World News from OneWorld UK

31.01.2006 Almost 8 million babies a year - around 6 per cent of total births - have a serious defect of genetic or partial genetic origin, according to a new report that says hundreds of thousands more are born with serious defects caused by exposure to alcohol, rubella or syphilis.

31.01.2006 Uzbek authorities blocked access to the trial of a human rights defender who had spoken out about last May's Andijan massacre, an international rights group said today.

31.01.2006 Aid to the Palestinian government will be reviewed in light of a number of conditions, including recognition of Israel and a commitment to non-violence, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in London in a statement on behalf of the "diplomatic Quartet", which also includes Russia, the European Union and the US.

31.01.2006 Ordinary cotton-growers and other farmers have voted against introducing genetically-modified crops in a "citizens' jury" in Mali and instead proposed a package of recommendations to strengthen traditional agriculture and support for local farmers.

30.01.2006 World energy supplies are adequate and the market and energy institutions will be able to absorb any shocks, according to energy chief executives speaking at the World Economic Forum yesterday.

30.01.2006 Hamas should announce publicly and immediately that it will not carry out attacks that target civilians or cause them indiscriminate harm, a leading rights organisation said today in a letter to the winners of the Palestinian parliamentary elections.

30.01.2006 A websiteproject launched today aims to preserve the endangered language and culture of one of the world's most marginalised and maligned populations, the Romani.

30.01.2006 in terms of democracy, Nepal is probably the worst of all 42 countries in which ActionAid works, according to the organisation's chief executive, Ramesh Singh, himself a Nepali.
* OneWorld UK Guide to Nepal

19.01.2006 Terrorism and bombing campaigns, lawlessness, kidnapping and targeted killings continue to wreak havoc on Iraqi civilians, with the rights of women, children, detainees and religious leaders grievously violated, according to a new United Nations report.

18.01.2006 African leaders must do more to protect human rights - with rape, torture and unlawful killings continuing in many parts of the continent and widespread impunity for violations, a leading rights group said ahead of an African Union meeting in Sudan.