News stories by Lucy Westcott

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 (IPS) - The age-old debate over how to regulate sex work has led to a rift between the United Nations and anti-trafficking organisations, which are pressuring the world body to rethink its position following two reports that advocate decriminalising all aspects of prostitution.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 20 (IPS) - Upon first glance, the emergency checklist distributed in Haiti after the 2010 earthquakelooks like any other. Organised into key categories like water, sanitation and hygiene, and psychosocial support, the information is typical of the kind circulated for emergency response.

NEW YORK, Aug 15 (IPS) - Although Hurricane Sandy made her final sweep through the Northeastern United States nearly 10 months ago, for many people the stress caused by the storm lingers.

NEW YORK, Aug 14 (IPS) - Like many people living in the path of Hurricane Sandy last fall, Lauren Scrivo needed more battery power. Despite a call offering help from the mayor of Fairfield, New Jersey, where Scrivo lives with her family, her concerns went far beyond extra water bottles and flashlights.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 28 (IPS) - In the second half of June, law enforcement in Chi?in?u, Moldova's capital city, received an email from a parent telling them their child had been kidnapped.

NEW YORK, Jul 16 (IPS) - The violent drug war in Mexico's borderlands has changed the face of the country, injecting fear into both average citizens and the journalists trying to tell their stories.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 11 (IPS) - Two Saudi Arabian women's rights activists are filing an appeal on Friday after being sentenced to 10 months in prison for helping a woman who had allegedly been abused by her husband.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 05 (IPS) - The United States military, an organisation that consumes 90 percent of the country's federal oil allowance, is trying to become a greener institution.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 26 (IPS) - Bogaletch Gebre knows exactly what women in her Ethiopian community are going through. Along with her sisters, the women's rights activist was a victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) when she was a child in a part of Ethiopia where the practise was carried out on every girl.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 19 (IPS) - In the aftermath of the global economic crisis and with three years to go until the 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals, global leaders are struggling to formulate a post-2015 agenda that can address the widespread dilemmas of employment and inclusive growth.