LONDON, Oct 10 (OneWorld) - Failure to factor climate change into the Millennium Development Goals was a major mistake, Lord Nicholas Stern told a meeting in London this week.

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World leaders should reevaluate spending in favor of people facing extreme hunger -- nearly one sixth of the global population -- at the World Bank summit starting this Saturday, says an international anti-poverty group.

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Over 120 million children across South Asia will wash their hands -- a practice that can cut deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by up to 50 percent -- at the same time to mark Global Hand Washing Day this Wednesday.

• United Nations Children's Fund

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The unregulated sale of arms drives corruption, saps vital funds from coffers, and causes damage far beyond the immediate effects of stoking conflict and violence, says a report released Wednesday by an international humanitarian organization.

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NEW YORK, Oct 9 (OneWorld) - People with low income in the United States are feeling increasingly insecure about their ability to buy food, according to a new study released by an independent research group.

• OneWorld US

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The world population of urban slum dwellers has reached the 1 billion mark, reports a Nigerian newspaper following the UN's Monday announcement that urbanization of poverty may be one of the greatest challenges to development today.

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Over a third of the world's species are threatened with extinction according to the latest findings from a major biodiversity conservation organization.

• Worldwatch Institute

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A rise in arrests of undocumented immigrants -- from less than 2,000 in 2003 to over 26,000 this year -- reflects a new trend in U.S. immigration law enforcement that civil rights advocates say will breed fear and threaten due process in immigrant communities.

• New America Media

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U.S. and world leaders are speaking out about the negative impact of population growth on poverty, climate change, hunger, and security -- problems that highlight the need for voluntary family planning resources to be more available in poor communities, says reproductive health expert Tod Preston.

• Reproductive Health Reality Check

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WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (OneWorld) - The global financial, food, and fuel crises and the negative impacts of climate change pose a severe threat to the world's 37 million uprooted people, and will likely increase their numbers, warned the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Monday.

• OneWorld US

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After nearly seven years of detention, and four years after being cleared for release by the U.S. government, a U.S. judge has ended the global legal limbo of 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees of Chinese Uighur descent, saying they must be released into the United States by Friday.

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While the worldwide financial meltdown might keep wealthy countries from meeting their economic commitments to developing ones, the crisis may also lead to a rethink of the global economic system and increase solidarity between ordinary people worldwide, says the chief of a global citizens' organization.

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Keep an eye on Olena Prykhodko. At the age of seven, she joined a nationwide group for young women leaders, and by 11 she was demonstrating in support of Ukraine's Orange Revolution. Prykhodko believes young people can help bridge the gap between her country's government and ordinary people.

• Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace

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SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 7 (OneWorld) - Tucked away on page 310 of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill Congress passed last Friday was a provision mental health advocates have been working toward for over a decade: a provision making it illegal for health insurance companies to discriminate against patients suffering from psychological or behavioral disorders, or those battling addiction to drugs or alcohol.

• OneWorld US

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The quality of governance improved in 31 of 48 African nations surveyed, with particular advances in participation and human rights, according to an annual index published yesterday by African telecommunications pioneer Mo Ibrahim.

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Trade unionists in over 100 countries will call for a "fundamental transformation" of the world economy as the International Day for Decent Work is recognized Tuesday.

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Last week's launch of a U.S. military command for Africa may not bode well for peace and development on the continent, warns an international refugee agency.

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A radio station run by Jordanian youth, a women's legal literacy campaign in Jordan, and a project to monitor Nigeria's implementation of international gender equality laws are some of the innovative initiatives led by activists in these countries.

• Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace

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The U.S. government's international aid agency announced last week that it will no longer supply one of the largest family planning organizations worldwide with contraceptive materials.

• Feminist Majority Foundation

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This new documentary tells the history of U.S.-sponsored terror in Latin America, from the successful 1954 CIA coup against Guatemala's Jacobo Arbenz to U.S. intervention in present day Venezuela, writes editor Pablo Morales. 

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