RIGHTS-SRI LANKA: Young Girl’s Suicide Ignites Public Debate

By all accounts, 14-year-old student Anuthara Jayawardene was an unobtrusive child. But her death, by hanging herself inside a toilet in her school premises on July 22, has brought her right into the middle of media attention. Her name and the circumstances surrounding her death are now at the centre of a public dust storm.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Attacks on Christians Spotlight Blasphemy Laws

The death of nine people following this month’s riot directed against a Christian colony in eastern Pakistan has cast a pall of gloom over a nation carved out from the Indian subcontinent in the name of religion.

BAHRAIN: Seeking Gender Equality in Quran

For the first time, feminists in Bahrain are seeking new Islamic perspectives on gender and women's empowerment, and asking for modern interpretations of the Quran.

LATIN AMERICA: Investigative Journalists Show Their Mettle

"One way of ensuring the future of journalism is to improve content quality, and this means investigating what is deliberately hidden, like corruption," said Gerardo Reyes, a reporter for the Miami newspaper El Nuevo Herald, on a visit to the Peruvian capital.

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: The Unfinished Story of the “Disappeared”

"The night of Oct. 23, 1976, nearly 33 years ago, was the last time I saw my son Pablo. He was 17 years old, and he was terrified. Since then I have had no reliable news about his fate. My family and I have been left at the mercy of the anguished torments of our imagination."

POLITICS-THAILAND: Border Town Enjoys Peace Amid Insurgency

They are not leaving anything to chance in this far-flung southern Thai town that has earned a reputation as an oasis of peace and harmony in a region gripped by a bloody insurgency, now in its sixth year.

POLITICS-JAPAN: Voters Sceptical of Change in Run-up to Election

The Aug 30 elections in Japan will be the most important in a generation, signifying many voters’ dissatisfaction with the current political status quo under the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Umno Stokes Racial Fires to Regain Lost Ground

Race relations here, unsteady even in the best of times, are worsening with Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party ratcheting up racial and religious issues to maintain its influence over majority Malays, who make up some 60 percent of the population of 27 million.

FILM-COLOMBIA: A Priest’s Passion for Justice

The latest film out of Colombia is based on the true story of a priest in a rural town whose passions include a search for justice in an area that, like so many in this civil war-torn country, is hemmed in by armed groups, whether far-right paramilitaries, leftist guerrillas or state security forces.

RIGHTS-CHILE: Personal Stories Bring the “Disappeared” to Life

Two Chilean women living in the United States were so moved by the plight of people who were detained and disappeared during the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet that they overcame the problems of distance, and wrote a book reconstructing the personal lives of eight victims through the accounts given by their closest relatives.

INDONESIA: Women Activists Draw Lessons from Failed Election Bids

Four months since Indonesia’s legislative elections, Ditah Indah Sari still grapples with her unsuccessful foray into electoral politics. "We are curious why we did not get elected," she said.

HEALTH: Swine Flu's Impact on 7 Billion Dollar Hajj Industry

A swine flu advisory issued by the Saudi government, banning the entry of pilgrims under 12 and over 65 years, is a blow for Hajj pilgrims as Muslims the world over prepare for Ramadan which starts this weekend.

ARGENTINA: 20 Years for Manager in Tragic Club Blaze, but Band Acquitted

Nearly five years after a fire in a night club in the Argentine capital claimed the lives of 194 young people, a court sentenced the club manager and several city officials Wednesday. But the judges absolved the members of the band that was playing that night, touching off angry reactions from families of the victims waiting outside the courthouse.

SRI LANKA: Religious Feast Embodies a Nation’s Hopes for Peace

The jungle church was once again filled with devotees camping out for days to take part in the feast of the Virgin Mary of Madhu. It had been over 27 years since the last occasion when tens of thousands of believers streamed into the church located at Madhu, in the north-western Mannar District, about 300 km from the capital Colombo.

POLITICS-THAILAND: Army Drives Muslim Rebels to the Hills

The Blackhawk helicopter flies fast and relatively high above an endless expanse of hills, some gentle and rolling, some with sharp peaks, in this southernmost tip of Thailand, where an insurgency has been raging for over five years.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Displaced Women Finally Speak Out Against Taliban

"Burqa, burqa was all we heard [from the Taliban militants] in Swat, but when we ran, we were hardly covered and the whole world looked at us," said a woman from this conflict area, who now lives in a camp for the internally displaced people (IDPs).

POPULATION: UNFPA Partners With Faith-Based Groups

The United Nations has realised that if it wants to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it will have to partner with like-minded faith-based organisations (FBOs).

CULTURE-URUGUAY: Music to All Ears

Taking in a classical music concert, learning to make films or attending a literary workshop are no longer activities reserved for the elite in the Uruguayan capital. In addition to the existing initiatives offered by the city government, a new project is under way to promote cultural production and recreation among the poor.

MOROCCO: The Berber Dance Is Over

The satellite receiver has speeded up the process of wiping out the cultural heritage of Morocco's Berbers. Old traditions are now dying out under the influence of television imams.

AFGHANISTAN: Carpet Industry Crippled Without Govt Help

Carpet weaving has long been a part of Afghanistan's history and culture.

TRADE: Carpets – Made in Afghanistan for Pakistan’s Profit

The Afghan carpet weaving industry is Afghanistan's second largest, behind only agriculture in terms of size and number of people employed.