From One Computer to Biggest Microfinance Bank in Bolivia

A non-governmental organisation set up by five women 25 years ago in Bolivia gave birth to what is now the largest microcredit bank in the country, catering to those otherwise marginalised from the financial system.

MEXICO-US: Migrants Disappear – and Ransom Money Too

In August 2007, two Mexicans tried to get their brother into the United States illegally, by hiring a people trafficker or "coyote" for a fee of 2,500 dollars for the journey. But the would-be migrant never got across the border, and the money disappeared.

THAILAND: Rural Folk Pave Way for First Female PM’s Landmark Win

Across villages, towns, and cities in northeast Thailand, a mood of political empowerment is bursting to the surface, with people gathering in groups since Sunday evening to celebrate political history. After all, they helped put Yingluck Shinawatra on the road to becoming the country’s first female prime minister.

Thailand’s Yingluck Announces Coalition

A day after she led Pheu Thai party to a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra has announced a new five-party coalition government.

MIDEAST: From the Sea to the Pond

"Farmed fish are now better than sea fish in Gaza. They shouldn't be, but because of the sewage in Gaza's sea and the Israeli fishing restrictions, farmed fish are cleaner and healthier than sea fish."

EGYPT: Anger Grows Over Slow Pace of Justice

The violence that engulfed downtown Cairo last week and left over 1,000 civilians injured took everyone by surprise, but was not unexpected. It had been brewing for nearly five months.

BAHRAIN: Rifts Weaken Women’s Protest

Women activists in Bahrain have acknowledged their poor showing in the recent unrest as well as in efforts to fight sectarianism, and blamed it on rifts within their organisations.

Despite Troop Surge, Taliban Attacks and U.S. Casualties Soared

Data on attacks by armed opposition forces and U.S. combat casualties since the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan was completed last summer provide clear evidence that the surge and the increase in targeted killings by Special Operations Forces have failed to break the momentum of the Taliban.

MIDEAST: Dancing in a Palestinian Bubble

It’s Thursday night, the beginning of the weekend in the Muslim world, and time to party and let one’s hair down in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank’s isolated bubble and de facto capital.

MIDEAST: Gaza Flotilla Move Sinks

The besieger is besieged, such is the forlorn fact emanating from the order by Greece to block the ships docked at its ports from setting sail to the Palestinian strip of land, and that fact seems to have sealed the Flotilla's fate.

MIDEAST: Israel Denies Healthcare to Refugees

Medication and pillboxes fill two white bookcases, lining the wall behind a volunteer Israeli doctor. He talks to a patient in Hebrew about the man’s medical condition, as another man is examined behind a curtain that divides the small office. In the next room, at least 40 people – mainly of Eritrean and Sudanese origin – sit quietly on plastic chairs, waiting for their turn to be seen.

Strauss-Kahn’s Accuser Doubly Vicitimised, Advocates Say

Despite questions about her credibility, the Sofitel maid who is accusing former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault is still a victim and should be treated as one, according to her attorney.

EDUCATION-CHILE: Unequal System Under Fire

"Today we need structural changes; we need to move towards a new model of education in Chile and to sit down to talks that include all of the concerned parties," said Camila Vallejo, one of the leaders of the student movement that has the right-wing government of Sebastián Piñera up against the wall.

U.S.: Climate Change May Pose Biggest Security Threat

As a budget battle rages on in the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama's military budget comes under increasingly harsh scrutiny, a report released here Thursday by the Institute for Policy Studies suggests that reallocating defence spending towards tackling climate change might be the only solution to the administration's woes.

Syria’s Once Profoundly Secular Society Shaken Up

Since pro-democracy protests began last March, Syria’s once profoundly secular society has been shaken up, with deep divides splitting up communities along sectarian lines.

Late Spring May Come to Morocco

As Moroccans head to the polls to vote in a referendum on reforms offered by King Mohammed VI in the wake of the Arab Spring, the debate continues as to whether the proposed changes are merely cosmetic or will pave the way for a viable democracy.

EGYPT: Parties Proliferate in Political Spring

The liberalisation of Egypt's political process following the Jan. 25 Revolution has led to a proliferation of new political parties, both religiously-oriented and secular. Within the last five months, four new parties have officially launched, while at least 16 others are currently in the pipeline.

NORTH KOREA: On Sale, Girls Look for Chinese Husbands

North Koreans have increasingly been crossing into the northern border cities of China, with women outnumbering men. "Women represent about 70 percent of some 200,000 North Koreans who fled from North Korea into China in the past few years," Kim Tae Jin, a North Korean defector who leads a nongovernment organisation to protect the human rights of fellow North Koreans tells IPS.

AFRICA: African Union Divided over Libya

As African heads of state gather to discuss the future of the youth of the continent, Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is a noticeable absentee at the African Union (AU) summit in Equatorial Guinea.

Undisclosed Beheading at Heart of Indonesian, Saudi Row

Indonesia, which has an estimated 1.2 million emigrants in Saudi Arabia, is deeply troubled that Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens in a death penalty sentence without even contacting the government in Jakarta.

GREECE: Public Outrage over Austerity Plan

The mass protests in Greece swelled by the hour as parliament voted this Thursday to implement the social and economic adjustment plan approved Wednesday, including measures for privatisation, tax hikes, spending cuts and mass lay-offs in the state sector.