KAMPALA, Nov 27 (IPS) - Uganda has gotten plenty of kudos and some criticism over its roll out of the new antiretroviral therapy for pregnant women and their babies, known as Option B +.

LIMA, Nov 27 (IPS) - A new law against cybercrime that restricts the use of data and freedom of information in Peru clashes with earlier legislation, on transparency, which represented a major stride forward in citizen rights.

HAIFA, Northern Israel, Nov 27 (IPS) - As civil war paralyses Syria's transit routes and political flux in Egypt may affect security at the Suez Canal, Israel is busy repositioning itself as a transhipment hub and trade gateway to the Middle East.

BERKELEY, California, U.S., Nov 26 (IPS) - Just before midnight on Feb. 12, Kayla Xavier Moore's roommate dialed 911. Moore, 41, a paranoid schizophrenic, was off her prescription meds and highly agitated. The roommate thought he knew the drill – Moore would be taken to a psychiatric hospital, stabilised with medication and allowed to go home in 72 hours.

PUERTO AYACUCHO, Venezuela, Nov 26 (IPS) - The presence of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is evident in Venezuela's Amazon region, where the guerrillas can be seen on speed boats, in camps, or interacting with local indigenous communities.

MURZUQ, Libya, Nov 26 (IPS) - "Can there possibly be anything more satisfying than teaching your own language to your own people?" Abdel Salam Wahali remarked to IPS. He is a teacher of Tebu, an ancient language which is experiencing a boom in post-Gaddafi Libya.

KIGALI, Nov 26 (IPS) - "There is a saying that all Rwandans believe in. You can't forgive if you forget, but when you remember, you know what harmed you and you can forgive and move forward," Honore Gatera tells IPS as he walks through the grounds of the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda's capital. 

WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (IPS) - The "first step" agreement between Iran and the United States that was sealed in Geneva over the weekend is supposed to lead to the negotiation of a "comprehensive settlement" of the nuclear issue over the next six months, though the latter has gotten little attention.

WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (IPS) - Despite strenuous objections by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and mostly Republican lawmakers here, the new accord between the Iran and the U.S. and five other major powers on Tehran's nuclear programme appears to be gaining support here and abroad.

WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (IPS) - The United States is calling for greater cooperation in the Arctic, even as it warns that it will defend its sovereignty in the face of strengthening international interest in newly opening shipping lanes and natural resource extraction opportunities as the region's ice disappears.