RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Rising Gender Violence Worries Women

Malaysian women this week marked their achievements in many areas but were uniformly worried over a sharp rise in gender related violence - especially rape and domestic abuse.

PAKISTAN: Deserted Women’s Help Centres Speak of Apathy

Climbing up the flight of rickety wooden stairs leading to the two-room government women's centre in this southern port city can be frustrating. The deserted look reveals a lack of interest in women's issues, even among the people's representatives.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY-SOUTH PACIFIC: Progress Palpable, Not Quantifiable

While there is greater awareness about women's issues in most South Pacific Island states, the serious lack of reliable data hamper the assessment of actual progress and the designing of effective policies. But the positive contribution of women in preventing conflict is widely acknowledged.

EGYPT: Govt Challenged over Israeli Action at Mosque

In a rare show of unity, parties from across the political spectrum have condemned reported Israeli violations against Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque. They have warned of "dire consequences" if the site - the third holiest in Islam - were to be damaged.

IRAN: Blaming the West for Sunni Unrest

As a Shia majority country with several large ethnic groups like the Kurds, Arabs and Baluchis that follow the Sunni faith, Iran has for years been vulnerable to unrest, riots and terrorist attacks that officials routinely attribute to foreign powers.

CULTURE-INDONESIA: Ethnic Chinese Find New Acceptance

After banning its public celebration for almost 30 years Indonesia this week took the symbolic step of recognising Chinese New Year as a national festival.

BRAZIL: Soap Opera Actors Stand Up for Amazon Jungle

An open letter demanding "an immediate halt to the deforestation of the Amazon jungle" has been released by Brazilian television stars taking part in the Globo Network series " Amaz- nia, de Galvez a Chico Mendes" (Amazonia, from Galvez to Chico Mendes).

POLITICS-US: Right’s New Strategy Emulates the “Enemy”

The history of the modern U.S. conservative movement - circa 1964 to the present - is replete with its share of hucksters, snake oil salesman, rhetoricians, mudslingers, marketers and one-hit wonders. But it also has had more than its fair share of visionaries, opportunists (in the best sense of the word), motivated entrepreneurs, perhaps even revolutionaries.

PHILIPPINES: China’s New Playground

From sand replicas of the Great Wall on the fine, white beaches here to rowdy banquets of singing moon gazers, traces of China's expanding economic boom are everywhere to be found on this tiny Philippines island, an hour by plane from Manila.

JAPAN: Fair Trade Concept Starts to Sell

When Sonoko Iwasa, started her tiny shop selling ‘fair trade’ goods in Mitaka, a decade ago, she was in for a long struggle to survive in a wealthy, traditional neighbourhood which had little understanding of global issues, let alone marginalised communities in the developing South.

CULTURE-UAE: Modernity – No Threat to Arab Values, Tradition

Those who would counter charges that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ignoring tradition for modernity may point at an entire ‘cultural district’ off the coast of Abu Dhabi, celebrations for eighth biennial of the Sharjah Art Museum, Arab icons placed prominently all over, art galleries and festivals.

DEATH PENALTY-JAPAN: Killing Suspense

Last Christmas Day is etched into the memory of Kaoru Okashita, 60, a Japanese prisoner on death row. In the distance he heard the footfall of guards marching steadily towards his cell early in the morning - and then miraculously passing by without halting.

FILM: Few Oscars for Mexicans, But They Made Their Mark

The 79th Oscar awards ceremony left Mexico with a bittersweet taste. Films by Mexican directors were nominated for Academy Awards in 16 categories, but only earned four - for art direction, cinematography, make-up and musical score. Nevertheless, Mexicans made their mark.

MEXICO-US: Bishops Contradict Each Other in Priest Sex Abuse Scandal

The Catholic Church's call for its bishops to be "teachers of the truth" seems to be wobbling in the case of cardinals Norberto Rivera of Mexico and Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles, California.

CULTURE-CUBA: Exorcising the Ghosts of the Past

The expansion of a debate among a group of intellectuals in Cuba that began as an e-mail discussion at the beginning of the year would seem to demonstrate the need to bury once and for all the cultural restrictions of the past and open up spaces for dialogue, debate and diversity.

SRI LANKA: Norwegian Truce Dead – All Sides Agree

Five years after the Sri Lankan government signed a Norway-brokered ceasefire agreement (CFA) with Tamil separatist rebels, all actors are now agreed that the document now remains solely on paper.

KENYA: Going Beyond “Cheerleading, Singing and Dancing For Candidates”

With general elections scheduled to take place in Kenya this December, activists in the East African country are looking to constitutional reform to ensure that more women fill decision-making posts in government.

IRAQ: Another U.S. Military Assault on Media

Iraqi journalists are outraged over yet another U.S. military raid on the media.

FILM: Oscar Nominations – for Mexicans or Mexican Filmmaking?

Millions will be glued to their television sets in Mexico this Sunday to watch the 79th Academy Awards ceremony in the United States, where Mexican artists and filmmakers have been nominated in 16 categories.

CULTURE-ARGENTINA: Recuperating Indigenous Languages

With the aim of strengthening linguistic diversity in Argentina, the University of Buenos Aires language school has launched a successful programme providing instruction in the country’s most widely-spoken indigenous languages.

JAPAN: Stricken Whaler Upsets Gov’t Gourmets

The stranding of a Japanese whaler off the Antarctic coast may have wrecked plans by the government to promote whale meat as part of the country's traditional diet and resume commercial whaling on that basis.