Sri Lanka’s vanquished Tamil Tiger rebels suffered another major blow with the arrest of their new leader on August 5.

Tequila, part of the national identity of Mexico, is invariably present at family celebrations and national holidays. But many are unaware of the bitter taste the tequila industry leaves in the water and soil.

In her office at the Bethlehem women's counselling centre, Khawla Al-Azraq recounts her memories from Israeli prison as vividly as if they were yesterday: the routine physical and psychological abuse, the nightly room searches, the hunger strikes and other collective actions in protest against their conditions, and the intense study sessions with her fellow prisoners.

A government offensive against rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that began in January has dramatically increased sexual violence in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

A high court judge in Gambia has convicted six Gambian journalists on charges of defamation and sedition.

The demilitarisation process that got underway in Honduras 15 years ago was buried on Jun. 28 when more than 100 soldiers surrounded President Manuel Zelaya's home, pulled him out of bed at gunpoint and sent him into exile. Now the armed forces are making no effort to conceal their interest in political protagonism.

Charging that the U.S. government was complicit in the forced disappearance of an influential Muslim scholar four years ago, human rights groups in the U.S., the U.K., and Switzerland have asked the U.N. to investigate.

United States Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor - the first Latina Supreme Court nominee and the third woman appointed to the court - won her confirmation vote in the Senate today setting the stage for her swearing in at a White House ceremony as early as tomorrow.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is taking new measures to warn Palestinian civilians about impending aerial attacks. This comes in response to questions raised over whether Israel had complied with international laws during its 2006 war in Lebanon and the Gaza offensive earlier this year.

Without fanfare or major explanations, the Cuban government has begun to dismantle the system of mandatory rural boarding school for students in the last three years of high school – one of various reforms aimed at improving the quality of education that will start to be implemented at the start of the next school year in September.