RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 21 (IPS) - A Brazilian designer has taken fashion from the exclusivity of the catwalk to the reality of the favela, to demonstrate that styles, trends and fads are also born in these poor neighborhoods of cities like Rio de Janeiro.

MANILA, Nov 21 (IPS) - International travellers may soon get to enjoy the scenic spots and rich cultural heritage of Muslim Mindanao, the Philippines' southernmost island group, without the threat of being caught in the crossfire of the region's conflict.

RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank, Nov 21 (IPS) - Hundreds of Palestinians marched through Ramallah Tuesday afternoon to mourn the death of a Palestinian protester who was fatally wounded during a demonstration against the ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (IPS) - Despite recession in Europe and a weak recovery in the United States, remittances to developing countries have been growing at a strong pace over the last year and are likely accelerate further through 2015, according to a new report released here Tuesday by the World Bank.

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (IPS) - Amidst reports of an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, U.S. President Barack Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the region Tuesday in apparent hopes of gaining some credit for sealing the deal.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Nov 20 (IPS) - You can still see broken plates, toys, books and some photographs among the rubble that was once the homes of Rey Antonio Acosta's family and other families in Mar Verde, the beach community where Hurricane Sandy made landfall in this eastern Cuban city.

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 20 (IPS) - Will the BRICS expand into the BRICSIT?

GUATEMALA CITY, Nov 20 (IPS) - "I was surprised at how hard it was to learn more English. I had looked for work in a bank, but I would have earned only half what I make here, and I'd have had to work more hours," said Carlos de León from his cubicle in a call centre, part of a rapidly growing industry in Guatemala.

, Nov 20 (IPS) - As little-known politician Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan was sworn in as Somalia's first female foreign minister and deputy prime minister on Monday Nov. 19, the stateswoman who hails from the unrecognised, self-proclaimed republic of Somaliland is tipped to become the country's "Iron Lady".

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Nov 20 (IPS) - In late August, Mohammad Saifuddin (not his real name), together with his wife, three daughters and son, fled the carnage of communal violence in western Myanmar's Rakhine province and headed for the border of neighbouring Bangladesh.