Women have been left in charge of many of the households in the village of Zamkoye-Koïra, in western Niger, as food shortages have driven male family members to leave in search of work elsewhere. A national survey of vulnerable households shows that 5.4 million people face food insecurity across Niger.

If the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had 1.28 billion dollars it could help 97 million people around the world.

A radical political group based in a working class neighbourhood of the Venezuelan capital has sparked a furore by publishing photographs of children from the community, with their faces partially hidden, brandishing AR-15 assault rifles.

When a financial crisis threatened the existence of Africa's oldest community station, Bush Radio, an outpouring of sympathy and appeals went viral on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. In the end, it was this outspoken support that showed financial backers that the station was worth saving.

As UN Women celebrated its first birthday, its executive director Michelle Bachelet stressed that political upheveal and shrinking budgets are no excuse to push back the hard-won gains made by the women's movement globally.

The political heavy hitters were all there at a key Security Council meeting early this week to decide on the future of beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told Israeli leaders Jan. 20 that the United States would not participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel without prior agreement from Washington, according to accounts from well-placed senior military officers.

Bangladesh's army has won paludits as leading United Nations peacekeepers, but the January coup attempt against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has exposed lurking religious extremism within its ranks.

The administration of President Barack Obama should take steps to make threats of a possible U.S. or Israeli attack against Iran more credible, according to the fourth in a series of studies released here Wednesday by a 13-man "bipartisan" task force dominated by Iran hawks.

It was stones against tear gas in the Senegalese capital this morning as students protested the killing of one of their own on Tuesday evening. At least four people have died since Jan. 27, in wider demonstrations against the controversial validation of President Abdoulaye Wade's candidacy for re-election for a third term.

Cuba's communist leaders have mapped out a strategy to modernise their country's one-party socialist model and make it more efficient, which implies making it more inclusive and representative of a society that is increasingly diverse.

Radio Mega FM's transmission tower rises from the centre of Gulu town, transmitting talk shows and the latest Ugandan radio hits to listeners across the district. But it also serves as something of an informal memorial to community radio-driven peace efforts during the Lord's Resistance Army's destruction of northern Uganda.

Only days ago, turning on the tap was cause for concern. Would there be running water? Now, it's reason for celebration.

The relentless wave of femicides in Guatemala, which has one of the highest female murder rates in the world, has prompted actions by the government, civil society groups, and two Nobel Peace laureates to try to put a stop to this brutal violence against women, which has reached horrific proportions.

International and local human rights groups Tuesday strongly denounced the ruling by an investigating judge in Haiti that former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier should not face charges for massive human rights abuses committed during his 15-year reign, from 1971 to 1986.

The women languishing in Serbia's Pozarevac Penal Correctional Institution are victims twice over: survivors of decades of domestic violence, they have been imprisoned for killing their partners and often spend up to 15 years in jail.

Zhang Daliu, 46, a carpenter from China never imagined himself in the dreadful confines of a stinking and overcrowded Zambian jail where conditions are so terrible that they lead to gastronomic disorders and skin diseases within days of confinement.

Only days ago, turning on the tap was cause for concern. Would there be running water? Now, it's reason for celebration.

Two days after some 400 people were arrested during a protest organised by Occupy Oakland on the U.S. west coast, members of Occupy DC say they have no plans to leave despite the threat of police action.

The decision by the administration of President Barack Obama to approve limited transfers of military equipment to Bahrain is coming under renewed fire by human rights and pro-democracy groups here.

Last Friday marked two years since the inauguration of Porfirio Lobo as president of Honduras, amidst accusations of corruption, an unprecedented crime wave, and his lowest approval rating yet.

Chile's political system is "exhausted" and urgently needs reform to truly represent its citizens, consolidate democracy and ensure governability, say experts consulted by IPS.

When the Security Council penalises governments with economic sanctions and arms embargoes, the world body's 193 member states are mandated to help implement the wide-ranging punitive measures imposed on these countries.

Fighting is continuing in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, according to activists, as Syrian security forces appeared to be reasserting their control over the restive fringes of the country's capital.

Initiative pour un autre monde (IPAM) ? Paris, France IPAM is in support of, and is currently promoting, the Fifth European Meeting of Analysis of Political Societies in Paris on February 2 and 3 in Paris. This meeting is titled ?Arab Spring: myth and fiction? and will analyze the wave of protests that swept Arab countries from a comparative historical and political sociological perspective. IPAM also supports Study Day as part of ?The war in Algeria, images and representation.? The day is (...) - February 2012 / Bulletin Alternatives

The African National Congress (ANC) began anniversary celebrations for the 100th time on January 8, 2012. A crowd of 50 000, as well as 46 foreign dignitaries, packed into the Bloemfontein Rugby stadium to watch speeches from President Jacob Zuma and American civil-rights campaigner Jesse Jackson. The self-congratulations will continue throughout the year and will culminate with the ANC national conference held every five years to elect new leaders. Celebrations are in order. No other (...) - February 2012 / Bulletin Alternatives

Iran's alleged militaristic nuclear capabilities have placed the country at the centre of the world's political stage. The nation's nuclear scientists have been assassinated and the identities of their assassins remain unknown. The most recent victim of these attacks was Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a chemist who worked at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Iran's Isfahan province. Roshan's death marks the fifth time in two years that a scientist from the state nuclear program has been (...) - February 2012 / Bulletin Alternatives

Over the past twenty years, there has been a decline in the proportion of British citizens who consider their nationality primarily British. A report by Anthony Heath and Jane Roberts for the British Department of Justice shows that since 1979, the number of English, Welsh, and Scottish residents who consider their nationality to be primarily British has fallen. At the same time, the number describing themselves as Scottish, Welsh, or English has risen. In 1979, 38 percent of Scottish (...) - February 2012 / Bulletin Alternatives

Each year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of the United States is amended to accommodate the Department of Defense's budget for that fiscal year. The NDAA for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY2012) is particularly controversial because it infringes upon American citizens' constitutional rights. The NDAA FY2012 is set to take effect on March 3, and includes a provision that has the potential to allow American citizens to be arrested, detained indefinitely, and tortured if suspected of (...) - February 2012 / Bulletin Alternatives

Nations that limit access to the Internet violate a human right which has become essential to life in the 21st century: the freedom of speech and communication through the Internet. A lack of censorship within this digital platform is a precondition to efficient Internet communications, and modifications to this norm impinge on some basic democratic norms. Universal Music Group's (UMG) recent prosecution of the Hong Kong-based online storage site MegaUpload?a site well known for illegally (...) - February 2012 / Bulletin Alternatives