POLITICS: Where Will Headscarf Verdict Lead Turkey?

A decision by Turkey's constitutional court Thursday to overturn a law lifting the ban on Islamic headscarves in the Muslim country will almost certainly heighten tensions in a country that has been a longstanding ally of the United States.

PAKISTAN: Abductions For Ransom Blamed on Taliban

A spate of kidnappings in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and areas adjoining Afghanistan are being blamed on Taliban militia.

Q&A: 'Arab Legislations Go Far Beyond Islamic Law'

Is Islamic law - Sharia'a - the only legal instrument regulating the death penalty in Arab and Muslim countries?

POLITICS-US: McCain’s “Agents of Inconvenience”

As John McCain launched his presidential bid in 2007, he faced a considerable challenge to mobilise support among social conservatives within the Republican Party.

DEVELOPMENT: Faith-based Groups Fight for a Better World

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that nearly 30 to 70 percent of the sprawling health infrastructure in the African continent is owned or run by faith-based organisations.

POLITICS-PAKISTAN: Violence Clouds Peace Prospects

Within a day of a controversial peace deal signed between the provincial government in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Islamic fighters in Swat, a journalist was shot dead in neighbouring Bajaur Agency ruled directly by the Pakistan government last week.

RIGHTS-JAPAN: Calls for Peace Echo at Children's Forum

In a fittingly solemn gesture of peace and renewal, children and adults belonging to different faiths offered flowers and prayers, Monday, for the thousands of people who became the first ever victims of a nuclear bombing in this city 63 years ago.

DEVELOPMENT: Poverty Thrives Amid Unprecedented Prosperity

Global poverty is thriving - rather ironically - amidst one of the most prosperous times in human history.

MIDEAST: Lebanon Deal Confirms Qatar’s Honest Broker Role

While Lebanon rejoices over the power-sharing deal among its rival factions that ended 18 months of political conflict and saved it from the brink of civil war, deal-broker Qatar revels in the glory of yet another diplomatic coup.

Q&A: ''Failing to Act For the Benefit of Children Is a Crime''

The world's religions are poised to step out of their 'comfort zones' to heed the feeblest of voices - those of children. Under the aegis of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), these religious institutions are learning to set aside differences and work together for the sake of 2.2 billion children around the world.

RIGHTS-JAPAN: Youths Find Their 'Voice'

If the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step then such a step has just been taken by a group of children from different parts of the world, guided by an older generation dedicated to giving youth a brighter and safer future.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Read the Papers And Fear the Muslims

One result of the Czech media and politicians' frequent warnings of the dangers of Islamic terrorism has been a growing Islamophobia.

LEBANON: Druze Take On Hezbollah, Because They Must

Ghostly white sculptures are scattered along the greenery on each side of a sinuous road leading up to a Lebanese mountain range, their silhouettes contrasting against the violet sky. This area, known as the Symposium in Aley, Mount Lebanon, is located behind the infamous '888' mountaintop, a strategic point in Lebanese military history.

CULTURE-US: Muslim Youth Try Humour to Rout Stereotypes

"There are almost 1.2 billion Muslim people in the world. And at least 15 of us are not terrorists. It could even be more than that. Maybe even a lot more," quipped Obaida Abdul-rahim, 28, owner of the Muslim t-shirt business Phatwa Factory.

POLITICS-US: The War on (Euphemism)

From the people who brought you the "war on terror" and the "axis of evil" comes a new verbal tonic for combating that amorphous emotion.

DEVELOPMENT: UN Sees Major Successes in Child Survival

The developing world is making significant progress in child survival despite the fact that nearly 2.2 billion children worldwide continue to battle poverty, sexual abuse, forced military conscription, labour exploitation and HIV/AIDS.

POLITICS-US: Same-Sex Marriage Making a Comeback?

Still not fully embraced by the religious right, Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, has been handed an opportunity to prove his loyalty to the party's most influential and powerful grassroots force.

RELIGION-US: Missionaries Look to Immigrant ‘Chinatowns’

As people rush in and out of butcher shops and bakeries on Brooklyn's Eighth Avenue, He Zhanglao tries to get their attention. He speaks in clear Mandarin, and listens carefully to their replies. But he's tall and blond, and sticks out in this part of Sunset Park, home to many Chinese immigrants.

Q&A: Child Soldiering Driven by “Unequal Power Equation”

The growing phenomenon of child soldiers - long prevalent in African countries such as Uganda, Somalia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo - is also taking root in Asia, specifically in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines.

PAKISTAN: Elected Gov&#39t Unable to Deal With Taliban Groups

Allah Hussain Mahsud has little hope in Pakistan's newly elected government's ability to negotiate with the ragtag Taliban militia and end militancy in the country's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

LEBANON: Hezbollah, In Opposition, Takes Charge

At least 11 people are dead and 30 injured during ferocious gun battles pitting opposition Shia Amal and Hezbollah fighters against members of the Sunni Future Movement, which is part of the majority March 14 alliance in government. As the opposition's militia men clamped down on government headquarters, the balance of power seems to have been shifted permanently in the Land of the Cedars.