KATHMANDU, Aug 03 (IPS) - Ten years after she was trafficked to an Indian circus, 22-year-old Radha has returned home stateless, with no document to prove she is a Nepali citizen. Her parents are Nepali but she married a fellow Indian circus member, and does not qualify to be a Nepali citizen any more.

MOGADISHU/NAIROBI, Aug 03 (IPS) - As the Somali government announced it would set up a coastguard to combat piracy in this Horn of African nation, insecurity is emerging as the biggest challenge that the government faces – and it is only getting worse.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 02 (IPS) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed a law guaranteeing treatment - including emergency contraception - for rape victims in public hospitals, in spite of strong opposition from religious conservatives who believe it will lead to the decriminalisation of abortion.

WASHINGTON, Aug 02 (IPS) - U.S. authorities claim the month of August may be a dangerous one for U.S. citizens residing abroad, and they are apparently going to great lengths to reduce the risk.

GUATEMALA CITY, Aug 02 (IPS) - Douglas Cuc, a 32-year-old clown, entered the courtroom with the same smile on his face as when he told jokes for coins on the buses in the town of San Miguel Petapa, near the Guatemalan capital. But this time there was no greasepaint on his face, he did not wear his clown's nose, and he was in handcuffs.

WASHINGTON, Aug 02 (IPS) - Hassan Rouhani's election as Iran's new president has garnered much international attention. In particular, Rouhani's ascendance has raised hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough on the Iranian nuclear crisis.

COLOMBO, Aug 02 (IPS) - A listing ship taking in water and facing up to the treacherous Indian Ocean monsoon is hardly cause for optimism.

BELGRADE, Aug 02 (IPS) - This holy month of Ramadan comes with a difference for some families in the Balkans. It is the first without their young sons, husbands or brothers who died far away from home fighting in Syria.

WASHINGTON, Aug 02 (IPS) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, on an official trip to Pakistan, announced Thursday that high-level policy discussions will begin anew between Washington and Islamabad.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 01 (IPS) - "The rivalry between our countries is over: if the pope is Argentine then God is Brazilian," Francis joked when journalists asked him why he was so beloved in this country, where millions came out to see him, despite the historic football rivalry between South America's two giants.