News headlines in 2009, page 352

With the oceans in crisis, where will our fish - an important source of protein for billions of people - come from?

Migrant construction workers in Russia face widespread abuse by their employers, says a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Tuesday, including withholding wages, failing to provide required contracts, and unsafe working conditions at construction sites across the country.

A German teacher of Visual Cultures and studying documentaries in India organises a film screening in Pakistan. A Pakistani produces an innovative short film series featuring work from India, Pakistan and Britain.

During a tense press conference, in the midst of the current constitutional crisis in this state, peninsualar Malaysia's second largest, a reporter's MP3 recorder/handphone began ringing.

The political maneuvering between President Barack Obama and his top field commanders over withdrawal from Iraq has taken a sudden new turn with the leak by CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus - and a firm denial by a White House official - of an account of the Jan. 21 White House meeting suggesting that Obama had requested three different combat troop withdrawal plans with their respective associated risks, including one of 23 months.

President Barack Obama has cast doubt on his promise to put an end to secret government by allowing his Justice Department to follow a path frequently taken by his predecessor.

As Zimbabwe's government of national unity begins its work, gender activists are pushing for a greater place for women in decision-making.

Every U.N. secretary-general since Norway's Trygve Lie back in 1946 believed in the concept of a free press - including rent-free offices to journalists covering the United Nations.

Despite a desperate need to rebuild the Gaza Strip, viewed by many as a key ingredient to reuniting the Palestinian territories and building a two-state peace deal with Israel, it appears that the U.S. and the international community are poised to continue old, politically-charged policies that will impede progress.

Along the ironic lines of 'Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum', the old Broadway musical about democracy in ancient times, something 'funny' happened to Israelis on their way to the polling stations.