BEIRUT, Jun 05 (IPS) - The war in Syria has brought back to the forefront the concept of ‘jihad', with tens of thousands of fighters currently waging what they believe to be a religious war there.

SARAJEVO, Jun 05 (IPS) - On this Friday, June 6, people from all corners of the world gather here in Sarajevo, Bosnia, to explore a plethora of ideas on the road forward to a world in peace.

SINGAPORE, Jun 05 (IPS) - With over 20,000 international participants, a triple summit currently underway in Singapore is generating an abundance of ideas on sustainable cities.

WASHINGTON, Jun 05 (IPS) - Immigrant parents in the United States face serious challenges accessing early elementary programmes for their children, advocates here are warning.

MOSCOW, Jun 05 (IPS) - As the Palestinian unity government announced June 2 receives a cautious welcome from many world leaders, Russia's support for the new body is providing the Kremlin with an opportune platform to pursue its foreign policy ambitions and strengthen its domestic ideology.

WASHINGTON, Jun 05 (IPS) - The announcement this week of a new Palestinian unity government was greeted with cautious optimism by most of the world, outside of Israel. In the United States, however, it set off political rumblings that threaten to swell into a storm.

GAZA CITY, Jun 04 (IPS) - The formation of a new Palestinian government between Fatah and Hamas announced on Monday is an important station on the path to reconciliation, "but there still many stations to be reached before achieving real unity based on partnership among all Palestinians."

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 04 (IPS) - The United States' decision to "work with" the new Palestinian government has virtually isolated Israel: the only country so far to have publicly rejected the political alliance between Fatah and Hamas.

MONTEVIDEO, Jun 04 (IPS) -

The very contemporary medieval novels of Welsh author Ken Follett transport readers to a time when the rich had everything - and the poor didn't even own themselves.

BEIJING, Jun 04 (IPS) - With leading politicians meeting next month for the World Summit of Legislators in Mexico City, it is clear that a new global climate deal is needed.  Each year, the world is seeing signs of climate change's accelerating impacts, from longer, more intense droughts to stronger storms and rising seas.