When Kern Valley State Prison opened in 2005, the 379 million dollar facility in Central California was hailed as 'state of the art'. But within weeks of opening, a major problem was discovered: its water was poisoned - containing roughly twice the federally permitted level of arsenic, a known carcinogen.

In an unusual move, West and Central African civil society organisations have participated in the negotiations between their countries and the European Union on the economic partnership agreements (EPAs). The organisations stress developmental concerns while assisting under-resourced African governments with trade expertise.

Central America has suffered the highest rate of forest loss in Latin America over the last 10 years, despite a growing number of plans aimed at curbing the decline, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports.

In his commencement address to cadets at West Point Military Academy last year, U.S. President Barack Obama proclaimed, 'In the 21st century our women in uniform play an indispensable role in our national defence. Time and again they have proven themselves to be role models, not only for our daughters but also for our sons.'

Before his ouster on Friday, toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had made one of the biggest mistakes of his reign; not learning from the lessons of hundreds of small labour and professional strikes that littered the country since 2005. These were the actual precursors to the Jan. 25 Revolution that end his 30-year autocratic rule.

For the first time, Cuba's National Fine Arts Prize was awarded to a member of the country's '80s generation': René Francisco Rodríguez, whose work crops up in the most unexpected places in urban communities, and who finds it hard to relinquish the 'utilitarian character of art.'

Africa can apply new approaches to social protection created in Latin America for its own social development, according to the European Report on Development (ERD) presented here Friday. 'We believe that South-South cooperation is absolutely critical,' Bience Gawanas, commissioner for social affairs on the African Union Commission, told IPS.

Hundreds of patients are now streaming into stem cell therapy clinics all over India, despite the controversy surrounding stem cell research and even though, doctors say, no one has yet been cured by this technology.

Many are baffled that Yemen’s anti-government protests have so far failed to deliver revolutionary regime change. But a complex context here demands a different kind of political dialogue with power.

Sri Lanka goes into a frenzy this month as it plays co-host to the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Conservationists hope the national pasttime will share national and international media attention with an endangered Sri Lankan resident: the elephant.