KABUL, Sep 16 (IPS) - Nasrin Mohamadi, a mother of four, has promised herself never to set foot in an Afghan public hospital again. After her first experience in a maternity ward, she has lost all faith in the state's healthcare system.

ROME, Sep 16 (IPS) - After a two-year referendum campaign, Scots are finally voting Thursday on whether their country will regain its independence after more than 300 years of "marriage" with England.

CODRINGTON, Barbuda, Sep 16 (IPS) - Local fishermen are singing the blues over a sweeping set of new ocean management regulations, signed into law by the Barbuda Council, to zone their coastal waters, strengthen fisheries management, and establish a network of marine sanctuaries.

PANAMA CITY, Sep 16 (IPS) - Panama is the first Latin American country to have adopted a national strategy to combat what is known as hidden hunger, with a plan aimed at eliminating micronutrient deficiencies among the most vulnerable segments of the population by means of biofortification of food crops.

ZARANJ, Afghanistan, Sep 16 (IPS) - "Of course I'm scared, but what else can I possibly do?" asks Ahmed, a middle-aged man seated on the carpeted floor of a hotel located on the southern edge of Afghanistan. He is bound for Iran, but he still has no idea when or how he'll cross the border.

WASHINGTON, Sep 16 (IPS) - A multilateral arbitration panel here began final hearings Monday in a contentious and long-running dispute between an international mining company and the government of El Salvador.

WASHINGTON, Sep 15 (IPS) - Despite elite concerns about growing "isolationism" in the U.S. electorate, nearly six in 10 citizens believe Washington should "take an active part in world affairs," according to the latest in a biennial series of major surveys of U.S. foreign-policy attitudes.

MEXICO CITY, Sep 15 (IPS) - Since January, villagers and townspeople near the Los Pescados river in southeast Mexico have been blocking the construction of a dam, part of a multi-purpose project to supply potable water to Xalapa, the capital of the state of Veracruz.

WASHINGTON, Sep 15 (IPS) - The son of one of the founders of the biggest Palestinian militant group decides to work with Israel. He spends a decade working undercover with the Israeli security service, the Shin Bet, thwarting dozens of Palestinian attacks and contributing significantly to the arrest or elimination of dozens of leading Palestinian militants.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 15 (IPS) - The much-ballyhooed one-day Climate Summit next week is being hyped as one of the major political-environmental events at the United Nations this year.