MIDEAST: Egypt’s Duplicity Stands Exposed

More than 250,000 classified U.S. diplomatic cables released by online whistle- blower WikiLeaks include statements made behind closed doors that could prove embarrassing for Egypt’s government, say analysts.

UGANDA: ICT Boom for Economy, A Bust for Some Women

The rapid growth of the ICT market in Uganda has been greeted with optimism over its potential to boost the country’s development. But less attention is being paid to the increase in gender based violence due to the use of information and communications technology.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: For Women, Cyber Crimes Are All Too Real

The Grade 10 student was first drugged, and then four men raped her. The group then apparently tried to extort money from her family. When the family filed a complaint with the police instead, the extortionists in October then posted a cellphone video of her whole ordeal on the Internet.

Teaching Virtual Resistance to Violence

What if young boys were imbued with a sense of empathy and fair play to counteract a culture that victimises women? Could they grow up to become part of a generation that renounces gender violence once and for all?

ARGENTINA: Click Here to Escape Gender Violence

"Men are drunks and batterers," Lorena Maurin tells IPS before heading in to her computer class, an oasis for women in the 22 de Enero neighbourhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

Pulling the Plug on Violent Propaganda

A review of modern human history finds no shortage of instances where hate speech has fuelled genocidal rampages against minority ethnic groups.

Caribbean Gets Wired with Help from EU, World Bank

When Caribbean leaders gather for their annual summit in July 2011, they expect to finally have a draft information and communication technology (ICT) for development strategy that technocrats have been putting together over the past three years.

CHINA: Magazine Closure Setback for Cultural Revival

When ‘Soho Xiaobao’ magazine suddenly announced in October that it was ceasing publication, it marked a huge setback for privately funded efforts to breathe fresh air into contemporary Chinese culture.

INDIA: Now the ‘Mother of All Scams’

As India is rocked by a series of billion-dollar scams, the question on everybody's mind is whether the perpetrators will go scot-free in what has been described as a low-risk, high-gain activity in this country.

Q&A: Community Radio Stations – Key Players in Expanding Democracy

Chilean journalist María Pía Matta, a feminist and staunch believer that communication is a universal right based on freedom of expression, is the new president of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).

PHILIPPINES: When A Typhoon Comes, Turn to Twitter

Disaster time is social networking time for a growing number of humanitarian agencies, weather agencies, volunteers and individuals in the Philippines, one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.

KOSOVO: Dragging Corruption Into the Net

Kosovo youths looking to address issues treated as taboo by mainstream media are taking increasingly to online activism. The new platform is being used particularly to fight high-level corruption.

Community Radio Stations – Lifeline in Disasters

"Community radio stations in Haiti play an indispensable role during catastrophes, and so do women, who can identify the most urgent needs of families during the reconstruction of the country," said a representative of one of these stations in the Caribbean island nation.

U.N. Journos Decry Move to Torpedo Rent-Free Offices

The United Nations is in danger of becoming irrelevant or even non-existent - specifically in the eyes of the developing world - because of a revived proposal to provide office space only to journalists who can afford to pay rent.

U.S. Inmates Exposed to Toxic E-Waste

Past U.S. inmates and prison staff in electronic waste recycling programmes face serious health risks after officials willfully violated health, safety and environmental laws, a new report has found.

BURMA: Ahead of Poll, Junta Faces Off with A Familiar Foe – Radio

As military-ruled Burma heads towards its first general election in two decades in November, its citizens are tuning in to their enduring faith in the old communication order – the power of the radio.

EGYPT: Gag Tightens on Media Ahead of Elections

Media watchdogs see the "invisible hand" of the ruling party behind a string of firings and resignations that have removed some of Egypt's most prominent government critics from their soapboxes just weeks before parliamentary elections.

BHUTAN: Slowly, Internet and Communication Let the World In

An introduction in Bhutan these days is usually accompanied by "I'm on Facebook!" Anjali Bista, 11, is no exception.

CHINA: Revisiting History Is In, But With Much Caution

The headlines of the day’s newspapers strike passersby as being strangely out of sync with today’s events: ‘China’s quick deployment in the war with India astonishes the world’. Or ‘Corruption dealt with the bullet by Mao Zedong’, and ‘The true reason why Stalin repeatedly postponed Mao Zedong’s visit to the USSR’.

Following a Paper Trail Out of Homelessness

While questions of funding and accountability shadow the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), some actors have taken matters into their own hands. On Wednesday, the Glasgow-based International Network for Street Papers (INSP) announced that it has helped 200,000 people to get off the streets and onto a path of opportunity.

MALAYSIA: Clampdown On Political Satirists No Laughing Matter

As Malaysia gears up for what is expected to be a crucial general election in 2011, the government is tightening up against widely popular political cartoons and blogs that the ruling party fears will translate into voters’ support for the opposition.