by Irit Rosenblum, Haaretz, Israel - Though in all likelihood, the "fatal wife" will be absolved of suspicions against her and will be allowed to wed again, the fact that the Rabbinate has the sole discretion to arbitrarily deny people such basic human rights is illogical and infuriating.
by Mandi Smallhorne, Mail & Guardian, South Africa - An absence of fresh, clean water in adequate amounts for drinking and washing, coupled with undernourished people add up to a perfect health storm: water-borne diseases like cholera thrive in such conditions and malnourished people's immune systems are unable to mount a sufficient defence.
by Amanda Paul, Today's Zaman, Turkey - The news that France’s new law punishing denial of the Armenian claims of genocide was put on hold on Tuesday after politicians opposed to the legislation demanded that its constitutionality be examined will have come as a big relief to Ankara.
by Maria Malagardis, Libération, France - While negotiations on the write-down of Greek debt remain ongoing, Athens city hall is supplying two meals a day to jobless workers who are now threatened with famine in the wake of austerity measures: a situation that some Greeks readily compare with the occupation of the country during World War 2.
by Huma Yusuf, Dawn, Pakistan - Geopolitics — in particular, increased global pressure on Iran — and upcoming general elections in Pakistan are likely to intensify sectarian clashes in the near future. And yet, political interest in coining holistic policies to stem sectarian violence is sorely lacking.
by Michal Govrin, Haaretz, Israel - To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem has mounted a traveling exhibition, 'A Monument of Good Deeds: Dreams and Hopes of Children During the Holocaust,' at the United Nations, in New York. The exhibition, curated by Yehudit Inbar, tells the story of 13 children through their artwork, poems or dreams. Yet most of the children who perished in the Holocaust left nothing behind. Among them was my brother, Marek Laub. His story opens the show.
by Omezzine Khelifa, The Daily Star, Lebanon - In Tunisian universities, equality is assured; all students have access to universities regardless of their religion or how they practice it. Currently young women have the right to wear the niqab in the street but in the classroom they must reveal their identity.
by Dawn Turner Trice, Chicago Tribune, USA - Teens tells us what they think about rumors that the hip-hop artist will stop using the B-word after the birth of his daughter.
by Anne Summers, The Age, Australia - Feminism boils down to one fundamental principle and that is women's ability to be independent.
by Nicole Pope, Today's Zaman, Turkey - Until the court produced its flawed verdict a few days ago, those who care passionately about this country’s fate and want the pace of democratization to speed up, still hoped that the authorities would use the investigation into Dink’s murder to pursue the process of cleansing the state of its rogue elements and its narrow mentality. Instead, the judiciary, always ready to detect links with illegal organizations when students unfurl banners in support of free education or when intellectuals defend Kurdish rights, turned a blind eye to the trail of evidence.
by Jennifer Dube, The Standard, Zimbabwe - As women continue to seek ways of improving their health, some have resorted to using imported pads believed to have protective qualities. The Anion pads, mainly sold by those who trade in imported herbal products, are said to have qualities which enable them to naturally cleanse a woman’s womb while also reducing her menstrual days and easing period pains.
by Amira Hass, Haaretz, Israel - What if Israel goes back to barring Israelis from Palestinian Authority territory? What if the trend of anti-Arab legislation continues and the state decides to strip their children, or them, of their citizenship?
by America Vera-Zavala, Aftonbladet, Sweden - Is this a racist movie? Ruben Östlund’s latest film — a story of poor black and middle class white children which deliberate plays on the audience’s prejudices — has sparked controversy in Sweden.
by Emily Dugan, The Independent, UK - More than 500,000 people are still living in tents, despite massive aid operation.
by Rafia Zakaria, Dawn, Pakistan - Working with an archive of material on marriage in Bengal over two centuries, Majumdar reveals how the concepts of arranged marriage and the joint family were instead innovations responding to pressure on family structures after colonisation by the British.
by DeNeen L. Brown, Washington Post, USA - The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don't often explain.
by Claire Gatinois, Le Monde, France - In response to the crisis, shopkeepers in Salvaterra de Miño have decided to once again accept the former national currency. And the customers, attracted by prices at the same exchange rate that applied at the launch of the euro in 2002, are flocking to the Galician village.
by Sandra Laville and Vikram Dodd, Guardian, UK - The mother of Stephen Lawrence accused the police of putting her through 18 years of grief and uncertainty after witnessing the conviction of two of her son's killers for his racist murder nearly a generation ago.
by Anna Yukhananov, Next, Nigeria - A critical question is why the FDA's warning didn't trigger greater scrutiny of PIP's activities by regulators in France and elsewhere.
by Agnes Odhiambo, Mail & Guardian, South Africa - I found that pregnant women and new mothers were abused regularly by health workers, especially nurses, who were supposed to provide them with care. Doctors, ambulance drivers and dispatchers -- and sometimes even cleaners and security guards -- also abused women, we found.
by Lale Kemal, Today's Zaman, Turkey - The government has made a big mistake by not removing from their posts those commanders, as well as ministers, dealing with security issues following the deadly attack that killed civilians.
by Faiza Mirza, Dawn, Pakistan - Let’s start this year by curbing our aggression towards weaker beings; paying special attention to animals.
by Helena Smith, The Guardian, UK - For several months a stream of mostly young men and women, fresh off the plane from Greece, has been knocking at the doors of a large building on Lonsdale Street in the heart of Melbourne. The 1940s block houses the headquarters of Australia's biggest Greek community. In scenes reminiscent of the great gold rush at the turn of the 20th century, the men and women have travelled to the other side of the world in search of a better life. Unlike Greeks of old, however, these new émigrés are noticeably accomplished, with hard-earned degrees won in some of the toughest fields.
"They're all university graduates, engineers, architects, mechanics, teachers, bankers who will do anything for work," says Bill Papastergiades, the community's lawyer president. "It's desperate stuff. We're all aghast. Often they'll just turn up with a bag. Their stories are heartbreaking and on every plane there are more," he told the Guardian in a telephone interview. "A lot come here and are literally lost. We've taken to putting them in houses, five or six of them at a time, here in the centre."
The exodus is just one part of the human drama being played out in Greece where Europe's debt crisis began. Since June, Melbourne community leaders say they have been deluged with thousands of letters, emails and telephone calls from Greeks desperate to migrate to a country that, safeguarded from global market turbulence, is now seen as the land of unparalleled opportunity. Read full article on The Guardian
by Huda Sajwani, The National, UAE - This decree will allow Emirati women to make informed decisions about marriage, their children's future and residency in the UAE.
by Beril Dedeoglu, Today's Zaman, Turkey - Is there anyone in France who believes that this law will make Turkey adopt a more humanistic or just stance regarding the Armenian issue or that it will in any way contribute to resolving any major diplomatic issue?
by Linda Heard, Arab News, Saudi Arabia - In the end, we got nothing. No bases, no oil, no consolidation of influence and no respect. All we really leave behind in Iraq is an embassy the size of a small town staffed by up to 17,000 diplomats, military advisers, service personnel and those mercenaries we prefer to call ‘contractors.'
by Isabel Hilton, Guardian, UK - The death of Kim Jong-il recalls Mao's. But China, unlike paranoid North Korea, opted for the path of reform.
by Judi Lembke, The Local, Sweden - Sweden regularly places at or near the top of democracy rankings, enjoying a more or less global reputation for openness, egalitarianism, and transparency, so what’s the problem? What’s the goal?
by Tala Al-Hejailan, Arab News, Saudi Arabia - What chance of a decent life does a child of an unemployed, uneducated, oftentimes severely ill father of 9 or more have to succeed, or even live a barely decent life? The answer will most likely be, not very good.
by Bella English, The Boston Globe, USA - The twin boys were identical in every way but one. Wyatt was a girl to the core, and now lives as one, with the help of a brave, loving family and a path-breaking doctor’s care.
by Alessandra Bravi, Simone Innocenti e Federica Sanna, Corriere della Sera, Italy - “A cowardly attack, the result of ten years of hate, Fascism and racism from one political area”.
by Sudha Ramachandran, Asia Times, Hong Kong - Anger over widespread displacement, lack of basic amenities and poverty in southern Odisha has driven hundreds of tribal youth to join the Maoists, prompting security analysts to describe these districts and entire villages as "pro-Maoist".
by Anne Perkins, The Guardian, UK - From the Durban climate change conference to EU negotiations and Nobel laureates, women are at last growing in prominence.
by Gamze Coskun, Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey - What needs to be done is the encouragement of cooperation between all factions, including Islamists and secularists, instead of stimulating an ideological war which may easily push society toward a dangerous polarization and endanger all the transition and improvement.
by Alexandra Odynova, The Moscow Times, Russia - Saturday's rally in Moscow marked an "amazing," even unprecedented, event for modern Russia. Yet though euphoria was palpable in the air, it came with a tinge of pessimism, fueled by the simple question: "What's next?"
by Kathryn Olmstead, Bangor Daily News, USA - Gerritsen, 56, who with his wife, Megan, and their family has operated Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater since 1976, is on a mission that has put him in the national — and international — spotlight. As president of Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, the trade organization for the organic seed industry, he is the lead plaintiff in a suit to protect growers and consumers of organic foods.
by April Yee, The National, United Arab Emirates - The Middle East is the world's top emitter of carbon dioxide per GDP, according to the International Energy Agency. Dubai hopes to become a hub for carbon credit trading and clean technology financing.
by Karen Howlett, Globe and Mail, Canada - Jamie Hubley wanted to start a Rainbow Club at his high school to provide a safe haven for students who felt like outsiders. Instead, the openly gay Ottawa teen has become a poster child for victims of bullying who resort to taking their own lives.
by Yulia Latynina, Moscow Times, Russia - The authorities did not allow a single real opposition party to participate in the State Duma elections. There was no option for “none of the above.” They stripped the very idea of elections of any meaning.
by Dafna Linzer and Jennifer LaFleur, The Washington Post, USA - Records reveal repeated instances in which white applicants won pardons with transgressions on their records similar to those of blacks and other minorities who were denied.
by Mia Malan, Mail & Guardian, South Africa - In 2006 doctors at an isolated government hospital in the former Transkei took a bold and controversial decision -- they would encourage mothers giving birth at the facility to exclusively breastfeed -- giving their infants nothing to eat or drink other than breast milk -- for the first six months of the babies' lives.
by Helen Caldicott, International Herald Tribune, USA - The commitment to nuclear power as an environmentally safe energy source has also stifled the mass development of alternative technologies that are far cheaper, safer and almost emission free — the future for global energy.
by Zubeida Mustafa, Dawn, Pakistan - It is now widely believed that the root of the evils of militancy and extremism in our society lies in the faulty education system of the country. Textbooks preach hatred and religious prejudice against non-Muslims.
by Rana F. Sweis, The New York Times, USA - For eight years, Nima Habashna has been garnering online support for the rights of Jordanian women to pass on their citizenship to their non-Jordanian spouses and children.
by Bridget Di Certo and Meas Sokchea, The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia - After more than 30 years of waiting, justice begins to take shape today for millions of victims of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.
by Kalpana Sharma, The Hindu, India - The Supreme Court clears the way for women to become In-Flight Supervisors in Air India. Thanks to those women who believed in and fought for equality at the workplace.
by Nicole Pope, Today's Zaman, Turkey - According to the new bill, people above the age of 30 will be able to skip military service by paying TL 30,000... Banks are already lining up with offers to pay the hefty sum by installments, with accrued interests, over a long period. In a country that ranks well below its OECD peers in terms of social equality, the new regulation confirms the opportunity gap that exists between haves and have-nots.
by Mona Anis, Al Ahram, Egypt - Egyptian political forces go to the polls in a fortnight's time as polarised and divided as they have ever been.
by Jana Hensel, Der Freitag, Germany - I can’t not shake the feeling that little more than a very thin line in my CV separates me from the three violent neo-Nazis. They’re about my age. And life in eastern Germany in the mid-nineties was kind of rough, cynical, non-stop, as if the lethargy, the futility and hypocrisy of the eighties in the GDR, together with the disappointments of the reunification period, had found bodily form in us as adolescents.
by Riazat Butt, Guardian, UK - Clothing company says sorry and hastily withdraws Unhate poster featuring Pope Benedict XVI kissing Egyptian imam.
