there are also internal factors behind the expansion.

HAITI: The Year of Living Dangerously – Part 2

When diplomat Ricardo Seitenfus spoke out in interviews last month condemning the international community, he was dismissed from his post within days by the Organisation of American States.

OP-ED/HAITI: Give Us Just a Day to Grieve

The anniversary of the earthquake is in less than a week, on Jan. 12. Never before had Haiti seen so many victims from a single catastrophe in so short a time. Never had Haitians experienced such solidarity, nor received so much attention from abroad and from the international community.

ELECTION-WATCH: Stakes High in What Might be Africa’s 55th State

South Sudan is memorable for unbearably high heat, persistent noise from the generators that help cool the temperatures and glaring poor infrastructure.

ECONOMY: South Africa Prepares to Head Into the BRIC fold

South Africa’s inclusion in the BRIC group of powerful emerging economies has sparked intense debate, with some saying it has done itself a disservice by trying to punch above its weight, and others lauding the inclusion as a step towards becoming a more important player on the global stage.

SUDAN-U.S.: Referendum May Be Only the Beginning

Amid growing certainty that the much-anticipated weeklong referendum on independence for south Sudan will indeed begin Sunday as scheduled, U.S. officials and independent experts are warning that the situation in both the north and the south is likely to remain very fragile for some time to come.

Pressure Mounts on Security Council to Rein in Israel

Calls are growing for a swift international response to the situation in the Middle East, as Israel continues to build new settlements in Palestinian territories with increased military actions against civilians.

HAITI: The Year of Living Dangerously – Part 1

Dieula Rosemond is tired. A lone swaying palm tree yields a little shade over her plastic chair. Her hands are folded in the lap of her white dress. Little girls play with a ragged, pale-faced doll behind her.

KENYA: No Easy Path for Disabled Women with Political Dreams

"People living with disability face all sorts of discrimination. We are discriminated against at job interviews in schools. Everyday is a battle to remain positive in the face of a world that is too bent on dismissing those among us that do not meet the standard of what is normal", explains Mishi Juma, a disabled community leader from the Coast region.

MIDEAST: It’s Christmas Again, and Still No Way to Bethlehem

"We try to be happy and celebrate with our families during Christmas, but the atmosphere is not cheery as in other parts of the world," says Hossam Tawwil. And as around Christmas on Dec. 25, so for Orthodox Christians preparing to celebrate Christmas Jan. 7.

EGYPT: Shark Attacks Bite Tourism

The beaches of Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh are tentatively back to normal after having recently been the site of five separate shark attacks, one of which proved fatal. While the phenomenon's precise cause remains undetermined, local experts fear that the spate of attacks could have dire consequences for Egypt's vital tourism industry - especially in the event of another incident.

Bahrain’s Farms Disappearing Under Concrete Towers

Environmentalists are engaged in a nation-wide campaign to protect what is left of the agricultural belt in Bahrain. Seventy percent of farms have been eliminated due to urbanisation, according to environmentalists who are warning of a serious environmental crisis.

PHILIPPINES: Catholics Risk Excommunication Over Reproductive Rights

Support for reproductive health legislation, popularly known as the RH Bill here, has snowballed on social websites and among peer networks, yet passage and funding of the bill remain uncertain. Catholic bishops have long used the threat of excommunication in the raging debates over use of modern contraceptive methods - such as pills, IUDs and condoms - in the Southeast-Asian nation of over 92 million, 85 percent of whom are Catholic.

ZIMBABWE: In the Eye of the HIV/Aids Storm

Teenage commercial sex workers are finding themselves at the centre of the HIV/AIDS storm amid concerns of widespread lack of condom use and a spike in the number of infections among this demographic, despite the country’s continuing HIV/AIDS campaigns, which health authorities say has seen a drop in prevalence in the past few years.

Oil Leak, Haiti, Afghanistan Dominated 2010 U.S. TV News

The disastrous BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, and the continuing war in Afghanistan comprised the major news stories in 2010, according to the latest annual review of network news coverage by the authoritative Tyndall Report.

VENEZUELA: Socialism as Counterattack

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez began the new year with special powers to implement his "21st century socialism", while the opposition returned to the legislature Wednesday after a five-year absence.