News stories by Robert Stefanicki

KATHMANDU, Jul 12 (IPS) - 70-year-old Chiute Tamang was working in his field when the earth shook on Apr 25. He grabbed a tree. His wife and daughter were inside the house at the time, but managed to run out. In the blink of an eye, the building turned into a heap of stones. They were the lucky ones.

DHARAMSALA, India, May 20 (IPS) - Nestled in the Kangra Valley in the shadow of the Dhauladhar Mountains in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamsala is beautiful to behold. But the scenic landscape belies a dark reality: the cult of martyrs that has developed in this town, home to the Tibetan government-in-exile since 1959.

DHAKA, Oct 30 (IPS) - Six months after the worst man-made disaster in Bangladesh's history, safety conditions in garment factories have a chance to improve. But not the lives of survivors or the victims' next of kin.

KHULNA, Bangladesh, Oct 25 (IPS) - It has been four years since Cyclone Aila struck Bangladesh, triggering floods and widespread destruction. But the villagers of Koira subdistrict, among the worst affected of the 11 districts hit by the cyclone, are yet to recover from its impact.

DHAKA, Oct 02 (IPS) - On the industrial outskirts of Dhaka, which is dotted with big and small clothes factories, thousands of workers took to the streets demanding a minimum wage rise.

WARSAW, Jul 21 (IPS) - The only sign of life at Szymany's "international airport" are mosquitoes eager to suck blood out of a rare visitor. The gate is locked with a rusted chain and a padlock.

WARSAW, May 21 (IPS) - For more than 100 days, detainees at American detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been on hunger strike, drawing international attention back to the prison that U.S. President Barack Obama vowed during his first presidential campaign to close down.

ZA’ATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan, Nov 19 (IPS) - No other camp for Syrians match the size of Za'atari. Equal rows of tents marked with the UNHCR logo spread to the horizon, dotted with lanterns and water tanks. Only a handful of people remain in sight, mostly on their way to or from the bathrooms.

WARSAW, Nov 04 (IPS) - It took hunger strikes and a case like Layla Naimi's to push authorities in Poland to amend laws dealing with irregular migrants.

WARSAW, Sep 10 (IPS) - Belarusians will vote for a new, but still regime-controlled parliament on Sep. 23. At least those who do not respond to calls for boycotting the poll.