WESTERN SAHARA: Africa Should Slap Sanctions on Morocco

A firm call for African Union member states to impose sanctions against Morocco until it abides by the United Nations mandate that affirms the people of Western Sahara's right to self-determination was made at the Pan African Parliament proceedings.

Burma Exposes Fault Lines in China’s Dam-building Juggernaut

When Burma’s new president, Thein Sein, took the unusual step of opposing the construction of one of China's largest investment projects in the country – a mega dam – he did more than acknowledge the concerns of local communities and environmental activists.

U.S.: “Leaderless” Protest Movement Continues to Snowball

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you – then you win," a middle-aged man yells into the microphone from a makeshift stage erected at the far end of Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC.

U.S. Debate on Haqqani: Military or Political Solution?

Dissension over Adm. Mike Mullen's accusation that the Haqqani network of Afghan insurgents is a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's intelligence agency and the revelation that a U.S. official met with a Haqqani official have provided new evidence of a long-simmering struggle within the Barack Obama administration over how to deal with the most effective element of the Afghan resistance to U.S.-NATO forces.

Liberian Muslims Allege Disenfranchisement

It seems all of Liberia is paying close attention to the campaign for the Oct. 11 presidential and legislative elections. But Sekou Camara is one exception.

COLOMBIA: Nasa Indians: “The Armed Groups Won’t Let Us Live in Peace”

Indigenous children in the southwestern Colombian province of Cauca do not know what peace is. For the government forces and the leftwing guerrillas, the territory of the Nasa people is a strategic battleground.

PAKISTAN: Flood Fatigue Closes Eyes to New Disaster

Men and women wading through waist-deep water with infants straddling their sides; a convoy of donkey carts laden with entire families’ possessions moving towards dry land; people being rescued by uniformed men in rubber boats; ailing elderly carried on rope cots; bird’s-eye views of vast tracts of land submerged under water.

Agencies Fight to Save U.S. Foreign Aid from Deep Cuts

Foreign aid could be one of the first items on the chopping block as the United States struggles to address trillion- dollar deficits in the coming fiscal years, a fate U.S. international development agency officials are trying hard to avoid.

U.S.: Obama Waives Aid Curbs on Militaries Using Child Soldiers

For the second year in a row, U.S. President Barack Obama has waived a Congressionally-mandated ban on military aid for four countries that use child soldiers.

BRAZIL: Suape Port Complex, the Locomotive of the Northeast

Silvio Leimig was 18 years old and had just earned his driver's licence when he visited Suape, a port 40 km from his home in Recife, the capital of the state of Pernambuco in Brazil's Northeast region, in the early 1980s.

West Leads in Wielding Veto Powers at Security Council

When Russia and China exercised a rare double veto against a Western resolution aimed at punishing Syria, the two big powers were repeating a similar feat derailing two earlier resolutions: one against Myanmar (Burma) in 2007 and the other against Zimbabwe in 2008.

Iranians Bristle as Banking Scandal Widens

A banking scandal, identified by Iranian authorities as the "largest embezzlement in the country's banking history", has further shaken confidence in the government whose legitimacy was already under question after the contested results of the 2009 presidential election.

Pressure Builds on Iran at Nuclear Watchdog Agency

As Iran continues a slow march toward potential nuclear weapons capability, diplomatic action to contain the programme is likely to shift to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose director general, Yukiya Amano, has taken a harder line than his predecessor about alleged military research by Iran's nuclear scientists.

NAMIBIA: German Extermination Marginalised Ethnic Groups

Over 100 years after the attempted extermination of Namibia’s indigenous men, women and children, 20 of the 300 skulls that had been stolen for racial research have finally returned home from Germany.

Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Vows More Attacks

Al-Shabaab has vowed to carry out more attacks in Mogadishu following a vehicle bomb blast that killed scores of people in the Somali capital.

Anti-Nuclear Struggle Has Large Fallout

The anti-nuclear struggle in India did not gain the same national prominence as the hunger strike waged by Anna Hazare against rampant corruption among India’s top politicians. Yet a landmark it surely was in the history of India’s nuclear programme.

AFRICA: “Ideal for the Development of a Real Economy”

Foreign direct investment in Africa over the last decade has contributed to marked economic growth for the continent but it has not translated into development for its people, say pan-African leaders.

U.S.: Long-Stalled Trade Accords Move Forward

In a major victory for U.S.-based multinational corporations, President Barack Obama has submitted controversial and long- pending "free-trade" agreements (FTAs) between the U.S. and South Korea, Colombia, and Panama for rapid approval by Congress.

NAMIBIA: Skulls Repatriated – But No Official German Apology

A delegation of Namibian government representatives and leaders of the indigenous Herero and Nama people who came to Germany to repatriate 20 skulls of their ancestors were once again disappointed in their hopes for dialogue and an official apology.

Non-Traditional Teaching Promoted for Girls

Making some simple, basic changes in education policy can result in many more girls attending school, experts said at a meeting here this week on Gender Equality in Education.

SPAIN: ‘Indignant’ Protests Heat Up Election Campaign

"Ex dockyard worker, now a beggar" reads the sign displayed by a man in a spotless shirt who is panhandling near a square in this southern Spanish city where dozens of demonstrators are chanting: "The bank always wins and I'm against this!" and "What's going on? We have no homes!"