IPS - Weekly Editor's Picks

	Pakistani Gays Stifled in Closet Living Zofeen Ebrahim It took fifty-something Sameer*, father of two, 25 years of marriage and deceit to eventually break free and come out of the closet three years back. Living with Ahmed*, a budding actor half his age, he says it had come to a point when living a life of “lies and more lies” had become ... MORE > >
	Poverty Declines as Inequality Deepens Thalif Deen As world leaders from 193 countries evaluate the successes and failures of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) during high-level meetings and special events here, the United Nations claims that extreme poverty worldwide has been cut in half. The number of people living on less than 1.25 ... MORE > >
	Sponsor a University Student in Spain Inés Benítez Adopt a tree. Adopt a polar bear. Sponsor a child in a poor country. The concept has caught on in Spain’s troubled academic system and now people and companies can sponsor a university student. The "Higher Education Sponsorship Programme" at the public University of Málaga in southern Spain ... MORE > >
	Southern Libya Awaits Another Spring Maryline Dumas “The government doesn’t care about us because we are from the south,” Mohamed Salah Lichekh, head of the Oubari local council in southern Libya, told IPS, expressing the majority sentiment in this part of the country. The feeling of being forgotten by Tripoli, which is very strong in southern ... MORE > >
	From Tanzania to Brazil in the Hold of a Ship Fabiola Ortiz Ornela Mbenga Sebo, a young Congolese woman, escaped in 2011 from a rebel camp in Tanzania where she was being held as a slave and stowed away in the garbage bay of a merchant ship, with no idea where it was headed. When the ship reached its destination two weeks later, she found out she was in ... MORE > >
	U.S., Iran Trade Cautious Overtures at U.N. Jasmin Ramsey While the U.S. and Iranian heads of state have yet to meet, the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly may mark a new era between the two countries. After more than 30 years of frozen US-Iran relations, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday during his address to the world body ... MORE > >
	Healthcare Loses Support in Somalia Ahmed Osman Maryan Yusuf, 39, is weak and barely able to speak because of her excruciating pain. A few hours earlier she delivered a baby at Somalia’s Afgooye Hospital, where essential drugs are dwindling at an alarming rate. “This is my fourth child delivered here. But I cannot get as much care and ... MORE > >
	Boats of Hope Head for Australian Rocks Amantha Perera It was a decision based on simple sums. Ananda, 28, from Weligama in the southern Sri Lankan district Matara decided to risk it all boarding a boat to Australia last year because he never had enough money. “I was working as a driver in someone’s three-wheel taxi and making around 25,000 rupees ... MORE > >
	It's Afghanistan Again in a Turkish Town Karlos Zurutuza People run back home at dusk, just when the shooting intensifies. To Sha Mehmed the experience is familiar. He was 11 when he left his native Afghan village to settle in this small Turkish town on the border with Syria. "We are all very scared because three bombs have already fallen very close ... MORE > >
	Cuban Athletes Score against Violence Ivet González It is unusual to see Cuban sports legends in public service announcements. However, a handful of champions and rising young stars are wearing messages or appearing in TV spots against violence among men or toward women. “We can reach our fans with campaigns like this one,” Daniel Luis, a member ... MORE > >