An survey of rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) commissioned by Oxfam reveals that 60% percent of rape victims were gang raped, more than half in their own homes, and there is an appalling increase in the number of civilian rapists.

"The poor man has to disappear. There is no more countryside. It’s all private neighborhoods" Sara Espinosa, age 94, lives in Punta Canal in the town of Tigre, where real estate giant EIDICO is currently constructing two gated communities on either side of her house. While most of her neighbors have sold their land and moved away, Espinosa remains.

This week, the judges of the International Criminal Court authorized the court's Prosecutor to open a formal investigation of Kenya's post-election violence, raising the prospect that political leaders from the East African nation might face trial at the court.

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has joined President Robert Mugabe in dismissing calls to enshrine gay rights in the new constitution.

Malawi is quickly becoming unsafe for homosexuals as the country’s police service recently launched a campaign to hunt down and arrest prominent people who are suspected of being gay.

Today, more than half the world's population lives in cities. Every year, hundreds of thousands are uprooted when neighborhoods are cleared to make way for “development”. On 22-26 March, the fifth session of the World Urban Forum will be held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to address these issues.

A joint NGO letter calls on governments to adopt a human rights-based approach for all assistance to Haiti. The message will be delivered to donor states, IFIs, and the Office of the UN Special Envoy to Haiti on March 17th, two weeks before the Donors' Conference at the UN.

Within a space of two months, sectarian strife has ripped through communities in Jos, Plateau State in Nigeria. John Dada from Fantsuam Foundation, an organization that uses technology to alleviate poverty and empower women tells how he has had to help bury 287 dead, almost all women and children.

Following a horrific factory fire that killed 21 employees of a garment factory in Bangladesh, the factory workers are demanding swift reforms, a criminal investigation and compensation for the victims.

Officials say the barrier will prevent cross-border smuggling, but critics say it will seal the fate of the people on the Gaza Strip.