By Drama group in Rift Valley seeks to dispel misconceptions about international justice process. By Robert Wanjala It is a warm Saturday lunchtime and the playing fields next to the Cheptiret market are packed with people. Men, women and children are jostling for position in front of a raised wooden stage. Without warning, a voice […]
Armenia Introduces Changes to How Disabled Benefits Are Assessed
Radical change will encourage disabled people to work if they can, but some experts fear new system could prove as unfair as its predecessor. By Gayane Mirzoyan – Caucasus CRS Issue 674, Armenia is about to introduce major changes to the way disabled benefits are assessed, so that people will be […]
Hopes that move will allow budget to pass parliament and soothe sectarian tensions. By Abeer Moham
A decision by Iraq’s Sunni Arab political bloc to end its boycott of parliament has been welcomed as a step towards halting a political crisis that sparked fears of fresh sectarian conflict when it erupted in December. The Sunni-backed Iraqiya list had refused to attend parliament sessions since mid-December, complaining that it had been excluded […]
In Dialysis, Life-Saving Care at Great Risk and Cost
In 1972, after a month of deliberation, Congress launched the nation’s most ambitious experiment in universal health care: a change to the Social Security Act that granted comprehensive coverage under Medicare to virtually anyone diagnosed with kidney failure, regardless of age or income. It was a supremely hopeful moment. Although the technology to keep […]
Children Forced to Pick Cotton in South Kazakstan
Parents say schools are sending youngsters into the fields despite official ban on child labour. By Olesia Lysenko in Shymkent Parents in southern Kazakstan have complained to the authorities that children are being forced to pick cotton during school hours, in defiance of a ban on child labour. The use of child labour has been […]
U.N. Can’t Account for Millions Sent to Afghan Election Board
Afghan employees from the Independent Election Commission load election materials into a truck to be sent to provinces on Oct. 22, 2009. Afghanistan’s presidential rivals are reigniting their campaigns for a second vote, but two previously unreleased audits produced by U.N. investigators raise questions about the integrity of the elections commission. (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images) […]