UNITED NATIONS, Apr 17 (IPS) - Impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence in war must end, said Zainab Hawa Bangura, the Special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on sexual violence in conflict, who presented to the U.N. Security Council the Secretary-General's 2015 report on the issue on April 15.

ADDIS ABABA, Apr 17 (IPS) - A United Nations mission is due to take place this month to assess the impact of Ethiopia's massive Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric power project on the Omo River which feeds Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake, lying mostly in northwest Kenya with its northern tip extending into Ethiopia.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 16 (IPS) - An expose published Thursday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its media partners has revealed that in the course of a single decade, 3.4 million people were evicted from their homes, torn away from their lands or otherwise displaced by projects funded by the World Bank.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 16 (IPS) - The international humanitarian charity Oxfam is calling on the World Bank and major donors to raise 1.7 billion dollars to improve poor health systems in Ebola-affected countries and strengthen community networks for preventing another epidemic.

VIENNA, Apr 16 (IPS) - A modern ‘legal arsenal' comprising the rule of law is the best weapon to combat crime and terror and to end the vicious circle of poverty, according to experts gathered in Doha, Qatar, for the Apr. 12-19 United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, organised by the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

ROME, Apr 15 (IPS) - Lobbying is an integral part of democracy, but multiple scandals throughout Europe demonstrate that a select number of voices with more money and insider contacts can come to dominate political decision-making – usually for their own benefit.

PHARPING, Nepal, Apr 15 (IPS) - When 26-year-old Laxmi married into the Archaya household in Chhaimale village, Pharping, south of Nepal's capital Kathmandu, she didn't think she would be spending half the day in the kitchen inhaling smoke from the stove.

ROME, Apr 15 (IPS) - "The unbearable number of lives lost at sea will only grow if the European Union does not act now to ensure search-and-rescue operations across the Mediterranean," Human Rights Watch warned Apr. 15.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Apr 15 (IPS) - Jabberwock beach, located on the northeastern coast of Antigua, features a mile-long white sand beach and is a favourite with locals and visitors alike. 

NEW DELHI, Apr 15 (IPS) - Vinita Panikker, 26, considers herself "the world's most unfortunate woman".