CUBA: (Some) Men Renounce Violence Against Women

Orlando Berrios, 53, works over eight hours a day as a barber in the Párraga district in the Cuban capital, and shares household tasks with his wife, to the astonishment of their neighbours, who regard him as an "odd character."

MIGRATION-GERMANY: Women in a New Country Draw Together

"You try to adapt, but you become like a mute person," said Teresa, who was born in Colombia and has lived in Germany for over 20 years, describing what it feels like to be an immigrant.

MEDIA-KENYA: For a Woman Candidate, It&#39s Good To Be a Man

As with political candidates everywhere, women running in this month's general elections in Kenya are doubtless keeping a close eye on the media to see how they are being portrayed by news outlets. Then again, these women may simply be concerned about whether they are portrayed at all.

GUATEMALA: Teaching With Two Voices

In the Xepanil village school in Santa Apolonia, to the west of the Guatemalan capital, 20 children are learning both Spanish and the Mayan indigenous language Kaqchikel. Their teacher, Marta Lidia Rodríguez, one of thousands of bilingual education teachers in this country today, walks an hour a day to get to the school.

FILM-ARGENTINA: Local Characters Get All the Parts

"I’d like to be offered the role of a madwoman some day, or of a vicious person, just out of curiosity, because I’m really not like that at all," says Carmen Drive, a 56-year-old Argentine homemaker who has already acted in 18 movies without ever having set foot outside her home town, population 30,000.

EGYPT: Political Fatwas Draw Fire

Egypt's ruling party often accuses its Islamist opponents of exploiting religion to achieve political ends. But in the wake of several controversial fatwas - religious edicts - issued by the grand imam of the influential Al-Azhar Islamic establishment, critics are now accusing the state of playing the religion card.

DEATH PENALTY-MOROCCO: Conformist Media Blamed for Public Apathy

Lack of media interest in reporting on death penalty issues is responsible for widespread public indifference to whether or not Morocco eventually abolishes capital punishment, according to analysts and activists here.

Q&A: ‘Death Penalty Serves Interests of Despotic Regimes’

Syria strongly opposed the recently passed U.N. resolution calling for an immediate moratorium on executions and end to capital punishment. But Nedal Naeiseh - Syrian writer and journalist - believes the regime is close to the day when it will join the growing number of abolitionist nations.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Catholics Snub Vatican’s Condom Ban

As millions of people plan to show solidarity with the struggle against HIV/AIDS on Saturday, a new multi-nation poll released in Washington by the group Catholics for Choice shows that a majority of Catholics around the world believe that - contrary to the edicts coming from Rome - "good Catholics can use condoms".

COLOMBIA: The Chibcha Culture – Forgotten, But Still Alive

Use of the sacred coca leaf, respect for water and nature, and other practices of the pre-Columbian Chibcha or Muisca culture survive in Colombia in spite of five centuries under attack. The culture was as highly-developed as those of the better-known Inca, Maya and Aztec people, according to scholars.

WORLD AIDS DAY-INDIA: Sexing Up Safe Sex to Limit HIV Spread

Sex workers in this eastern metropolis are being encouraged to put pleasure back into their services as one way of limiting the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

DEVELOPMENT: Faced with Clashes, It&#39s Good to Talk

With clashing civilisations, as with clashing people, there's one strategy that works: talk your way out of it. Just how is, of course, the more difficult question.

CANADA: Landmark Ruling Backs Native Self-Determination

In a case that took a decade to complete and cost close to 30 million dollars, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge last week gave a boost to Native Canadian bands seeking aboriginal land title, but also sent the various parties back to the table to negotiate a treaty.

FRANCE: Troubled Suburbs Erupt Again

The police station is a smouldering abandoned ruin, its roof gone, its walls charred black, and tiles scattered about its courtyard. From behind its locked gates the pungent stench of burned wood and plastic is carried on the wind into the street.

RIGHTS-CHINA: What Will EU Stress At Summit?

Issues ranging from food safety to German contact with the Dalai Lama are creating tension ahead of a Nov. 28 summit between the European Union and China in Beijing. Yet, these political ‘hot potatoes’ do not diminish the attractiveness of the Chinese market for Western firms.

MACEDONIA: Tensions Simmer After Police Raid

At first sight, the ethnically mixed city of Tetovo, 40 kilometres northwest of the Macedonian capital of Skopje, seems like an average, if economically depressed, town.

Q&A: &#39People Who Work Every Day For Harmony Do Not Make Headlines&#39

The daily work of ordinary people committed to building dialogue both within and outside their communities make for less spectacular news reports than stories about communities at odds, says Imam Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini. These ordinary people are the majority, and they are more open to productive communication with the West than we generally believe, he says.

SOUTH AMERICA: In Street Football, Playing Is Winning

Football can cause excitement and euphoria, or anger and even aggression, but the Second South American Street Football Championship taking place this week in the Paraguayan capital puts the emphasis on solidarity, fair play and social participation.

POLITICS: Does the Media Incite Religious Tensions?

When Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi addressed the United Nations General Assembly last September, he rejected the argument that religion was responsible for disputes between nations.

MIDEAST: Christians And Muslims Coexist In Gaza

As Sunday dawns in Gaza City the traditional Islamic call to prayer mingles melodically with church bells.

CULTURE-CHINA: Lust, Caution – Politically Incorrect Box Office Grosser

At bookstores and university hallways, intellectuals here have been engaging in nothing less than ideological ‘struggle sessions,’ dissecting Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s erotically-charged and award winning film ‘Lust, Caution’.