Europe Holds Tight to IMF Monopoly

Since the election of Camille Gutt of Belgium as the first managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) back in 1946, the Europeans have continued to claim that job as their political and intellectual birthright.

HEALTH: Water, Sanitation Could Erase Cholera and Guinea Worm

The World Health Assembly could adopt landmark resolutions asking governments to improve water and sanitation to eradicate cholera and guinea worm, the latter of which exists in just four countries in Africa. While safe drinking water and toilets are the most cost-effective public health measures, they have not been a priority for most developing countries.

OP-ED: The Fate of Minorities in the Arab Spring

From the shores of the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf, women and men in many Arab-Muslim countries are demanding that their rulers democratise, and that dictators monopolising power and national wealth for their own profit step down.

ENVIRONMENT-RUSSIA: Activists Protest Destruction of 500-Year-Old Forest

Environmentalists and rights campaigners have mounted pressure on the Russian government to rescind the decision to demolish more than 500-year-old woodlands to make way for the construction of a new super-highway linking Moscow with the country's northern capital, St. Petersburg.

Ethics and Politics Get Divorced in Guatemala

"She got a divorce because of her ambition and love of money," shopkeeper Dulce Álvarez told IPS, about Guatemalan former First Lady Sandra Torres' decision to end her marriage in order to sidestep the legal bar to the president's family members running for the presidency.

EUROPE: Investment Treaties Undemocratic

A proposal to put an end to the highly anti-democratic nature of the European Union’s Bilateral Investment Treaties was heavily watered down by a plenary voting in the European Parliament. However, in their current form the treaties may pose a serious risk for European democracy.

Guatemala Looking Increasingly Like a ‘Narco-State’

The violence and the state of siege in the northern Guatemalan province of Petén, following the massacre and decapitation of 27 farm labourers, has been building up for years.

LIBYA: Ajdabiya Seeks Semblance of Peace

Although the front line is at its gates in eastern Libya, the city of Ajdabiya is trying to get back to normal under threat of attack by the troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and, especially, under the risk posed by unexploded ordnance in streets, gardens and houses.

Sub-Saharan School Enrolment Shoots Up, But Challenges Remain

Investment in education by sub-Saharan African countries is paying dividends, with more children than ever before now attending school, according to a new report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

U.S.: “Toughest Sheriff” in Legal Crosshairs

The United States' self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" has made international headlines for housing inmates at outdoor tent facilities and conducting immigration sweeps in Latino neighbourhoods.

Yemen Rivals Fail to Sign GCC-Brokered Deal

Yemen's president has for a second time backed out of a Gulf- sponsored deal to transfer power.

BOOKS: The Lonely Plight of the Whistleblower

"Few paths are more treacherous than the one that challenges an abuse of power," warns "A Handbook for Committing the Truth: The Corporate Whistleblower's Survival Guide" - a primer not only for whistleblowers but for corporate leaders and citizen activists as well, say authors Tom Devine and Tarek Maassarani.

KENYA: Rights Defender Deemed ‘Contrary to National Interest’

At about 9 pm on May 10, British human rights lawyer Clara Gutteridge arrived at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Dar es Salaam, where she was investigating the arrests of Tanzanians accused of terrorism.

Parliamentarians Ask G8 to Focus on Women

Ahead of this month's G8 summit in France, parliamentarians from 35 countries have issued a strong call for leaders of the world's major economies to focus on the role of women and girls in development.

EUROPE: Media Complicit in Rise of Xenophobia

As European leaders increasingly question the concept of Europe without borders and follow each other in announcing the end of multiculturalism, the media response has been mostly to present migrants as destabilising Europe’s labour markets and welfare states.

Spring Not New to Arab Women

Women have been taking leading roles in the Arab uprisings of Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Morocco and Bahrain - shattering many decades old Western myths that Arab women are powerless and enslaved.

MIDEAST: When Talks Fail, Try Belly Dance

"Hop-a-li, Hop-a-la!" On the stage of the Arab-Hebrew Theatre established in the ancient Arab port of the vibrant Jewish metropolis, a troupe of Israeli men and women interlaces, belly dancing to a frenetic Hafla tune.

Obama Faces Mounting Arab Disillusionment

On the eve of a much-anticipated address by President Barack Obama on U.S. policy in the Middle East, a new survey suggests that disillusionment with both Obama and Washington's approaches to the region are once again on the rise throughout the Muslim world.

ST. LUCIA: Shootout Fuels Debate over Extrajudicial Killings

By their own account, the police said they had been monitoring five men who attempted to rob a restaurant in the south of the island, and in the ensuing gun battle, four were shot and killed, while the fifth died a few days later in hospital.

Egypt Hunts Down the Right to Love

Abeer Fakhry, a young Christian woman, had only wanted to live with a man who would love and respect her, and not with her abusive husband. But within months of trying to escape her marriage, and her faith, Abeer finds herself chased by her family, by the Orthodox Christian Church, by the fundamentalist Islamic Salafi Group and, lately, by Egypt’s top army generals.

SOUTH AFRICA: Woman Navigating a Tough Political System

Victoria Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi admits she is no angel. But for 30 years she’s navigated through South Africa’s tough political landscape, mainly as a member of a male-dominated party, and now as the leader of her own political party.