INDIA/PAKISTAN: Peaceful Pink Panties to Tame Right-Wing Goons

Outraged by an attack by right-wing Hindu militants on women emerging from a pub in Mangalore, Karnataka state, activists in India have initiated a ‘Pink Chaddi’ (underwear) campaign in which they are sending pink panties to members of the Sri Ram Sena (Army of Lord Ram) on Valentines’ Day.

PHILIPPINES: Rapist US Marine’s Custody – Women’s Group Sceptical

A "one-step victory" was how a women’s rights group described a decision handed down by the Supreme Court (SC) this week on a controversial rape case involving a United States serviceman.

INDIA: Awaiting Pakistan’s Official Response to Mumbai Attacks

Five weeks after India handed over a dossier to Islamabad containing detailed evidence on the Nov. 26-29 Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan has finally promised an official response, based on investigations by its Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

JAMAICA: Women Cheer Ban on Sexually Degrading Song Lyrics

It's the new dance craze here and many artists have hopped on the bandwagon. But when the latest "daggering" song hit the airwaves, government, broadcast regulators, civil society and others in Jamaica said enough is enough.

PAKISTAN: Opening the A. Q. Khan Can of Worms

The release of Pakistani rogue nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, underlines major issues confronting Pakistan -and indeed the world - ranging from nuclear proliferation to governance, corruption, hypocrisy, and how public opinion is shaped by falsehoods.

AGRICULTURE-INDIA: Looking Beyond Wheat and Rice

Food security experts say India must wean itself away from dependence on wheat and rice and look to the sub-continent’s rich agro-diversity in order to address the kind of food crisis that hit the country last year - as well as longer-standing nutrition deficiency issues.

CULTURE: Filmmakers Probe Multiple Identities, Partitions

A German teacher of Visual Cultures and studying documentaries in India organises a film screening in Pakistan. A Pakistani produces an innovative short film series featuring work from India, Pakistan and Britain.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Opposition Loses Perak, Claims Moral Victory

During a tense press conference, in the midst of the current constitutional crisis in this state, peninsualar Malaysia's second largest, a reporter's MP3 recorder/handphone began ringing.

RIGHTS-CHINA: Path to Modernisation Disastrous – Charter 08

When China’s human rights record comes up for review before a key United Nations panel on Monday, this nominally communist country will have two contrasting accounts of its human rights situation.

PAKISTAN: Bracing For More Drone Attacks

On Jan 23, days after Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States, a series of missiles slammed into Pakistan’s tribal areas along the Afghan border - in continuation of Washington’s policy of targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban elements regardless of sovereignty issues.

ECONOMY: Germany Helping South Africa With 2010 Soccer World Cup?

As the building of new soccer stadiums and transport infrastructure in South Africa steams ahead, little seems to have come of the agreed assistance by the host of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Germany, to the 2010 FIFA World Cup host, South Africa.

TRADE-UGANDA: ‘‘Green’’ Burial Cloth Gets New Lease on Life

Bark cloth, a fabric historically used by the Buganda in central Uganda to wrap their dead before burial, is making a comeback in the form of trendy crafts, clothing and household goods.

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Artists Take On Post-Colonial Partitions

With national boundaries continually being redrawn in the post-colonial world, it’s time to deal with the reality of partitions and find a way "to make peace with our partitioned selves", contends international banker-turned-art curator Hammad Nasar.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Change National Day Say Indigenous People

Australia's national day is celebrated annually with much fanfare. But Jan.26, which marks the establishment of the colony of New South Wales more than 200 years ago, is viewed by many indigenous activists as the anniversary of the European invasion of their land.

SRI LANKA: Tamils Fearful For the Future

As Sri Lanka celebrates 61 years of independence from British colonial rule on Wednesday, the enthusiasm is understandably not shared by minority Tamils living under the military jackboot in the north of the country.

Q&A: ‘Internet Should Not Build Firewalls of Hate’

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, one of the world's leading human rights activists, is often heard on the subject of hate. He is an international authority on issues related to digital hate over the Internet.

JAPAN: NHK World TV – New Kid on Broadcast Block

Determined to tell its own story to the world Japan on Monday launched its own 24-hour English-language TV news channel - NHK World TV.

THAILAND: Malay-Muslims Complain in Court of Torture

A year after they were allegedly subjected to torture by the Thai army, two young men from the country’s troubled southern provinces have done what no other victim of similar abuse in the area has dared to do - go to court.

CHINA: Striking Hard in Tibet 50 Years After The Uprising

China is preparing for the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising - which saw the Himalayan territory’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, flee into exile - with a 'strike hard' campaign and propaganda on the evils of feudal oppression in pre-1949 Tibet.

SRI LANKA: India Speaks Up For Embattled Tamils

As humanitarian agencies warned of a major crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee made a quick dash Colombo to extract promises concerning the safety of some 250,000 ethnic Tamils trapped in fighting between separatist rebels and government troops.

THAILAND: Don Challenges Lese-Majeste Law – Risks Jail Term

In a country where the culture encourages people to bow, worship and even grovel before authority, Giles Ungpakorn has always been an exception.