by Lucia Newman, Alfazeera, Qatar - A high-stakes legal battle between the world's second-largest oil company and the residents of Ecuador's Amazon region is heating up.

by Nomi Prins, The Daily Beast, USA - President Obama would do well to heed the notion of being true to Main Street economic conditions, rather than risk losing the next election by overlooking them.

by Rory McCarthy, Guardian.co.uk, England- There is nothing ordinary about this advocacy campaign for a large UN institution. The lights dim before a packed audience and a slideshow begins.

by Hilary Mann-Leverett, Foreign Policy, USA - Direct US-Iranian negotiations in Geneva and Vienna this month over Iran's nuclear program demonstrate something very positive about the prospects for U.S. diplomacy with Iran.

by Ellen Goodman, State Journal-Register, USA - The women’s movement never promised us a rose garden or a warm bath of contentment. It offered a new way to understand the world, a lens on injustice and a tool to use in the pursuit of happiness. It’s a work in progress.

by Sanitsuda Ekachai, Bangkok Post, Thailand - Ask any transsexual in Thailand what happened to him on military conscription day, and he will painfully tell you how he had to bear with humiliation, ridicule, and - quite often - sexual harassment.

by Dr. Judith Rich, Huffington Post, USA - While much criticism has been leveled at the Nobel committee's selection of our president as the recipient of this award, I think the committee's award choice was intended to serve a larger purpose than just the acknowledgment of a single human's efforts. Obama has a golden opportunity to take a huge step in that direction by issuing an executive order establishing a Department of Peace with a cabinet level Secretary of Peace as its head, and perhaps even by appointing a female as our peacemaker-in-chief.

by Christina Lamb, The Spectator, UK - Since the war on terror began, Christina Lamb has believed that the answer in Afghanistan was to send more soldiers. Now, after eight years of fighting and no end in sight, she has changed her mind. Victory is not an option.

by Frida Ghitas, Democrat and Chronicle, USA - A trip to the Palestinian town of Ramallah can shatter preconceptions and compel the mind to dream about the possibilities of peace — and then awaken to the cold realities of a complicated conflict.

by Carol Goar, The Star, Canada - Ontarians are stepping forward to offer their thoughts on the groundbreaking 10-year mental health strategy unveiled by former provincial health minister David Caplan last summer.

by Jewelles Smith, Women's Media Center, USA - Seeking new employment, always a challenge for someone in my situation, is almost impossible during a recession.

by Mona Eltahawy, Malaysia Today, Malaysia - During the recent U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman painted a picture of Malaysia that many like to see -- a multiethnic mosaic of religions, races and beliefs. Yet the same day that Aman extolled the virtues of one Malaysia for all, a judge's ruling back home conveyed an image of the Southeast Asian nation with a two-track justice system that unfairly punishes Muslims.

by Kari Lydersen, Working In These Times, USA - Native American lands in the west – from the Dakotas to Arizona – are sometimes referred to as the Saudi Arabia of solar and wind potential. Some Native American groups have been vocal proponents of developing wind and solar resources on tribal land, both for local use and export to the grid.

by Heidi Elisabeth Sandnes, Kilden Information Centre for Gender Research, Norway - The health services, police and judicial system in Russia tend not to understand that women need protection against violence within the home. But Russian crisis centres have become quite adept at manoeuvring within the system to help women who are victims of domestic violence, says political scientist Kirsti Stuvøy.

by Shakeela Abrahimkhil, Quqnoos, Afghanistan - Dr Abdullah has said on Monday that the head of Afghanistan’s election body should be replaced ahead of the run-off election.

by Jayshree Bajoria, Council on Foreign Relations, USA - CFR International Affairs Fellow Kara C. McDonald says she is skeptical that this tactical shift in U.S. policy will help achieve its goal of a democratic Myanmar that respects human rights, releases all its political prisoners, and ends conflict with its ethnic minorities.

by Sudeshna Sarkar, Trak.in, India - Concerned at the spurt in the smuggling of rare animal organs and skins to China and India via Nepal, the coalition government of Nepal is pressing China to sign an agreement in a bid to jointly man the common border and curb the menace. China, which farms tigers for commercial use, is also the world’s biggest consumer of tiger organs, which are believed by the Chinese to have medicinal and aphrodisiac powers.

by Mona Moussly, Al Arabiya News Channel, United Arab Emirates - Two weeks before American superstar Beyonce Knowles is scheduled to hold her first ever concert in Egypt, an Islamist MP publically blasted the government for accepting to host the event and accused the government of violating Sharia law.

by Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, USA - Assessing a young presidency. Barack Obama campaigned as a populist firebrand but governs like a cerebral consensus builder. The founding fathers wouldn't have it any other way.

by Joanne Lipman, The New York Times, USA - FINALLY! I hear we’re all living in a women’s world now. For the first time, women make up half the work force.