HEALTH-CHILE: Teen Pregnancy Bucks Global Downward Trend

She is only 24 and has already had three children. The first was born when she was 14, the second when she was 20, and the third, who she gave in adoption, was born just a few weeks ago. Her story is a reflection of teen pregnancy and early motherhood, which are on the rise in Chile.

POLITICS: “One U.N.” to Streamline Development Efforts

The United Nations has had a longstanding notoriety for turf wars between competing agencies armed with overlapping mandates on development-oriented missions in the field.

HUMAN RIGHTS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Mixed Response as Gays Come Out

The issue of lesbian and gay Africans’ human rights again came to the fore this week as Anglican Church leaders met in Tanzania amid the continuing row over the consecration of a gay US bishop in 2003.

CHILE: Sexual Minorities Report Gay Bashing, But Greater Recognition

The Chilean Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (MOVILH) will press charges next week against several Carabineros (militarised police) for brutally beating a man three times in a single night.

MAURITIUS: Syringes and Needles Now Part of Anti-AIDS Arsenal

In contrast to the rest of southern Africa, intravenous (IV) drug users have become the group most vulnerable to the transmission of the HI virus in Mauritius. This has led the Mauritian government to introduce a syringe and needle exchange programme in a bid to stem HIV infection among Mauritian drug users.

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: Lesbians Want Real Marriage

The Argentine Civil Registry Office's refusal to register a lesbian couple for a civil marriage prompted a legal claim for homosexuals to enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals.

MEXICO: Law on Violence Against Women – Necessary but Not Sufficient

"This is the last time Patricia will be battered," says a radio spot about the law on violence against women, which entered into force this month. But will this hopeful statement come true?

PORTUGAL: Legal Abortion After Decades of Struggle

It took more than three decades of struggle by activists for Portugal to give the green light, via referendum, to parliament to make the country's strict anti-abortion law more flexible.

PORTUGAL: Graphic Leaflets Backfire on Anti-Abortionists

Just when those in favour of legalising abortion in Portugal were faltering in the polls, a hair-raising campaign against voluntary termination of pregnancy could backfire against the anti-abortion cause, instead of winning over more supporters.

AUSTRALIA: Catholic Church to Give ‘Impartial’ Abortion Advice

A government plan to award 34 million US dollars to ‘Centacare', the health and welfare arm of the Catholic Church, for abortion counselling has triggered stormy debates over impartiality and the growing influence of religion on Australian policy.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Teenager’s Rape – Test for New Women’s Law

Proceedings underway against 11 men accused of gang-raping a 16-year-old girl, to extract customary revenge for an elopement, will test the soundness of Pakistan's new legislation passed in December to protect women from crimes committed in the name of defending honour.

JAPAN/US: ‘Respect Women Before Setting Up Military Bases’

Japan's plans to boost its defence capability with the support of the United States is being opposed by women's rights activists who say that U.S. military bases in this country are a danger to women who live in their vicinities.

HEALTH-MEXICO: Condoms and Sexual Tolerance in the Hands of a Detractor

Using a condom is not safe, the "morning after" pill is an abortifacient, and campaigns in favour of sexual tolerance promote homosexuality. These are some of the ideas of Mexican Health Minister José Córdova that are alarming social activists and analysts.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: End to HIV/AIDS a Tall Order in Face of Violence

The issue of violence exacerbating the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly in women, has remained a hot one at the World Social Forum (WSF), taking place here this week.

COLOMBIA: Women Suffer Abuse Behind the Front Lines

"The actors in the Colombian armed conflict, in particular the paramilitary groups and the guerrilla, employ physical, sexual and psychological violence against women as a strategy of war," stated the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Long Fight for Justice for Homosexuals

Even with tens of thousands of activists at the World Social Forum (WSF) denouncing injustices of all kinds, the issue of discrimination against homosexuals is making its voice heard amidst the din.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Pregnancy Is a Dangerous Pursuit in Zambia

"Being pregnant in Africa is like having an unknown disease," says Zambian mother Alice Tembo, referring to many of her compatriots' lack of basic knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth.

HEALTH-PAKISTAN: Obstetric Fistula – Grim Reminder of Unmet MDGs

''I wouldn't have thrown her out but would certainly have remarried,'' says Mohammad Qasim easily, sitting in a verandah at the Koohi Goth Maternity Centre in the suburbs of this southern port city.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: The Struggle Continues for Mozambican Women

The contradictions in Maria’s life are typical of many women in Mozambique.

HEALTH-MOZAMBIQUE: Healers’ Practices Under the HIV Spotlight

A motley group of about 20 men and women eyed each other tentatively as they met for the first time to discuss how they could jointly fight HIV/AIDS.

RIGHTS-ASIA: ‘Internet Pushing Real Time Porn’

In the lengthening vocabulary that describes child abuse, 'streaming' now defines the formidable challenge faced by child rights activists campaigning to stop children from being trapped into the sex trade over the Internet.