JAKARTA, Jan 04 (IPS) - Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, has found a deterrent to Islamic fundamentalists: they dress conservatively, sport short beards and Islamic caps and emulate the ways of the Prophet Muhammad.

WASHINGTON, Jan 04 (IPS) - Human rights groups are denouncing President Barack Obama's failure to veto a defence bill that will make it far more difficult for him to fulfill his four-year-old pledge to close the Guantanamo detention facility this year.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 03 (IPS) - As the United Nations continues to intensify the promotion of South-South cooperation among member states, Asia plans to take a great leap forward in regional economic integration during the next decade.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 03 (IPS) - For the estimated 140 million girls and women living with the consequences of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), it is already too late. But since a global ban on FGM was passed at the end of last year, activists hope many more will now escape this brutal practice.

WASHINGTON, Jan 02 (IPS) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the sector's primary regulator, has given accelerated approval to a controversial new drug for use by patients suffering from forms of tuberculosis that have proven resistant to other medicines.

OSLO, Jan 02 (IPS) - A Third World War is not impossible, but fortunately is rather unlikely. Let us explore why, and what can be done to prevent it.

ADEN, Yemen, Jan 02 (IPS) - Twenty-one-year-old Aisha clings to her two children as she recounts her tale of horror. Growing up in the Somali capital Mogadishu, she fell in love and bore a child out of wedlock four years ago. When her family threatened her life for destroying her ‘honour', Aisha escaped.

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 01 (IPS) - Innovative Ethiopian footwear manufacturer Sole Rebels will open its second retail outlet in Taiwan this year. With ambitions to open 30 more franchise stores across the world in countries like the United States, Australia, Italy and Japan, Sole Rebels, the largest African footwear brand, is now fast becoming a global competitive brand.