by Heather Murdock, Voice of America, USA -A man stands on a rocky hillside in southern Yemen, an area known to many local as “al-Janoob al-Harr,” The Free South. He says 15 men once tried to take his gun, after he attacked a security office with a grenade. When he grows up, Madian wants to be a soldier. He hopes the southern rebellion will start soon. Technically, the Yaffa region is well within the boundaries of the arid Arabian country, but the Yemeni government does not rule this area. It is controlled by a network of sheiks, and the Southern Movement.

by Emilly C. Maractho, The Daily Monitor, Uganda - We can’t afford complacency. In fact, more action is needed to consolidate gains and address challenges faced by women in leadership. I remember my leadership experiences with nostalgia; the gossip, sacrifices, sheer malice and damaged reputation. Is it worth it? There are exceptional women leaders who transcend these limitations, but many buckle under pressure from greater expectations, voter hostility, little trust in their capabilities even by institutional establishments or fellow women, limited skills in governance, high moral standards, triple roles, and inexperience in managing success. These are compounded by cultural, social and economic challenges.

by Ceylan Yeğinsu, Hürriyet, Turkey - Good scores in education, literacy and enrollment are not enough to offset the burden of too few Turkish women in politics as Turkey slips again in a global index on gender equality.

by Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post, USA - Any homeland security provided by the war is significantly undermined by the anger and resentment -- and armed resistance -- of our Central and South Asian hosts.

by Rosebell Kagumire & Maya Prabhu, The Independent, Uganda - The sprawling Nakivale Refugee Settlement in south-western Uganda is home to over 50,000 asylum-seekers and refugees. At one time it represented a testament to Uganda’s reputation as one of the most refugee-friendly countries in Africa. But recent events threaten to erode this reputation.

by Hatice Ahsen Utku, Today's Zaman, Turkey - Twenty-two photographers from Turkey visited Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and are now sharing their impressions and observations in the exhibit. The artwork, on display until Aug. 20, includes photographs by the following artists: Abdurrahman Koçak, Armağan Karagöz, Arzu Yavuz, Aslı İzveren, Çağıl Günalp, Elif Yılmaz, Fatih Mazi, Gökhan Erol, Güliz Akkaya, Hakkı Ceylan, İdris Esen, İsmi Durmuş, Nadir Özsoy, Nergis Güler, Ömer Zafer Göktürk, Selen Bozoklu, Selma Arslan, Sinan Yeşilyurt, Tijen Erol Özerdağ, Tijen Sadi, Vedat Şentürk and Zehra Arslan.

by Vinita Bharadwaj, National, United Arab Emirates - While relations between their countries may be at an all-time low, Indians and Pakistanis who marry each other often find extended family ties confound their nations’ mutual hostility.

by Emily Badger, Miller-McCune, USA - Merely protecting America's fossil fuel lifeline adds a heap to the greenhouse gases that petroleum ultimately contributes.

by Gil Shefler, Jerusalem Post, Israel - What’s the single most important issue affecting the Jews of France, Europe’s biggest Jewish community and the third largest in the world?

by Karen J. Coates, GlobalPost, USA -.The International Convention on Cluster Munitions, prohibiting all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of such weapons, comes into effect on Aug. 1. Villagers in Laos, meantime, continue to find creative ways to use scrap metal from these deadly munitions as part of their everyday lives.

by Mandy de Waal, The Daily Maverick, South Africa - As LiveAid marks 25 years comes news that a movie will be made about Sir Bob Geldof, the man who made “kwashiorkor kid” the poster child for Africa, reducing a diverse continent into a terrifyingly simple cliché. It’s touted as a film about a man who could “think the unthinkable and achieve the seemingly impossible".

by Marjorie Cohn, Common Dreams, USA - Bush’s war of choice in Iraq has caused 4,413 American deaths. Iraq Body Count estimates that between 97,110 and 105,956 Iraqi civilians have been killed. Untold numbers have been seriously wounded. By September, we will have spent nearly $750 billion on this war and occupation.

by Linda Diebel, The Star, Canada - ‘Historic’ chance to ease human suffering, says Canadian activist.

by Gaelle Bausson, UNICEF, Niger - A child is given a slice of mango and is asked to commit murder in return. Another admits to killing 800 people while flying with other witches on a piece of tree bark. The ‘confessions’ are dangerous and highly revealing.

by Naomi Chazan, Ha'aretz, Israel - More than $200 million from private American donors has been transferred over the last decade to Israeli organizations involved in settlement-building, large and small, including several illegal outposts.

by Louisa Lim, NPR, USA - China has an estimated 21 million Muslims, who have developed their own set of Islamic practices with Chinese characteristics. The biggest difference is the development of independent women's mosques with female imams, something scholars who have researched the issue say is unique to China.

by Marina Mahathir, The Star, Malaysia - We do need to look at justice with a gender perspective. It is always women who suffer, both from injustice and society’s blindness towards it.

by Rebecca Weisser, The Australian, Australia - Ayaan Hirsi Ali has called for a radical change in the way refugees should be assessed.

by Basma Mohammed, Gulf Daily News, Bahrain - BAHRAINI women are losing battles in court due to a lack of awareness of their rights, according to a leading social worker.
Their ignorance about Sharia law often allows cases to be ruled in favour of their husbands, said Bahrain Women Union (BWU) family counsellor Hanan Abdulla.Ms Abdulla is trying to turn the situation around working at the BWU's legal department to give women advice and counselling on domestic cases.

by Esther Bijlo, Trouw, The Netherlands- Forests are often cut down to make room for biofuel production, which is why it can hardly be termed a “sustainable” energy source. In an effort to remedy the situation, the European Commission this week announced a new certification scheme for “real” sustainable biofuels. But does this new approach in Brussels really address the problem of the unsustainability of biofuels?