In the West Bank, dissident voices questioning the Palestinian Authority'sincreasingly authoritarian rule have become rare. But a young musician inRamallah refuses to hold his tongue.

In Panama's largest cities, minors under 18 not under supervision of an adult must be off the streets after 9:00 p.m. The juvenile curfew law means some spend several days behind bars until someone shows up to pay the fine.

Moves to enact a new law on animal welfare in India have upset public health advocates, who fear it will interfere with efforts to control rabies-carrying stray dogs.

The temperature is 10 degrees below freezing and the wind is like a hurricane, threatening to sweep away the unwary from the treacherously slippery mountain slope that has been home to Suzanne Al Houby and 39 other iron-willed women for almost a fortnight.

Reina Pérez, an Otomi indigenous craftswoman in the central Mexican state of Querétaro, skilfully embroiders"grecas"or traditional design motifs in threads of many colours, on fabrics that will be used to make dresses, skirts and blouses.

Although more girls are enrolling in school - notably incountries with the greatest gender gaps like Chad, SaudiArabia, Pakistan and Yemen - two-thirds of the world'silliterate adults are still women.

Twenty-year-old Veethirasa Winston is planning his schedule meticulously forthe next few weeks, making sure he keeps his diary free on days when SriLanka's national team takes the cricket field.

Unconventional venues for high-quality experimental theatre have found a voice of their own in the Argentine capital's cultural scene, and are demanding freedom from the red tape that is hindering their development.

For the first time, Cuba's National Fine Arts Prize was awarded to a member of the country's"80s generation": RenéFrancisco Rodríguez, whose work crops up in the most unexpected places in urban communities, and who finds it hard to relinquish the"utilitarian character of art."

Sri Lanka goes into a frenzy this month as it plays co-host to the 2011 CricketWorld Cup. Conservationists hope the national pasttime will share national andinternational media attention with an endangered Sri Lankan resident: theelephant.

The nearly 200 theatres in the Argentine capital have been staging an increasing number of plays exploring gender identity or specifically gay issues in recent years, in mainstream, fringe and state-run productions.

Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press are thebig gains of Tunisia's so-called Jasmine Revolution, according to a top Tunisianeconomist, writer and opposition figure. But he warns that dark days still lieahead.

The number of reported rapes in this Nordic country has increased dramaticallyin recent years, especially after the Swedish Sexual Crimes Act was reformed in2005. This does not, however, necessarily mean that the actual number of rapeshas increased, according to analysts.

Their tanned skin is weathered by years of sun, and their voices preserve traces of accents from different parts of Spain.

The digital revolution is turning people into producers, as well as consumers, of media content. But this new reality has yet to be fully assimilated, and journalists face questions and uncertainties about their social role, their duties and also their rights.