by Tala al Ramahi, The National, United Arab Emirates - What started out as a small discussion group in their living rooms and the local Starbucks has turned into a diverse public forum on the pressing issues of the day: human trafficking, expat integration and the economic crisis.

by Irene Nabusoba, New Vision, Uganda - In Uganda, the uptake of modern contraceptive methods for family planning is still low. The 2007 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) shows that the contraceptive prevalence rate was 24%, with only 18% women using modern contraceptives.

by Mona Eltahawy, New York Times, USA - I am a Muslim, I am a feminist and I detest the full-body veil, known as a niqab or burqa.

by Hannah Roberts, The Times, UK - Sri Lankan authorities appear to be building permanent camps to house many of the 300,000 refugees from the last phase of the war with the Tamil Tiger rebels, despite promising to resettle 80 per cent of them by the end of the year.

by Yolandi Groenewald & Lynley Donnelly, Mail & Guardian, South Africa - Scientists and environmentalists are worried that burgeoning coal mining in the Waterberg might not be sustainable -- or ecologically desirable -- with the little water available in the region already exploited to the limit.

by Emily Spence, Counter Currents, India - Recently, an American Civil Liberties Union report pointed out, "Anti-terrorism training materials currently being used by the Department of Defense (DoD) teach its personnel that free expression in the form of public protests should be regarded as ‘low level terrorism’.”

by Josie Ensor, Daily Star, Lebanon - For hundreds of years the intoxicating tobacco haze of Turkey's water pipes has filled its air, making up part of the cultural landscape as much as the country's Blue Mosque or Grand Bazaar.

by Margaret Stoner, Jerusalem Post, Israel - Jewish leadership is beginning to show a softer, more feminine face, with women flocking to the pulpit and much of the Jewish world becoming more comfortable with the notion of female religious leaders.

by Eve Ensler, Washington Post, USA - The women of eastern Congo are enduring their 12th year of sexual terrorism. The girl children born of rape are now being raped. What will it take for the United Nations to finally do something meaningful to stop the violence?

by Limor Gal, Haaretz, Israel - Most women who opt for unassisted birth consider hospitals to be dangerous places, where they are liable to suffer iatrogenic damage - negative health effects stemming from medical treatment.

by Petra Bornhöft, Spiegel, Germany - Ever since the German presidential election result was posted on Twitter before being announced officially there has been growing concern that the September election could be influenced by leaked exit polls. Politicians and opinion pollsters are demanding pledges of secrecy and there are even calls to ban exit polls altogether.

by Jodie Evans, Common Dreams, USA - Not long after the statue of Saddam fell in Firdos Square, several CODEPINK women and I returned to Iraq.

by Mercedes Sayagues, Gender Masala, Italy - Worldwide, women earn less than men. The gender pay gap ranges from three per cent in Malta to 51 percent in Georgia, with a world average of 17 percent, and the gap is higher in the private sector, says Unifem.

by Maria Gunnoe, Common Dreams, USA - The impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on water quality in Appalachia.

by Dalia Haj-Omar, Sudan Tribune, France - What is happening in Iran is a window of opportunity for Sudanese civil society to show that it is part of a global movement that has universal values and aspirations. It is also a chance to start a renewed, creative, realistic and inclusive dialogue on peaceful democratic transformation.

by Thelma Mejía, IPS, Italy - Sunday’s coup d’etat shows that in Honduras, democracy - which was restored in 1982 - is still hemmed in by the military’s alliance with the economic and political powers-that-be, according to local analysts.

by Carole Bass, E Magazine, USA - How nanoparticles are changing everything from our sunscreen to our supplements.

by Nicole Johnston, Al Jazeera, Qatar - With proven oil reserves of around 112 billion barrels and up to another 150 billion barrels of probable reserves, Iraq is the greatest untapped prize for international oil companies.

by Joyce Mulama, East African, Kenya - Two years ago, a United Nations Population Fund report said: “Men usually decide on the number and variety of sexual relationships, timing and frequency of sex and use of contraceptives, sometimes through coercion or violence”.

by Joan Baxter, Chronicle Herald, Canada - Around the world, private investors and multinational mining, automotive, agrochemical and seed corporations are scouting out and taking over vast tracts of farmland, many in African countries that are still struggling to feed themselves.

by Latoya Peterson, Women's Media Center, USA - With reporting opportunities strictly limited in Iran, images carry the narrative, many of them focusing on young, attractive women.