SOUTH AMERICA: “Drug Addicts Are Sick, Not Criminals”

Drug dealers in the favelas of this Brazilian city are doing the same brisk business as before the installation of the "Police Pacification Units" (UPPs) in those poor neighbourhoods, authorities and experts admit, while they acknowledge the difficulties in combating the problem.

Despite Western Boycott, Racism Meet Gets Overwhelming Support

A "boycott" by more than a dozen Western nations, including the United States, Germany, Canada and Israel, failed to derail a high-level meeting on racism and xenophobia hosted by the 193-member General Assembly.

U.S.: Global Protests and Arrests as Troy Davis Is Executed

The U.S. state of Georgia executed Troy Davis at 11:08 p.m. on Wednesday, Sep. 21, despite serious doubts about his guilt that inspired mass protests in Georgia, across the United States, and indeed, around the world.

BRAZIL-AFRICA: Teaching Diplomacy

African countries are increasingly taking up Brazil's offer of training in the art of diplomacy, seeing it as a partner that could help them set up or improve their own foreign service institutes.

Deadly Fighting Rages in Yemeni Capital

Deadly fighting has spread across Yemen's capital as tribesmen joined battles between rival military units, raising fears among residents the country is descending into civil war.

MIDEAST: As a Street Parliament Views Obama

"Welcome to our 'Palestine State Parliament'!" Nidal Bazbaz calls out to a friend who's passing by in between an assembly of older and younger Palestinians. They're seated on plastic chairs, lined up against opposite walls, in an alleyway of the walled Old City.

MIDEAST: Hamas Turning Away From UN Towards Arabs

In the face of the moves by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for recognition of an independent Palestinian state, the Hamas-led foreign ministry in Gaza is forming a new diplomatic strategy that looks to Arab countries in the region such as Egypt and Turkey to apply political pressure on Israel.

Bangladesh Draws Pakistan’s Garment Makers

Faced with serious political instability and a deteriorating industrial climate, Pakistan’s garment exporters are turning to Bangladesh, a territory which splintered away after a bloody war of independence in 1971.

US: Expanding Network of Drone Bases To Hit Somalia, Yemen

As Somalia undergoes its worst famine in six decades and Yemen slides into civil war, the administration of President Barack Obama is expanding its network of bases to carry out drone strikes against suspected terrorists in both countries, according to reports published in two major U.S. newspapers Thursday.

COLOMBIA: Victims of Sexual Violence Under Threat and on Their Own

"Another one? Another rape?" was the response Mari got at the Attorney General's Office in Colombia when she went to report what she had been through. "When they said that, I froze and got up and said 'Thank you, I’ll come back another day'," she told human rights defenders later.

DEATH PENALTY: Not in the Name of the Quran

Islamic regimes look for provisions and precedents to carry out the death sentence in the name of Islam. But, says Dr. Mohammad Al-Habash, director of the Islamic Studies Centre in Damascus, they are not looking enough at 13 provisions within the Quran to commute the death sentence to a lesser punishment.

OP-ED: Palestine and the U.N.: A History of Double Standard

Failure to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Israel's 40-year occupation, in the words of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, would "continue to hurt the reputation of the United Nations and raise questions about its impartiality".

“Identities Do Not Have Borders”

Sep. 11, 2001 deeply affected the relations between the United States and Europe on one hand and North Africa and the Middle East on the other.

MEXICO: Victims of Violence Demand the Truth

The Peace Caravan led by poet Javier Sicilia ended its tour through southern Mexico with a loud call for the creation of a truth commission to distinguish between murders committed by organised crime groups and killings by the security forces.

U.S.: Obama Chooses Caution on Taiwan Arms Sale

Eager not to provoke a new round of tensions with China, U.S. President Barack Obama has reportedly decided to sell Taiwan upgraded versions of its main fighter jets instead of the new, more advanced models that the island state had preferred.

Post-War Libya Urged to Create New Human Rights Regime

As the United Nations celebrated the birth of a new democratic Libya, the National Transitional Council (NTC), which has been duly recognised as the legitimate government, is faced with new political demands - even before it could get off the ground.

New Study Says U.S. Night Raids Aimed at Afghan Civilians

U.S. Special Operations Forces have been increasingly aiming their night-time raids, which have been the primary cause of Afghan anger at the U.S. military presence, at civilian non- combatants in order to exploit their possible intelligence value, according to a new study published by the Open Society Foundation and The Liaison Office.

ZAMBIA: Largely Peaceful Elections

Only two incidents of violence, triggered by the late start of voting and the suspicion of electoral fraud, were reported as Zambians went to the polls to elect a new president and government on Tuesday.

MALAWI: Markets Torched Ahead of Cancelled Protests

Soot and ash filled the air the day after a fire gutted Malawi's Blantyre Market. Men and women merchants wore solemn expressions as they shovelled piles of debris from the site on Tuesday.

/CORRECTION/*Q&A: “Brazil Could Mediate Between Juba and Khartoum”

The world's newest nation, South Sudan, is seeking support from Brazil – the first country in the world to recognise the new nation – in learning the art of diplomacy and defusing tensions and persistent conflicts.

Adding Up the Cost of Education in Sierra Leone

A formal strike of teachers has been averted and pupils in Sierra Leone returned to school on Tuesday, almost a week after the term was meant to officially start.