Pope Benedict XVI's sudden abdication of the papacy has far-reaching consequences for world affairs. They extend beyond theological divisions in the Church and thorny liturgical and eschatological issues to a potentially sharpened confessional rivalry between Islamic extremism and Christianity.

In his hour-long documentary, “Live To Dive” (Lusong), Ang explores how Totoy, 11, and Pirot, 10, eke out a living for their families by diving for scraps of garbage like discarded plastic bottles and bits of metal in the severely polluted waters beside the ramshackle coastal village of Puting Bato...Now he is taking his film to North Korea.

...At every opportunity, we talk about the need to address the problem of corruption. It is a dialogue we carry out at the highest level of this government and we recognize there is a problem. But I think we are deploying resources to assist the government of Nigeria to address this problem and it is part of our public diplomacy message.

Every day, in rural areas across Africa, millions of women and girls walk for hours to fetch water. An American woman is also walking for the same reason. Amy Russell hopes her 12,000-kilometer, two-year long trek across Africa will raise money for and awareness of the need for clean water.

For the past seven years, Canadian street artist Kaid Ashton has been traveling to some of the world's most dangerous slums documenting the people he meets with his camera. He then posts his work on walls around the cities he visits. Ashton's street art is not political. It is about crossing cultures and getting to know people in the process.

The US government's international development agency (USAID) has announced 11 new partnerships with 22 universities across Africa to help alleviate poverty and stimulate economies.

Setting the tone for the second summit with African countries next year, India on Tuesday offered to share developmental experiences and poverty reduction strategies with the African continent.

As the United Nations takes stock of progress 10 years after the Millennium Development Goals were created, one expert says a hard look needs to be taken at what has been and can be accomplished.