International lending, within its current framework, leaves developing nations in a hole that only gets bigger as they try to pay off their debt.

In a country where many families are too poor to buy books for their children, the organization Boundless Hope is helping kids get an education and putting essentials like pencils and toothbrushes in their hands.

When food is treated as simply a commodity, a huge chunk of the population cannot afford it. People in the South die every day from hunger and related diseases, while an equal number in the North consume in excess.

While the world

In a country that has seen a succession of brutal military leaders, the sudden prospect of fair elections forthcoming gives the people of Guinea new hope.

Twenty years after his release form prison, Nelson Mandela remains an important and symbolic figure for South Africans. Many still remember his release.

Some critics say that the 2010 World Cup should not have been awarded to South Africa, because of its crime problems, even though the country has proved itself capable of hosting major events in the past.

Africa still suffers from AIDS far more than any other continent. South Africa and Nigeria need to play leading roles in curbing the epidemic.

International organizations are offering assistance to women in parts of Africa who need birth control or don't have access to a medical abortion.

With the Copenhagen failure fresh in our memory and the 2010 World Cup around the corner, many are wondering how green the soccer tournament will be.

As Somalia scrambles toward a new era of peace, forces inside and outside the country can do much more by moving away from the costly strategies of "hard power."

In the squalid slums of battle-scarred Freetown, an Irish charity is taking young women off the streets and giving them back their lives.