Thousands of Kenyan urban dwellers, rich and poor, live in fear that their homes or building investments could soon be demolished as the country struggles to keep up with the rapid urbanisation of cities.

Diarrhoea causes more deaths than malaria and AIDS combined, yet while funding to fight the latter two have risen sharply, the same cannot be said of resources available for hygiene, sanitation and clean drinking water.

With the elimination of certain taxes and the implementation of several green initiatives, Costa Rica is pressing forward in its aim to promote sustainable energy generation with a view to achieving 'carbon neutrality' by 2021, the year this country will celebrate two centuries of independence.

The 130 developing countries at the United Nations remain divided over Chile's decision to hold onto its seat in the Group of 77 (G77) - even after it formally joined the exclusive club of rich nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Civil society organisations in Burma are stepping into the minefield of pre-election activity in the military-ruled country, giving rise to possible shifts in the political landscape there.

Lebanon has a reputation for openness because of the relative freedom enjoyed by women in comparison to other Middle Eastern countries. But many women face rampant discrimination.

Little hope has emerged from a meeting here of any binding international regulations to reduce greenhouse gases at the next UN conference on climate change scheduled for November and December in Cancun, Mexico.

Subsidies for agriculture in the industrialised countries of the world grew again in 2009, benefiting the largest companies and land owners, such as Prince Albert of Monaco and Queen Elizabeth of Britain.

Understanding that sex workers have rights too may still be some way off in China, but the government’s decision to stop police from parading them in public to humiliate them appears to reflect changing public attitudes toward those in the sex trade.

Abolition movements are gaining momentum in North Africa, but authoritarian regimes appear reluctant to remove capital punishment from the penal code.