Q&A: 'Multicultural Society Can't Be Dissolved Like a Marriage'

"This looks like a toothpaste commercial. People in the Netherlands don't buy that." Rachida Azough shows a flyer of the European Union to promote the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. It depicts a model with a bright smile holding a camera, with the tag line 'Cultures in my street'.

EDUCATION-ASIA: Girls Should Go to School, Stay There

It is not enough that girls go to school - they must also remain in school and complete their education, a goal that educators, policymakers and communities all need to brush up on.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Food Crisis, An Opportunity For Change?

Pacific Island governments should not view the global food crisis as a threat but as an opportunity to boost their neglected agricultural sectors, says a professor in development economics.

MEXICO: Murder of Indigenous Reporters Fuels Hatred, Division

No one has been brought to justice for the murders of two young indigenous reporters in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca in April, a case that has mobilised social activists and drawn condemnation from UNESCO.

MIDEAST: Hospitals in Need of Care

In the brightly painted new intensive care unit wing of al-Awda, northern Gaza's only emergency medical facility in the massive Jebaliya refugee camp, doctors, nurses, aides and administrators are ready to provide emergency surgery services for the area's 300,000 people.

DEVELOPMENT: Norway Launches Microfinance Project

A new microfinance initiative has been launched in Norway.

TURKEY: Headscarves Ruling Leading to Bigger Confrontation

In Phase One of what has been called a "judicial coup", Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled against amendments spearheaded by the Islamic-rooted ruling party to allow headscarves at universities. Headscarves are considered an expression of political Islam by opponents, and an expression of freedom by their proponents.

TRINIDAD: “There Are Monsters Among Us”

Eight-year-old Hope Arismandez never stood a chance. The autopsy report said she had been stabbed repeatedly, hit on the back of the head with a blunt object and her throat slit.

Q&A: “Criminalisation of HIV/AIDS Will Not Help Us”

As the United Nations winds down a major two-day conference to take stock of the global response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the problem of persistent discrimination against people living with the virus has been high on the agenda.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: Japan Officially Recognises Ainu

In a historic breakthrough Japan's Diet has unanimously passed a resolution pressing the government to recognise the Ainu as indigenous people.

EL SALVADOR: President’s ‘Path to Peace’ Award Draws Outcry

The decision by a Catholic foundation with links to the Vatican to award its highest distinction to Salvadoran President Antonio Saca drew a wave of protests from local analysts and representatives of civil society in this Central American country.

ECONOMY: Global Woes Hit Developing Countries

The global credit crunch unleashed in the United States is combining with runaway food and fuel prices to put the squeeze on developing countries, according to the World Bank.

MIDEAST: Remark Raises Oil Price, and Temperatures

As Transportation Minister, one might have expected that Shaul Mofaz would have given greater consideration to the impact his comments would have on the already galloping price of a barrel of crude oil. Maybe he did. But with the scent of elections in the air in Israel, the international ramifications of his comments were apparently not uppermost on his mind. Far more narrow political calculations clearly were.

ENVIRONMENT-EUROPE: France and Germany Dilute the Green

The leaders of France and Germany, the European Union's two largest car-producing countries, appeared to take their cue from glossy vehicle advertisements this week. Just as such ads routinely seek to convey the impression that vehicles are ecologically benign, President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to present an agreement they reached on carbon dioxide (CO2) limits from new cars as a boon for the environment.

AFRICA: Women Say Regional AIDS Plan Falls Short

Despite the admirable progress made by some African countries in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS since 2000, 14 million Africans have died of AIDS in that time span, and an additional 17 million have been infected, says a new report on HIV/AIDS on the continent.

POLITICS-US: A League of Their Own

A radical foreign policy idea put forth by presumptive Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has drawn cheers of support from sources as varied as his campaign's neo-conservative backers to liberal internationalists from the camp of his rival, Sen. Barack Obama. But the idea is not without some surprising detractors.

POLITICS: Al-Maliki’s Balancing Act Leaves Iran Cool

As Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sought to alleviate neighbouring Iran's increasing concerns about a security deal between his country and the United States, he strove to keep a delicate balance with the two countries which are vying for hegemony over Iraq.

DEVELOPMENT: Aid Increase From Japan Not a 'Mission Impossible'

Increasing Japan's aid to developing countries in stark need of funds is not a "mission impossible", says Senator Kiyohiko Toyama, an influential member of the Upper House of the Diet, the country's parliament.

CHINA: Dragon Boat Festival Ditches Freedom Message

A mixture of pride and prickle pervaded China’s first public celebration of Duanwu, or Dragon Boat festival, in over half a century.

INDIA: Forum Addresses Rural Energy Security

For poor rural women in India, access to energy connotes having the means to own a non-polluting stove and lantern that can help them cook, do household chores and earn a living. And yet even these basic needs are barely met - a majority of these women still spend much of their time and effort collecting firewood and cow dung for cooking and lighting.

CAMBODIA: Wave of Dam Projects Calls for New Approaches

An explosion of dam building projects along the Sekong River in Laos, the Mekong river’s largest tributary, is prompting Cambodian and foreign experts to warn of significant downstream impacts and call for new approaches to governing the cross-border issues that arise from the use of the Mekong’s water resources.