by Sarah Mousa, Al Jazeera, Qatar - While the presidential election may not be held in perfect conditions, the poll was unthinkable just over a year ago.

by Hilal Elver, Al Jazeera, Qatar - The issue focused on women in the Middle East, Russia and China - but completely ignored gender problems in the West.

by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - If Nicolas Sarkozy is the hyperactive hare in the Aesop legend, France’s incoming president, François Hollande, is the proverbial tortoise. History has shown that slow and steady wins the race.

by Yuriko Koike, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Despite new leadership, the country is still being run based on principles set out by Kim Jong-Il and his father.

by Sarah Leduc, France 24, France - Far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen obtained a surprising 18% of the vote in the first-round of France’s presidential election Sunday night. But who will those votes go to in the second round?

by Ségolène Allemandou, France 24, France - Formerly a topic of national debate and a key issue in France’s 2007 presidential elections, the country’s neglected suburbs appear to have been all but forgotten this time around.

by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - A military coup followed by a rebel advance, capped by crippling economic sanctions have combined to make Mali an ideal abode for Islamist militants of varying stripes.

by Frida Ghitis, CNN, USA - It's a good bet that just as Europe has come up against the reality that deficits cannot grow forever, so too will America. Investors, who have taken losses in the European debacle, will start looking at America's books, questioning its solvency, and demanding change.

by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - The recent attacks by Toulouse gunman Mohamed Merah have put the spotlight on the threat of French Islamist terrorism. But how widespread is the phenomenon of French-born jihadists and why have they not risen up the terror ranks?

by Tendai Marima, Al Jazeera, Qatar - A liquidity crisis in the southern African country highlights the urgent need for banking and regulatory reforms.

by Lisa Fletcher, Al Jazeera, Qatar - As Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras combat drug gangs we ask if US addiction is serving to nourish the cocaine trade.

by Sophie Pilgrim, France 24, France - Célia is a 22-year-old biology student at the Sorbonne, Paris. She hopes to work in research once she graduates in 2013. That is, if she manages to find a job and move out of her parents’ house before she reaches 30…

by Mariana Sanchez, Al Jazeera, Qatar - The state of prisons in Peru is so bad that the government there has declared a state of emergency. Jail populations have increased almost 50 per cent in the past five years and violence and corruption are also urgent issues.

by Ilka Franzmann, Al Jazeera, Qatar - In the Brazilian Amazon, environmentalists, scientists and politicians are facing one of the most difficult challenges of our time. If the earth's lungs collapse, the planet itself will collapse.

by Alexandra Renard, France 24, France - Reporting from the western Syrian city of Al-Qusayr near Homs, FRANCE 24’s reporters find a city terrorised by snipers in the second part of our exclusive coverage from inside Syria.

by Sarah Leduc, France 24, France - As the world marks International Women’s Day on Thursday, many Tunisian women fear they are losing the gains obtained before and during the revolution of January 2011. But some of them are not ready to give up.

by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - When he finally became Senegal’s president after four unsuccessful bids, Abdoulaye Wade was a symbol of democracy. But over the past 12 years he has been steadily chipping away at that badge of honour.

by Sarmila Bose, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Polling data shows that many people - from Libya to South Asia - are wary of democratic systems.

by Gaëlle Le Roux, France 24, France - Life in Athens is returning to normal after weekend riots in protest of a new austerity package. But the anger of the people has not subsided.

by Veronica Pedrosa, Al Jazeera, Qatara - Multi-billion-dollar racket in endangered tigers proves resilient in the face of police raids on slaughterhouses.

by Valérie Labonne, France 24, France - With the rise in fixed expenses such as rent, public transport, electricity and healthcare, French people on small salaries are having difficulty making ends meet. Twelve to fifteen million of them, who live just above the poverty line of 954 euros per month, are struggling by the end of the month.

by Najla Abdurrahman, Al Jazeera, Qatar - The killing of Mostafa Ahamdi Roshan is a prime example of the impunity characteristic of US foreign policy.

by Catherine Soi, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Six months since famine was declared in Somalia, the Puntland region is struggling to cope with an influx of refugees.

by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - Two years ago, Nigerian security officials thought they had killed Imam Abubakar Shekau. But the leader of the Boko Haram Islamist group is alive and has released a new video threatening the Nigerian state.

by Charlotte Boitiaux, France 24, France - Less than six months ahead of the presidential and legislative elections, France’s far-right National Front is on a mission to gain respectability among the Jewish electorate despite its traditionally anti-Jewish stance.

by Jillian York, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Motivations for arresting bloggers differ between countries but the goal is always to silence "threatening" voices.

by Laura Kyle, Al Jazeera, Qatar - North Korean leader was as revered inside the "Hermit Kingdom" as he was reviled abroad.

by Prena Suri, Al Jazeera, Qatar - As world leaders debate solutions at the UN climate change conference in Durban, a college in the Indian state of Rajasthan is teaching communities how to harness solar energy.

by Nushin Arbabzadah, PBS, USA - It seemed to me that honor killings were a method of male-on-male peer pressure -- women served as tools by which to control a man's standing and reputation.

by Ségolène Allemandou, France 24, France - France’s ruling UMP party is toughening its stance on immigration ahead of next year’s elections. By straying into the territory of the far right National Front, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant is playing a risky game.

by Jennifer Robinson, Al Jazeera, Qatar - It's time for the US to re-examine the consequences of its dehumanising, deadly attacks in Pakistan.

by Rachel Holman, France 24, France - Inspired by the tens of thousands that have ‘liked’ far-right political groups such as France’s National Front party online, a new study published Monday examined who exactly are the supporters of Europe’s increasingly popular nationalist factions.

by Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, USA - Reporters often encounter danger on the job. Call it survival journalism – the fine line some journalists walk between reporting the truth and not getting killed. Four female reporters were recently honored for courage in journalism by the International Women's Media Foundation.

by Phyllis Bennis, Al Jazeera, Qatar - The deal has been discussed since Shalit was captured in 2006, now the time has come for 1028 families to be reunited.

by Kate Taunton, Al Jazeera English, Qatar - How two activists are challenging Indian society and transforming trafficked girls into the leaders of tomorrow.

by Rachel Holman, France 24, France - Anti-discrimination organisations and advocacy groups are gathering for a massive rally in the heart of Paris Monday to remember the victims of a deadly police crackdown against Algerian protesters in Paris fifty years ago.

by Ali Moore, Lateline, Australia - Iranian actor Marzieh Vafamehr is facing 90 lashes and a year in jail for appearing in an Australian movie criticising Iran's repression of the arts.

by Mairead Dundas, France 24, France - Every day, maternal health innovations are improving the chances that babies will survive to see the light of day. This week we take a look at some of the revolutionary research techniques being used to give the next generation the best chance at life.

by Sophie Pilgrim, France 24, France - Apple removed an iPhone app naming Jewish celebrities from its French store Wednesday, following legal threats from conservative Jewish activists. The app’s creator, who is Jewish himself, says it’s time for French Jews to come out of the closet.

by Sumayya Ismail, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Environmental rights groups say internationally backed carbon capture schemes distract from real climate justice needs.

by Jacki Ochs, Link TV, USA - In the wake of the September 11 attacks, New Yorkers from all walks of life felt compelled to overcome their sense of powerlessness by volunteering to help out in the recovery effort. They brought in supplies, set up relief stations, and for ten months fed and cared for the recovery workers. Many deep and unexpected -- even unlikely -- relationships developed out of this.

by Beth Murphy, Link TV, USA - Susan Retik and Patti Quigley are two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until tragedy strikes. Rather than turning inwards, grief compels these women to focus on the country where the terrorists who took their husbands' lives were trained: Afghanistan.

by Ellie Bernstein, Link TV, USA - Tells the story of an FBI sting operation that took place in Albany, New York during the winter, spring and summer of 2004. The complex operation was designed to entrap Yassin Aref, 37 (a refugee from Kurdistan in northern Iraq) and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain, 51, a United States citizen and an immigrant from Bangladesh.

by Mya Guarnieri, Al Jazeera, Qatar - A plan to downgrade Arabic's status as an official language underscores broader tensions within Israel.

by Sophie Pilgrim, France 24, France - After designer handbags, perfumes and tablet computers, the latest global success story to fall victim to Chinese counterfeiting is French wine.

by Sophie Shevardnadze, RT, Russia - “Obviously, democratic development should come first and foremost from within the countries,” argued the recently-appointed envoy. “We consistently proceed from the assumption that there should be no such thing, as some countries are expected to live up to more democratic standards than others.”

by Helen Percival, France 24, France - Pope Benedict XVI landed in Madrid on Thursday for World Youth Day, hours after clashes broke out between police and demonstrators angered by the cost of hosting the lavish event at a time of austerity.

by Juliana Ruhfus, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Thousands of women deceived by promises of regular jobs in Europe being forced to work as prostitutes.

by Alexandra Deniau and Francois Renaut, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Despite the recent revolution, thousands of Tunisians are risking their lives in search of a new life in Europe.

by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - The food crisis in East Africa has seen a renewed drive for urgent international aid – as it has in the past. But while humanitarian assistance can provide short-term relief, it does not address Somalia’s long-term malaise.