by Deika Morrison, Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - It is now May, Child Month, and the National Child Month Committee has told us that we should celebrate children under the theme 'Jamaica 50: Celebrate Our Children'.

by Xenia Kounalaki, Der Spiegel, Germany - Greek far-right parties could end up with as much as 20 percent of the vote in Sunday's elections. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party has intensified the xenophobic atmosphere in the country. Those who confront them are threatened with violence.

by Marina Sitrin, Yes!, USA - We are now again a part of the rest of the globe, where May Day is a day to celebrate our power—people's power, that of workers, precarious and unionized, immigrants and migrants, radicals of all sorts, from the anarchist to the democratic socialist.

by Cassady Walters, JO, Jordan - The Sharhabil Bin Hassneh eco-park was an ecological mess when Friends of the Earth Middle East began work on it in 2004. Now it’s a template for proper restoration of the Kingdom’s misused land.

by Ayesha Shahid, Dawn, Pakistan - Torture remains at the centre of the criminal justice system. Today, ‘investigation’, ‘remand’ and ‘evidence’ are all terms that have become synonymous with torture. And as long as this practice remains at the centre, the system will remain ineffective.

by Andie Fox, Daily Life, Australia - It is possible for a mother to disguise her family priorities sufficiently to climb the ladder to that height? And importantly, it is possible to run a company worth $100 billion while still leaving in time for dinner?

by Daisy Sindelar, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Quick! Is the measure of a woman down to how she looks, or what she knows?

by Susan Montoya Bryan, Native American Times, USA - With tens of millions of acres held in trust for tribes, experts say Indian Country has the potential to supply more than four times the nation’s electricity needs with solar. Wind resources blowing across tribal lands could meet another 14 percent of the need.

by Reem M. Asaad, Arab News, Saudi Arabia - In Saudi, the most important aspect of woman participation in public life and economic sphere remains to be … modesty. Her modesty determines whether she is a “fit” Saudi woman or a “model Saudi woman” (i.e. representative of her fellow Saudi women).

by Lady Gomez, Venezuela Analysis, Venezuela - For Alba Carosio, member of the Feminist Spider Network, the labour rights gained are a tool for dissembling patriarchal society, which is dedicated to the exploitation of workers’ labour and discrimination against women. “Work cannot be against the family, nor vice versa,” she said.

by Amy Goodman, Democracy NOW!, USA - “People all over the country are talking about May Day as our day, whether you want to call it 'workers’ holiday' or 'immigrant rights' or 'the 99 percent,'’ says Martina Sitrin, who notes Occupy activists hope to use May Day as a way to also build solidarity with the student movement and non-unionized workers as well. "This year is an important year to revive the struggle for immigrants in the wake of a million of our people being deported," adds Teresa Guitierrez.

by Smita Mitra, Outlook India, India - Couples from countries across the world—chiefly Islamic countries and Africa—are seeking babies in Indian clinics.

by Katharina Iskandar, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany - With the promise of jobs and income, more and more Bulgarians are being lured to Germany. There, however, they run into race-to-the-bottom wages and illegal accommodation. Frankfurt has become the centre of the so-called “Bulgarian industry”.

By Fabíola Ortiz, IPS, Italy- In the green belt of market gardens that feeds the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, women farmers are learning environmentally friendly techniques in response to extreme weather events and their effects on the land.

by Hannah McNeish, Mail & Guardian, South Africa - "You see -- if there is oil here, Bashir comes, if there is oil there, he goes that way. You see? This will go on and on," until Khartoum sees the South as a real country with sovereign resources, he says.

by Jessica Mann, The Guardian, UK - Like most of her 60s peers, Jessica Mann was a full-time mother and housewife – and resented it. So why do younger women yearn to turn back the clock?

by Vercihan Ziflioğlu, Hurriyet, Turkey - An Armenian community that was forced to vacate their villages in the southeastern province of Batman 25 years ago due to politically motivated violence in the region has mounted a legal battle to retrieve disputed land.

by Afiya Shehrbano Zia, OpenDemocracy, UK- Pakistan's Domestic Violence Bill has become the latest fatality in the barter between women's rights, NATO, and issues of national security.