by Shailja Patel, Pambazuka News, Kenya - The lessons of how Kenya was pulled back from the brink of anarchy are vital for the rest of the continent. They highlight the unsung importance of skilled civil society professionals doing their jobs and doing them excellently.

by Chloe Arnold, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Outside the editorial offices of "Novaya gazeta" in central Moscow, someone has laid two red roses. There is no note beside them, and they have already begun to wither on their dirty patch of snow.

by Erica Gies, Daily Comet, USA - Many Americans -- spurred by the need to save money and energy or to create a healthier indoor environment -- are incorporating green building concepts into existing homes and businesses, either through small upgrades or major renovations.

by Elisabeth Rosenthal, International Herald Tribune, France - The land where Marta Ortega de Wing raised hundreds of pigs until 10 years ago is being overtaken by galloping jungle — palms, lizards and ant

by Leela Menon, News Blaze, India - The recent Supreme Court directive to constitute a committee to control polygamy among the Muslim community and to restrain the indiscriminate use of the provision of 'talaq' (Islamic term for divorce) as practiced by a certain Muslim sect has sent shock waves through the community in Kerala.

by Faiza Mushtaq, Dawn, Pakistan - What will we learn from participating in a well-organised international movement that can help us develop similar campaigns at home?

by Jane Nafula, Daily Monitor, Uganda - The oil from cartridges thrown away in one year would cover over 24,000 miles on land. A significant part of the cartridges are also made of plastics and it is estimated that 4 per cent of oil produced annually across the globe is used as a raw material for production of plastics.

by Louise Fréchette, Globe & Mail, Canada - Will Barack Obama put the UN back on the rails?

by Caroline Cooper, Janera, USA - Every year, hundreds of thousands—or perhaps millions—of girls and women are trafficked into sex slavery.

by Mary Kimani, Public Agenda, Ghana - The Pankop group, which now has 300 members, started with the humble goal of growing fruit collectively and using the proceeds to supplement family diets, raise incomes and pay school tuition fees.

by Kim McLaughlin and Kristin Arna Bragadottir, Reuters, UK - Their economy is in ruins and their government has collapsed, but Icelanders see a rare opportunity in all the misfortune: a chance to overhaul how business is done on the volcanic island.

by Irina Novakova, openDemocracy, UK - Bulgaria's energy dispute with Russia is a bitter reminder of the country's long and costly dependence on a partner it can neither love nor leave.

by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, USA - President Obama has lifted the Global Gag Rule that banned US funding for any international healthcare organizations that perform abortions or advocate for the legalization of abortion.

by Rasha Al Qahtani, Gulf Daily News, Bahrain - A new call for a Family Law has gone out following allegations that Bahraini husbands are allegedly extorting money from wives who file for divorce, who don't even have the money to feed their families.

by Siobhán Dowling, Der Spiegel, Germany - The Vatican's decison to lift the excommunication of a bishop who denies that the Holocaust took place has angered Jews across the world. German papers on Monday argue that the pope is ruining decades of work aimed at improving relations between Jews and Catholics.

by Lisa Leff, Common Dreams, USA - Gay rights activists are weighing the wisdom of rushing in front of voters a repeal of the state ballot measure that banned gay marriage.

by Sara Miller Llana, Christian Science Monitor, USA - A new constitution approved handily Sunday also risks dividing the nation.

by Bhumika Ghimire, UPI Asia, Hong Kong - Poverty mixed with centuries-old practices and religious dogma mean that a daughter’s education, health and general well being are not a priority. According to a report by the U.N. humanitarian news agency, IRIN, girls as young as eight are being married off in Tharu villages in the Terai region.

by Nazanin Lankarani, International Herald Tribune, France - Iran, internationally isolated since the 1979 revolution, has recently started to open to the world through the work of contemporary artists, some in exile, who are helping to reshape perceptions of their country while forging their own identities.

by Natalie Ondiak, Guardian, UK - Thousands of US-affiliated Iraqis lie in harm's way. Barack Obama must make arrangements to airlift them to safety.

by Haru Mutasa, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Zimbabwe, mired in disease and hunger, inflation beyond calculation and political crisis, keeps on spiraling downward.

by Beena Sarwar, Inter Press Service, Italy - As high-profile delegations from Pakistan visit India after the launch of a month-long cross-border signature campaign to press for resumption of dialogue between the two countries and call for peace, IPS interviewed three Pakistani women who are pushing this agenda in their own unorthodox ways.

by Tamsin Carlisle, The National, United Arab Emirates - Despite slowing international investment, the leaders of a number of energy exporting countries have put oil industry nationalisation back on their agendas.

by Kathryn Joyce, Religion Dispatches, USA - Although Rick Warren’s Saddleback church teaches women that physical abuse is not grounds for divorce, there is a growing literature for evangelical women—by their peers—that shows women how to get out of an abusive marriage, while remaining in the church.