The California Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a law barring same-sex couples from getting married is unconstitutional, said a human rights monitor, welcoming the new law as an important precedent for equal rights around the world. From: Human Rights Watch

Both humanitarian aid and political aid is needed in Myanmar (formerly Burma) now, says a board member of a U.S. group active on Burmese issues. From: U.S. Campaign for Burma

The approximately 100,000 ethnic Nubians living in Kenya continue to demand official recognition -- notably citizenship -- although they face less political discrimination than in previous years.

WASHINGTON, May 15 (OneWorld) - As UN estimates of the number of Burmese affected by Cyclone Nargis rose from 1.5 to 2.5 million and the United States and United Nations continued to wrangle with Myanmar's rulers over visas for aid workers, Atlanta-based CARE received a $1 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to deliver humanitarian relief in Myanmar.

NEW YORK, May 16 (OneWorld) - Pressure is mounting on the Canadian government to take actions against private loggers and other business concerns that encroach upon indigenous peoples' territories.

"The conference agreement on the 2008 [U.S.] Farm Bill makes numerous improvements in domestic food assistance programs to help low-income Americans put food on the table in the face of rising food and fuel prices," says policy analyst Dottie Rosenbaum. From: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Visit some of the specials spaces set aside for youth in a refugee camp in Darfur, where children of all ages can go to play, learn, and begin the healing process. [Scroll down to view video.]

A number of international aid organizations and foreign governments are helping Chinese authorities respond to the Monday earthquake that claimed over tens of thousands of lives and destroyed 3.5 million homes.

Selling excess rice held in Japan and imported from the United States would incite a rapid drop in the global price of rice but requires immediate action from Tokyo and Washington, write former editor of The Rice Trader, Tom Slayton, and policy analyst, Peter Timmer.

Indigenous peoples in Nicaragua are increasingly threatened by climate change despite their minimal ecological footprint, writes a Nicaraguan advocate for indigenous peoples' autonomy and development.

Four prominent American social justice groups are launching a campaign to halve poverty in the United States in 10 years.

WASHINGTON, May 14 (OneWorld) - Americans -- from nonprofit groups to the Rockefeller family -- are starting to fight back against the petroleum industry, which is earning record profits as consumers face spiraling gas prices.

This month marks the 60th anniversary of Israel's existence, but the organization Jewish Voice for Peace says it will not celebrate the establishment of a Jewish state until Palestinians are granted their fundamental human rights.

Asian governments -- seen to have greater leverage with Myanmar authorities -- are being asked to increase the pressure on the military junta to effectively address the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis.

A photoessay including award-winning photographs depicts the lives of girls in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Nepal who marry as children.

A South African High Court judge took "a brave step forward" when he recently ruled that the state's public water distribution system denies people their constitutional right to "a dignified life," blogs Rebecca Brown.

Global production of photovoltaic or solar cells -- which convert the sun's light directly to electricity -- increased 51 percent in 2007, reports an environmental research institute.

WASHINGTON, May 13 (OneWorld) - What single silver bullet is simultaneously reducing air pollution and oil dependency, rolling back urban congestion, and fighting obesity?

More than 350,000 children living in poor countries could be saved each year using the money lost as corporations engage in illegal trade-related tax evasion, says a new report from an anti-poverty coalition.

The Uzbek government continues to persecute people believed to have ties to the 2005 Andijan massacre, when state security forces killed hundreds in an attempt to quell anti-government protests, says a new report from a human rights monitor.