POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Regime Change May Hit Reforms

It took exactly seven months after a severe general electoral setback for Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to announce that he would not be defending the presidency of the dominant party in the ruling coalition in party polls next year.

CUBA: Women Breaking Into a Men’s Game

Women’s incursion into baseball, Cuba’s national sport and a bastion of the "machismo" that is so deeply rooted in Cuban culture, has drawn mixed reactions.

CUBA: Emerging Community of Bloggers?

Blogging has finally hit Cuba, despite the challenge of gaining access to the Internet and the limited number of home computers on the island, and the emergence of a Cuban community of bloggers may soon be more than just wishful thinking.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Civil Society United Against 'Honour' Killings

The current campaign against "honour" killings in Pakistan led by anti-death penalty NGOs has support from lawmakers and lawyers pressing for modifications of Islamic law to prevent perpetrators from evading justice.

CULTURE-CAMBODIA: 'We Don't Have a Film Industry'

Internationally acclaimed director Rithy Panh remembers how, as young boy in pre-war Phnom Penh, cinema played a central role in his family life.

POLITICS-GUINEA: "Sheep Who Vote?" Women Say No

Long absent from the top posts in the civil service and under-represented in political parties, Guinean women are calling for changes during legislative elections planned for December.

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Protests Mount Against Draconian Anti-Terror Law

Public opposition is steadily building up against Malaysia’s draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), a relic of colonialism that gives police unchallenged discretion to arrest and indefinitely detain anyone without trial.

PAKISTAN: Eid Shopping Marred by Inflation, Fear of Violence

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to a close, the shopping frenzy around Pakistan increases in preparation for Eid, the joyous three-day festival of thanksgiving to celebrate the end of a period of abstinence, including dawn-to-dusk fasting.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Rape Survivor Families Struggle Against Odds

Rape and sexual violence are endemic in Pakistan, but cases are rarely registered. Few survivors and their families can withstand the pressure to compromise with the assailants over the years the cases drag on.

NIGERIA: Ramadan Marred By High Food Prices

As the holy month of Ramadan draws to a close, residents of the northern Nigerian city of Kano have endured double pain: already high food prices have been driven through the roof.

MALAYSIA: Race Relations Act Will Change Little – Critics

After 50 years of trying to build a plural society Malaysia now plans to enact a race relations law to end discrimination and protect minorities. But critics say a new law will change little.

POLITICS-BURMA: Mass Amnesty for Prisoners Signals New Era

Burma’s military leaders have signaled the start of a new political era with the release of 9,002 prisoners, including several key political detainees.

TRADE-AFRICA: Art Creating Hope in the Midst of Death and Disease

Zulu artists working at the Ardmore Ceramic Studio in South Africa’s coastal province of KwaZulu Natal have gone from poverty to international acclaim.

BRAZIL: Amazon Art Institute Helps Recover Indigenous Roots

Dhiani Pa'saro came to Manaus, the bustling city of 1.7 million people in the heart of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, eight years ago, after wandering from one village or town to another. At the time he planned to become a dentist, but at 33 he is now a renowned artist.

BRAZIL: 'Social Circus' Turns Young Lives Right Side Up

Standing on your head, walking on stilts, juggling and doing balancing acts - life often seems like a circus metaphor. And for one Brazilian social organisation that is exactly what it is.

LATIN AMERICA: Quotas Alone Won’t Give Women Equal Power

A collection of studies published in Argentina shows that quotas for women on electoral candidate lists have been successful in achieving a certain level of gender balance in the parliaments of many Latin American countries. However, it says that more tools are needed to accelerate the process.

RIGHTS-BURMA: Monks Jailed, Disrobed For Challenging Junta

In military-ruled Burma the jails are filling up with Buddhist monks. Currently, 136 members of the clergy are behind bars, most of them in the notorious Insein Prison in Rangoon, the former capital.

JAPAN: Tainted Rice Scam Shakes Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence in quality-conscious Japan has been badly shaken by a scandal over contaminated rice that was discovered to have been imported and distributed to restaurants, hospitals, schools and stores.

POLITICS-INDIA: Polls Uncertain With Jammu Divided From Kashmir

Plans by the central government to conduct elections in Jammu and Kashmir, due originally in November, remain uncertain because of the serious regional and religious differences that have cropped up between the two main regions that make up the composite territory.

CHILE: Salvador Allende – Greatest Chilean, by Popular Acclaim

The late socialist President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown by the armed forces on Sept. 11, 1973, was elected the "greatest Chilean in history" in a viewers' poll organised by a television programme that stirred up controversy.

RIGHTS: Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia on the Rise in Europe

Both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have risen in Europe over the last four years, according to a survey conducted earlier this year and released here Thursday by the Pew Research Centre.