Agenda requests poetry contributions that explore the crime of human trafficking, especially affecting women and girl-children. Contributions will be considered for publication in issue 60, working title "Human Trafficking".

The International NGO Journal (INGOJ) is currently accepting manuscripts for publication. INGOJ was founded to publish proposals, appraisals and reports of NGO projects. The aim is to have centralized information for NGO activities where stakeholders including beneficiaries of NGO services can find useful information about ongoing projects and where to obtain particular assistance.

During 15 years of chaos, they became breadwinners, then peacemakers. Now their new freedoms are threatened. Her face is soft and round, cocooned in a loose blue cotton hijab. Her eyes, black onyx full of mystery: a Somalian Mona Lisa. But Maryam Mohammed covers her smile with hennaed fingers, casts her eyes downward, a picture of shy anxiety, the last person you'd expect to do the most dangerous job in one of the most dangerous cities on Earth, reports the LA Times.

A "healthy" number of companies have admitted paying bribes under a new World Bank disclosure program, which encourages firms that have worked on bank-funded projects to report corruption or fraud. From cash handouts to forking out for luxury travel, sports utility vehicles and schooling for children of government officials, companies are revealing that bribes are part of doing business in some developing countries, reports Reuters.

From the newsletter: Iranian colleagues was explaining why he had just shaved away his beard. Another colleague, from India, agreed that he was considering doing the same thing or at least having a “clean” shave. This was not a fashion driven conversation. It was fear: fear of being singled out, of being picked on; fear of being pulled aside in a queue; fear of being forced to leave a plane.