Nigerian environmental rights groups have been making the case for the expulsion of oil companies from the Niger Delta in the southeastern part of the country at the World Social Forum in Dakar.

Tougher entrance exams for higher education, to be applied in the next academic year in Cuba, are worrying families who see getting into university as a major achievement for their children.

Several hundred thousand protesters massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square exploded into joy Friday, after Vice-President Omar Suleiman made the announcement that Hosni Mubarak had resigned as president of Egypt after three decades in office.

Senegalese fishers participating in the 2011 World Social Forum (WSF) warned governments to 'wake up to the ethical and transparent regulation of access to fisheries' to halt the overexploitation of this increasingly scarce resource.

In a televised address late Thursday night, embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak delegated executive authority to his newly-appointed vice-president, but stopped short of stepping down. The announcement enraged anti-Mubarak demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square, who say they will maintain their uprising - now in its 18th day - until Mubarak's unconditional resignation.

As freshwater disappears from the super-populated Peruvian coast, the most water-intensive crops are expanding unabated as highly profitable exports. Observers warn about the harm this is causing and demand greater responsibility from the government and all involved.

The wave of political protests that has struck parts of the Middle East and North Africa over the past few weeks has also affected the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The protest movement here, initiated in the wake of the Tunisian Jasmine revolution, underscores the population’s demand for political reform.

Pakistan is still reeling from flooding that caused one of the world’s costliest natural disasters in 2010, with millions of people lacking shelter, infrastructure in ruins and donations falling short of appeals. But worse may come.

On a beach dotted with swanky, star-class hotels, a boatload of bedraggled men appeared out of the dark sea one midnight, exhausted from nearly two weeks at sea fleeing Burma’s repressive military.

Asmaa Mahfouz, a 26-year-old Egyptian woman who two weeks ago had only one name, now boasts at least three. These include 'A woman worth 100 men', 'The girl who crushed Mubarak' and 'The leader of the Egyptian revolution'.