CUBA: Women Put On the Masonic Apron

More than 30 women have become pioneers of female Freemasonry in socialist Cuba, founding two lodges under the auspices of the Women’s Grand Lodge of Chile, which will provide them with support and advice until they can function independently.

MEDIA-AUSTRALIA: Aboriginal Radio Holds Its Own

When the Brisbane Indigenous Media Association (BIMA) applied for a community radio license 15 years ago they had to compete with a Christian group which argued that there were more Christians than aborigines in Brisbane and thus merited a license first.

FILM-CUBA: Women ‘Invisible’ Behind the Cameras

Filmmaking has not escaped the overwhelming "machismo" of Cuban society. Getting a foot in the door in the industry, an almost exclusively male preserve, is still wishful thinking for most women directors.

CHINA: Minority Outbursts – More Than Bad Olympics PR

As the outburst of anger among China’s restive ethnic minorities spreads, the danger for Chinese communist leadership is more than a a public relations fiasco ahead of the all-important Beijing Olympic games but a serious threat to its mandate, analysts here say.

CLIMATE CHANGE: A Game With Too Many Free Riders

The evidence is piling up that climate change threatens to bring a chaotic future unlike anything ever known. Taking collective action in time to avert the worst means rewarding climate-safe behaviour, punishing climate transgressors and publicly praising those who are trying to protect the environment, a new study suggests.

CLIMATE CHANGE: A Vision Worth Fighting For

Sweeping societal change is a slow and erratic business. The civil rights movement in the United States went nowhere for decades and then exploded in the 1960s. Not long ago, smokers could light up anywhere they pleased in Canada and the U.S. Now they are mostly confined to a few outdoor areas and as a consequence, far fewer people smoke.

POLITICS: Tibet Critics Focus on Olympics Opening Ceremony

China's hopes of conducting a non-controversial Olympic Games in August received two more blows on Tuesday.

POLITICS-US: Media Wrong on Rev. Wright, Critics Say

Amid the explosive controversy over remarks made in sermons by Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, critics are charging that the U.S. mainstream media has distorted his comments, failed to understand the African American church, and sought to punish the Democratic Party presidential hopeful through "guilt by association".

AUSTRALIA: Bone to Pick With NATO On Afghan Deployments

As the largest non-NATO contributor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, Australia is expected to make its own demands at this week’s crucial summit of the arms pact in Bucharest.

FIJI: Needs Funds, Backing China&#39s Tibet Policy

Fiji’s interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, has been forced to defend his regime’s support for China’s mid-March crackdown on Tibetan protesters, following withering criticism from civil society organisations, politicians and the public.

CHINA: Olympic Torch Rolls Despite Tibet Trouble

China has invoked the authority of a legendary emperor, revered as the ancestor of all Chinese people, to bless the Beijing Summer Olympics and emphasise national unity. But lingering tensions in Tibet and a choppy passage for the Olympic torch detract from the lavish rites planned for the Yellow Emperor.

RELIGION-CENTRAL ASIA: Modernity Via Islam

The Fergana Valley in the heart of Central Asia has a reputation for instability, violent conflict, and Islamic fundamentalism. The three countries whose borders intersect in this densely populated mountainous region - Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan - have struggled to build modern states in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. This process has indeed been tumultuous.

MEDIA-INDIA: Bulletin Boards Keep Tibetan Exiles Updated

While the mid-March anti-Chinese protests in Tibet sent campaigners and sympathisers running to the Internet for news, or to post blog entries, Tibetan exiles in this northern Indian town turned to the lowly community bulletin board.

Q&A: “World Needs a Global Culture of Human Rights”

As the United Nations commemorates the 60th anniversary of its landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year, the Tokyo-based Soka Gakkai International (SGI) has called for an international conference on human rights education.

Q&A: "We Have Managed to Make the Female Agenda a Current Affairs Issue"

Towards the end of last year, IPS reported on efforts to increase women's political participation in Zimbabwe, ahead of the Mar. 29 elections. As it happens, only about 13 percent of candidates for the House of Assembly are women - along with some 30 percent of Senate aspirants, according to statistics from the Women in Politics Support Unit, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO). So, what went wrong?

ZIMBABWE: A Society "Not Ready for Female Leadership"?

Women make up about half the population in Zimbabwe. But, they're far from accounting for 50 percent of those on the ballot for this month's general elections in the Southern African country - sparking concern amongst gender activists.

ZIMBABWE: A "Can Do" Approach to Greater Political Involvement of Women

With general elections taking place in Zimbabwe on Mar. 29, efforts have been underway to increase women's political participation in the Southern African country.

AFGHANISTAN: Disappointed With Karzai, NATO

The Shahr-e-now park in the centre of Kabul has seen better days. "It used to be really beautiful," Kabul resident Torialay says, "back during the early-90s. But after the Mujahiddin war (a civil war between warlords and commanders in the mid-90s that destroyed much of the city) it has never been restored."

HEALTH-VIETNAM: Helmet Rule Saving Lives in Motorcycle Country

Three months after Vietnam made the wearing of helmets mandatory for all motorcycle riders, doctors and activists say the law is proving to be a lifesaver in a country where two-wheelers are an important means of transport.

POLITICS-INDIA: Floundering Over Tibet Policy

Caught between its position recognising Tibet as part of China and growing pressure from pro-Western lobbies within its policy-making elites to support protests by Tibetan separatists, the Indian government is hard put to define a coherent stand on developments across its border.

LATIN AMERICA: ‘Christians Should Take Poverty and Justice Seriously’

Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff arrived in El Salvador on Easter Sunday, the eve of the 28th anniversary of the assassination of Monsignor Oscar Romero by a sniper on Mar. 24, 1980, while he was celebrating mass.