by Nasrin Alavi, openDemocracy, UK - Tehran’s ruling elite proclaims Iran’s revolutionary experience as the inspiration for the Arab insurrections, yet seeks to crush demonstrators at home. Iran’s citizens can see through the lies.

by Judith Matloff, Columbia Journalism Review, USA - Women have risen to the top of war and foreign reportage. They run bureaus in dodgy places and do jobs that are just as dangerous as those that men do. But there is one area where they differ from the boys - sexual harassment and rape.

by Kasha Jacqueline, Pambazuka, Kenya - In January, a judge ruled in favour of a group of gay individuals stating that all Ugandans, regardless of their sexual orientation, have a right to privacy and dignity.

by Sofía Jarrín, Upside Down World, Canada - The residents of Sucumbios spent the last 18 years seeking justice for the environmental damages suffered in their territories by Texaco’s oil exploration. These are mostly indigenous people who before the oil company moved in, were hunters, gatherers, subsistence farmers who depended on the rivers as their main water source.

by Katharina Peters, Spiegel, Germany - As the tiny Mediterranean island of Lampedusa struggles with another influx of refugees, its inhabitants are torn about how they should respond. While some only see problems for their safety and livelihood, others are doing all they can to provide comfort to the less fortunate. But everyone fears they may soon reach their limit.

by Amy Goodman, Truthdig, USA - President Barack Obama unleashed his proposed 2012 budget this week, pronouncing, proudly: “I’ve called for a freeze on annual domestic spending over the next five years." Focus on the word “freeze.” That is exactly what many people might do, if this budget passes as proposed.

by Caroline Alexander and Mariam Fam, Bloomberg, UK - Fatma Emam’s mother accused her of wanting to be a man and threatened to disown her if the 28-year- old joined the protests in Tahrir Square. She went anyway.

by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - Opposition to Muammar Gaddafi was inconceivable in Libya for four decades. But that was before the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings embraced the power of the Internet. Now Libyans are hoping their revolution will also be tweeted.

by Cecily Hilleary, Voice of America, USA - The Society of Muslim Brothers is Egypt’s largest and most well-organized group. Its activities are divided between social services, political advocacy and religious reform. The Society is admired by some, feared by others and, now that Hosni Mubarak has resigned the Egyptian presidency, analysts will be taking a closer look at the hitherto banned organization and seeking to understand its political agenda.

by Valentina Pop, EU Observer, Belgium - "MEPs seem more concerned with the rights of child pornographers than they do with the rights of children who have been sexually abused to make their foul, illegal images."

by Jo Fahy, World Radio Switzerland, Switzerland - How to make chemistry cool for kids, so that some of them decide to make it a career? The International Year of Chemistry aims to promote the science by highlighting the surprises and discoveries that can unfold from studying it.

by Snehlata Shrivastav, Times of India, India - "It is shameful that India, one of the fastest growing economies, is amongst the five countries with worst maternal mortality rate at 250-300 per lakh."

By Michelle Shephard, Toronto Star, Canada – The face of Yemen's revolution is lightly powdered and framed by a baby-blue hijab. Tawakul Karman is not the image that comes to mind when thinking of Yemen, a poor and unstable Arab nation of nearly 24 million, and a country whose name is most often associated these days with Al Qaeda.

by Suheir Hammad, TED, USA - "Do not fear what has blown up. If you must, fear the unexploded."

by Opheera McDoom, Reuters, UK - Egypt's protesters should take care that the army and the political parties do not hijack their successful overthrow of Hosni Mubarak and they should not rush to the polls, leaders of Sudan's intifada of the 1980s said.

by Irene !Hoaës, New Era, Namibia - Namibia is experiencing a feminisation of HIV/AIDS as women account for three out of every four new infections.

by Ellen Brown, Global Research, Canada - Underlying the sudden, volatile uprising in Egypt and Tunisia is a growing global crisis sparked by soaring food prices and unemployment.

by Ellie Dyer, Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia - “Asia is the future for all of us. Everybody knows why and everybody is adjusting their business practices accordingly."

by Siobhán Dowling, Spiegel, Germany - As well as a woman chancellor, Germany will soon have a third female state governor, and two other women are also in the running for regional power this year. Is the country shedding its male-dominated political culture, and are women better suited to the new political challenges?

by Amy Lieberman, Christian Science Monitor, USA - Emerging federal policy allows asylum-seekers to request US sanctuary on grounds they are fleeing domestic violence. Humane, or an immigration floodgate?

by Claudia Costa, European Journalism Centre, Netherlands - Beyond the purely humanistic benefits the Internet can bring to mankind, the Vatican may have found a new, powerful tool to carry out a modern “crusade”, or evangelization mission, as the Catholic creed can now reach people all over the world without missionaries being sent to remote countries.

by Jennifer Thorpe, Mail & Guardian, South Africa - With estimates as low as one in nine women reporting rape, the trauma caused by making their identity known will only add to the overwhelming disincentive to report the rape or lead them to drop the charges.

by Christine Oliver, Guardian, UK - From food to flowers - cut down on your environmental impact this Valentine's day with our green gift ideas.

by Danna Harman, Ha'aretz, Israel - As his country begins the countdown to independence, legendary South Sudanese commander Gen. Joseph Lagu talks about days gone by, and of his people's secret ties with Israel.

In each country he used a different code name: He went by Charles as he traveled by road to Uganda and onto Congo; switched to Nathan as he flew to Rome; and then became Leonard when he picked up his fake passport and traveled to the Comoros Islands. It was only three weeks after setting out from dusty Juba, South Sudan - when he finally landed at his destination - that he heard his real name spoken out loud. "Welcome, Gen. Joseph Lagu," the Israeli officers receiving him at Ben-Gurion International Airport said. "We have been waiting for you."

by Domitila Mwangi, East African, Kenya - Arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings have characterised Kagame’s rule in the past decade; the severity of abuses accelerates during election periods.

by Kate Troll, Juneau Empire, USA - Does freedom mean I have the right to pass on my health care costs to others because I’ve decided to use the emergency room as my doctor’s office? If I can’t buy an assault weapon or avoid a background check through an unlicensed gun vendor, does that mean my freedom to bear arms is being stepped on? As you can see, I can become confused by what “freedom” really means in America. Or what “take our country back” means. From whom? We have no Mubarak to oppose.

by Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, New York Times, USA - The films nominated for best-picture Oscars this year are like most films released in the United States in 2010: very white.