It is easy to understand why epithets such as brave and courageous often accompany the name of Malalai Joya. Slight of stature and serenely demure, the young Afghan woman’s past and present encapsulate the plight of her countrywomen.

Anwar Ibrahim, the country’s charismatic former deputy prime minister, is set to go on trial this month for allegedly sodomising a male aide. It’s a charge his supporters dismiss as a political conspiracy against him.

Two key U.S. allies in the Arab world, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are now both facing succession crises that may absorb, or even split, their political elites. This promises a period of political unpredictability ahead in both countries.

The release Friday of five Iranians held by the U.S. military in Iraq for two and a half years highlights the long-simmering conflict between the U.S. and Iraqi views of Iranian policy in Iraq and of the role of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) there.

A 'lost generation' of children vulnerable to crime and exploitation is growing up in Eastern Europe as their parents migrate abroad for work and leave them behind, migration watchdogs warn.

'We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans,' U.S. president Barrack Obama told Ghana's parliament. And the keys to that future, as outlined in his speech, include democratic elections, accountability, good governance and strong institutions.

The events unleashed two weeks ago in Honduras have raised questions about the options available in a democratic system to penalise infringements of the constitution without, in turn, trampling the constitution.

An Argentine woman’s first novel, narrated by a character that eludes female literary stereotypes, has surprisingly met with some nasty sexist comments from spheres where such biases were previously unheard of, such as literary criticism and sophisticated readership.

Since its establishment in late 2006, the Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG) has been doing groundbreaking work fighting corruption, impunity and human rights violations in Guatemala.

As numbers go, and as expectations went, 20 billion dollars would be a fair bit for the G8 to produce to fight the food crisis and bring down hunger. Certainly, it was more than most expected.