LATIN AMERICA: For a Day Against Homophobia

"We don't want more or less rights than anyone else; we want exactly the same rights," says Mexican transsexual Sofía Valero, one of millions of Latin Americans who suffer discrimination and are at risk of gay bashings and murder because of their sexual orientation.

POLAND: Abortion Laws Not Strong Enough For Some

With the strictest abortion laws in Europe, one would expect any debates to revolve around its liberalisation. Yet in 21st century Poland, the abortion issue has been unsuccessfully raised by politicians seeking to strengthen anti-abortion legislation even further.

RELIGION-BRAZIL: Not Much of a Stir over Pope’s Visit

Pope Benedict XVI's five-day visit to Brazil, which begins Wednesday, has not raised much of a stir, except for among the devout faithful and those who are closely involved with the Catholic Church.

POPULATION-CHINA: Paying Up for Extra ‘Little Emperors’

The grey walls of Chinese houses in even the tiniest villages in this billion-plus country invariably display slogans extolling the wisdom of "fewer births, better quality of the nation". But a new counter-wisdom is on the rise in urban China, challenging the government's decades-old efforts to control the country's population growth.

GUATEMALA: Indigenous Women Last in Line for MDGs

Guatemala is making slow, uneven progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with maternal mortality and illiteracy remaining the most persistent problems, mid-way to the 2015 deadline.

POPULATION: NGOs Warn of World Bank “Fundamentalists”

When the United States tried to water down a longstanding policy on reproductive health and family planning at the World Bank last month, there was a storm of protests from population experts and activist groups worldwide.

IRAQ: UN Report Sparks Uproar in Kurdistan

A United Nations report on Iraq's human rights situation has provoked mixed reactions in the northern Kurdistan region. Officials accuse the UN of "exaggeration and inaccuracy" while human rights activists say the "actual extent of violations has been understated by the UN."

IRAN: Dress Code Row – Another Ahmadinejad Failure

This year's uncharacteristically harsh crackdown on 'bad hijab' (improper dressing), that has pitted the moral police against the public, is being seen as one more election promise that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been unable to keep.

MEXICO: Alleged Rape of Indigenous Woman a Minefield of Contradictions

Opposition lawmakers in Mexico refused to review evidence presented by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) that contradicts charges against the army for the alleged gang rape by soldiers of a 73-year-old indigenous woman, who died on Feb. 25.

RIGHTS-U.S.: One in Three Native Women Suffer Sexual Assault

Native American women are at least 2.5 times as likely to be sexually assaulted in their lifetime as other women in the United States, according to a major new report by Amnesty International (AI) released here Wednesday.

HEALTH-MEXICO: Abortion No Longer a Crime in Capital

The Mexico City legislature voted Tuesday to legalise abortion, after several weeks of heated debate in which conservative groups and the Catholic Church traded insults with pro-choice activists and threatened them with excommunication.

JAPAN: Gender Biased Divorce Law Under Review

The birth of her baby four years ago was supposed to be a happy occasion for Masae Ito, 41. But she and her second husband were in for a nasty surprise at the registry office.

HEALTH-LATIN AMERICA: Girls Living with HIV Break the Silence

"I feel happy when I'm with my friends; at those times, I don't even remember that I have the infection," Keren, an 11-year-old Honduran girl living with HIV, told IPS.

POPULATION: Asia’s Falling Fertility Rates Threaten “Baby Bust”

A sharp drop in fertility rates in Japan, South Korea, China and Singapore is threatening a "baby bust", leaving most maternity wards in Asia in a state of near-emptiness.

POLITICS: Wolfowitz Contradicted on Family Planning Claim

Despite denials by World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz Thursday, newly disclosed internal documents indicate that the Bank may have in fact reversed a longstanding policy of promoting family planning on his watch.

BOOKS: Tales of Rwanda’s Survivors in Poetry and Prose

Kenyan-born journalist Mary Kimani's intensely personal exploration of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and its aftermath is ultimately a book about our shared humanity, and how people manage to endure amid unimaginable tragedy.

POPULATION-JAPAN: Obstetric Care Hits Crisis Levels

Mayu Sasaki, 32, is expecting her second baby in May, but rather than making happy preparations the former economics researcher is filled with anxiety.

HEALTH-ASIA PACIFIC: Stress on Community Approach to HIV/AIDS

Tired of waiting for governments to deliver on promises, activists, experts and people living with HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific will push for stronger community leadership in the battle against the disease at a regional summit to be held in this city in August.

MEXICO: Gov’t, Military Scramble to Deny Rape of Indigenous Woman

The handling of the case of an elderly indigenous woman who was allegedly raped by soldiers and died soon afterwards has seriously undermined public trust in the governmental National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), the Mexican government and the armed forces, which deny that she was sexually assaulted.

PHILIPPINES: Rape Case Won’t Dent US Military Presence

While public anger has dogged the Subic Bay rape case, which resulted in the conviction of a United States marine in December, it will not affect U.S. military presence in the Philippines or Washington's overall policy in the Asia Pacific region.

HEALTH: Living in Portugal, Giving Birth in Spain

Drastic public health budget cuts in Portugal have led to the closure of emergency and maternity services and prompted protests against the government of socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates.