POLITICS: Decentralisation, a Double-Edged Sword for Women

Decentralised governments have often been presented as a formula for strengthening democracy and citizen participation, and giving women greater access to power. But experiences like that of Eufrosina Cruz, who was denied the right to run for mayor of her Oaxaca village, on the argument of "uses and customs" of her indigenous community, show that this is not always true.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Helpless Against Honour Killings

By appointing as cabinet ministers two politicians known for their anti-women views, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has stirred up a storm of protests from rights activists and prominent personalities who believed that an elected government would help their country emerge from feudalism.

HONDURAS: Inventory of Mitch’s Cultural Destruction

When Hurricane Mitch thrashed Honduras and a large portion of Central America in 1998, the scale of the disaster clouded awareness that the winds and rains had also taken a heavy toll on cultural, artistic and historic heritage.

CULTURE-INDONESIA: Anti-Porn Law Reveals Growing Islamist Power

An exhibition of sculpture that opened here this month offers a stark reminder of the importance of the human form in Indonesian art.

CUBA: Foreign Aid Helps Fund Cultural Activities

In Cuba, international aid is promoting the advancement of cultural projects, adopting an approach that enriches the traditional perspective on development with a dimension closer to the needs of the human spirit.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Alarm at Move to Regulate Media

A government proposal to set up a media council to ‘regulate’ news reporting has alarmed journalists who see it as an attempt to add yet another layer of control over their profession.

RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: Khmer Rouge Through Blinkered Eyes

When Gunnar Bergstrom stepped off the plane into the sweltering heat of the Cambodian capital in August 1978, he did not even begin to suspect the fate that had befallen the country whose struggle he had supported from afar.

MEDIA-SRI LANKA: Under Fire Journos Learn Survival Skills

For journalists on the job in Sri Lanka - considered by international media rights bodies to be the third most dangerous place to work in, after Iraq and Somalia - staying safe is a prime concern.

CHILE: Women Kick Off ‘New Stage’ in Sports

Chile is hosting the Nov. 19-Dec. 7 Under-20 Women’s World Cup, for which the country renovated four municipal stadiums, in an effort that according to President Michelle Bachelet will mark "a before and after" for national sports.

POLITICS-CHINA: Tibetan Movement May Dump ‘Middle Way’

Eight months after Tibet’s capital of Lhasa was rocked by violent anti-Chinese protests positions have hardened, casting gloom on prospects for progress on the Tibetan stalemate.

HAITI-DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Media Unites to Fight Stereotypes

The contrast between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, is nowhere so stark as on its common border.

GERMANY: Recreating the Experience of the Uprooted

The lighting is dim. The murmur of water can be heard, the ship’s horn blows and the gangway unfolds. The long journey of the German emigrant is about to begin.

CULTURE: Int'l Performing Arts Fest Spotlights Liberal Pakistan

Some 370 foreign actors, musicians, dancers and puppeteers have defied the warnings of their friends, families and governments to participate in an international performing arts festival in Lahore, cultural capital of the world’s ‘most dangerous country’.

MEDIA-PHILIPPINES: ‘Jeepney’ Street Paper Delivers Jobs Too

"We share with people our stories, rich stories that can be found in the streets," Cheran Banaria says of her work selling ‘The Jeepney Magazine’, the Philippines’ first street paper. "Before, I was really shy in facing and talking to rich people. I felt like an ant before them. But now, I can say I am a bit confident facing them."

ENVIRONMENT-BURMA: Conflict Threatens Karen Biodiversity

On top of 60 years of military occupation, the Karen people of Burma are now facing severe impairment of their environmental and cultural foundations, say activists.

CULTURE-SINGAPORE: Long Way to Go as Asia’s Arts Hub

Shubigi Rao was not too happy when her husband, a pilot, was asked by his company to relocate to Singapore. Rao did not think that Singapore could offer opportunities for a budding artist like her.

INDONESIA: Media Turns Bali Bombers Into Martyrs

In a crowded neighbourhood in this sprawling city families sat glued to their television sets late into the night of Nov. 8 watching updates on the execution of three men convicted for the 2002 nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali, killing 202 people.

CULTURE-CHINA: ‘Shangri La’ Under Tourist Siege

The ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road has come back to life. On top of sturdy short-legged horses, dark-skinned men wrapped in furs are making their arduous way up the narrow paths of the silver-clad Dragon Jade Snow Mountain.

HEALTH: Haj Pilgrims Get Polio Drops in Int'l Eradication Plan

As the first batches of Haj pilgrims from Pakistan arrived at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah airport for the current pilgrimage season they were, regardless of age, administered oral polio vaccine (OPV).

DEVELOPMENT: UNFPA Battles “Norm” of Gender Inequality

Despite a slew of U.N. conventions and international agreements against discrimination of women, gender inequality is widespread and remains deeply rooted in many cultures, according to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).

EDUCATION-BRAZIL: Pockets of Illiteracy, Despite Strides

Staying illiterate even after going to school is the plight of thousands of boys and girls in Brazil and is proof of the shortfalls of the country’s educational system, in particular in poverty-ridden areas. But the tide is beginning to turn, as can be observed among the country’s youngest children.