by Frances Robles, Miami Herald, USA - A Cuban officer killed in an attempted hijacking when three draftees went AWOL was laid to rest with full military honors.

by Msia Kibona Clark, AllAfrica.com - Bamako, a film set in that city, is a complex and ingenious production dealing with Africa's relationship with the West.

by Sara Minogue, Globe and Mail, Canada - I was happy to be back in chaos-free Canada after many months in Africa. Then the sounds of intimate dysfunction started.

by Patricia Chargot, Detroit Free Press, USA - Nasioi women traditionally were treated with respect by men and had similar rights.

by Colleen Lowe Morna, Afrol News, South Africa -

by Rafaela von Bredow, Spiegel International, Germany - Mysterious facial cancer threatens symbol of Tasmania.

by Susanna Niinivaara, Helsinki Sanomat, Finland - I responded with some surprise, questioning whether it was somehow dangerous for a Finnish newspaper reporter to be in Russia.

by Galina Stolyarova, The St Petersburg Times, Russia - Kremlin’s chilling rhetoric against Estonia continues to grow following the removal of a Soviet-era World War II memorial in Estonia.

by Joyce Mulama, IPS News, Kenya - Journalists in Mogadishu receive death threats and are forced to work undercover. Others have fled to neighboring Kenya.

by Sierra Millman, The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA - The amount of corn it would take to fill the 25-gallon tank of an SUV with pure ethanol - 450 pounds - contains enough calories to feed a person for a year.

by Ros Taylor, Guardian Unlimited News Blog, UK - In the TV debate, Sarkozy mocked Royal and was so sure of himself that he even gave up some of his allocated speaking time to her.

by Hasna Al-Quna'ir, Fatima Al-Faqih and Maha Al-Hujailan, MEMRI - Saudi women columnists have recently spoken out against the oppression of women in their country.

by Katrin Bennhold and Doreen Carvajal, International Herald Tribune, France - 20 million Frenchmen tuned in to the first presidential debate.

by Evelyn Leopold, Turkish Daily News, Turkey - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the exhibit in commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, in which 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by militant Hutus.

by Beril Dedeoglu, Today's Zaman, Turkey - It’s not easy for foreigners to understand what is going on in Turkey.

by Swanee Hunt, Foreign Affairs, USA - Significant barriers stand in the way of more women assuming positions of political leadership, not least women's own attitudes.

by Christine Ockrent, France24, France - Press freedom in the world and how it is used in France.

by Anna Smolchenko, The Moscow Times, Russia - Estonia accuses Duma of meddling. Gatherings of more than three people and alcohol has been banned.

by Lisa Clifford, International War and Peace Reporting, Holland - Will Khartoum ever cooperate? Will the warrants simply gather dust?

by Nikoleta Popkostadinova, Transitions Online, Bulgaria - Cash-starved and hopelessly out of date, Bulgaria’s universities need reconstructive surgery.

by Zoe Williams, The Guardian, UK - The reporter who blew open Watergate is part of a misogynist conspiracy against Hillary Clinton.

by Becky Hogge, Open Democracy, UK - If politicians really want to reach voters via the internet, argues Becky Hogge, they need to exploit the best features of the new communications environment.

by Tichaona Sibanda, SW Radio Africa, Zimbabwe - Growing tide of refugees' raises uncomfortable questions for South Africa which refused to criticise Robert Mugabe.

by Jill Lawless, canada.com, Canada - These are trying times for Tony Blair. Literally so, on the stage of a London theatre.

by Ruth Sinai, Haaretz, Israel - Refugees from Darfur are being hosted at Kibbutz Sde Boker.

by Gayane Abrahamyan, ArmeniaNow, Armenia - The parliamentary election campaign in Armenia was marked by allegations of dirty tricks after it emerged that the National Security Service apparently taps the conversations of politicians and diplomats.

by Dalya Alberge, The Times, UK - It is rumoured that one Arab sheikh recently paid £1 billion for a collection of the artist’s work.

by Amy Musgrave, Business Day, South Africa - Thabo Mbeki is facing increasing pressure to support policies aimed at bringing black people into the mainstream economy.

by Fatma Disli, Today's Zaman, Turkey -

by Katina Wong, Caijing Magazine, China - Google has faced negative media reports and troubles ever since it entered China two years ago.

by Gail Edmondson, Speigel International, Germany - Continental carmakers are testing a variety of biofuel alternatives as well as engine technologies that reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.

by Emmy Allio, The New Vision, Uganda - Report from Ugandan General Katumba in Mogadishu now that the violence in Mogadishu has stopped.

by Oksana Chelysheva, OpenDemocracy, UK - The list of Kremlin critics who have died, been imprisoned or forced into exile continues to grow.

by Victoria Cook, The Korea Herald, South Korea -