ENVIRONMENT-MALAYSIA: Water a Sacred Gift Affirm Interfaith Leaders

When religious leaders from different faiths sought to jointly affirm the sacredness of water as the source of life but were shooed away by authorities, it was seen as a move to scuttle interfaith harmony as well as support plans to privatise a common resource.

CULTURE: It All Begins With a Webcam and a Smile

Imagine rolling out of bed, sprinting to class in your pyjamas and meeting face-to-face with friends in Egypt, the Netherlands, Belgium and Morocco.

KENYA: More Women in Parliament, Hopefully – By Way of the Constitution

Kenya's parliament will soon debate a constitutional amendment bill to improve female representation in the legislature by creating 50 special seats for women. At present, only some eight percent of parliamentary posts in the East African country are occupied by women.

AFGHANISTAN: Reconstruction Can Help Win War Against Taliban

On Jul. 26, coalition aircraft pounded Taliban targets in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, killing 78 civilians and reducing to rubble, countless mud-walled homes.

SIERRA LEONE: A Women&#39s Issue That Women Are Wary of Campaigning About

Female genital mutilation (FGM) can make sex painful, complicate childbirth, lead to urinary tract infections, enable the transmission of HIV - and induce a host of other ills. So, promising to fight this practice should be a winning strategy for someone hoping to be elected to parliament this Saturday in Sierra Leone - where about 90 percent of girls and women undergo FGM, according to rights watchdog Amnesty International.

Q&A: "In Sierra Leone They Just Cut You, And There&#39s Not Much Problem With That"

Certain comments resonate long after they are made, and Shirley Yeama Gbujama's reported threat to "sew up the mouths of those preaching against Bondo" is certainly one of them.

LABOUR-SINGAPORE: Migrant Workers’ Dramatic Quest for Equality

For 12 years Siti Muyasaroh slaved as an underpaid and overworked housemaid in this affluent South-east Asian nation. Still, during that time, she completed a nursing aid course and acquired a diploma in business English from a British university.

US/MIDDLE EAST: ‘Plan Against Iran May Trigger Arms Race’

The new United States plan to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and other allies in the Middle East to counter growing Iranian influence could trigger an arms race and worsen instability in an already volatile region, say experts.

CULTURE-THAILAND: Elvises Live – 15,000 Miles From Graceland

Strobe lights beam into the distance as groovy beats and wild sounds permeate the atmosphere. With the boisterous crowd turning ballistic, it is hard to ignore this ongoing celebration. A typical screenshot of the Thai capital’s exuberant nightlife? No, not quite.

CHINA: Rehearsing the Coming Out Party Called Olympics

When the capital of the Middle Kingdom hosts the summer Olympics next year, nothing will be left to chance or spontaneity. Image-conscious and averse to PR gaffes, Chinese leaders are staging a grand rehearsal to fine-tune a coming out party into the world.

ROMANIA: Culture Capital Is Another World

Sibiu, one of the most dynamic regions in Romania, thrives as the European City of Culture for 2007. But its prosperity is not representative of the entire country.

POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Making a Voting Right a Voting Reality

Having the right to vote is one thing; using it properly, or indeed at all, is quite another, as Sierra Leone has shown ahead of general elections this Saturday.

MALAYSIA: Racial Divisions Sharper After 50 Years

Malaysia celebrates, this August, 50 years of independence under the slogan ‘one legacy, one destiny,’ reiterated through posters in public places depicting representatives of various races happily holding hands and walking into the sunset.

RIGHTS-JAPAN: Battle Over Okinawa History Rages On

A short walk through the rice and sugarcane fields that dot Yomitan village, 20 km north of Naha, capital of Okinawa prefecture, leads to dark, dank caves where hundreds of civilians took refuge as the United States troops invaded the island during World War ll.

POLITICS: US Evangelicals at Odds on Embracing Israel

It was business as usual during Christians United for Israel's recent "Israel Summit," its highly-publicised second summer sojourn to Washington.

Q&A: &#39Targeting Fundamentalism Does Not Help Muslim Women&#39

Rising fundamentalisms around the world are challenging human rights, and particularly women's rights, feminist groups say. But this is not an Islam-related problem only, and isolating Muslim fundamentalism does not help Muslim women.

RUSSIA: &#39The Army Needs Religion&#39

Low morale and high crime within the Russian army could be tackled if the interior ministry and the military authorities accept strengthening army chaplaincy as an instrument of change, religious leaders say.

CANADA: Native Land Deals Get Mixed Reaction

The costly British Columbia land claims negotiations between the government and native peoples, which have garnered few victories over many years, seems to be finally achieving results.

PARAGUAY: Hospitals – Generating Health or Pollution?

A thousand inflated transparent plastic bags labelled "Pathological Garbage" cover the floor of one of the exhibition rooms at the Juan de Salazar Cultural Centre in the Paraguayan capital.

IRAQ: Religious Minorities Hit From All Sides

In the months leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, scholars from around the world urged the war planners in Washington to take steps to protect Iraq's priceless archaeological heritage.

RIGHTS: U.S. Court Throws Out Suit by Child Camel Jockeys

A U.S. judge in Miami has ended - for now - a group of lawyers' quest to sue two leaders from Dubai for allegedly enslaving thousands of children and forcing them to participate in camel races, a sport that dates back a millennium or more in the Middle East.