News headlines in March 2009, page 6

At the start of the new academic year at Peruvian universities this month, women made up between 65 and 72 percent of students in first-year courses in communication and journalism departments, a phenomenon that is reflected in the growing presence of women reporters in newspapers all over the country.

Two months into his term, U.S. President Barack Obama’s ambitious campaign programme for sweeping 'change' has been whittled down to a bid for incremental change, with opposition to some of his proposed broad reforms coming from unlikely places.

While more men are taking advantage of paternity leave or even quitting their jobs entirely to raise small children while their wives go to work, the social stigma attached to fathers who take on roles traditionally viewed as female has been far slower to diminish.

Human rights lawyers are proving to be a major headache for the new administration of President Barack Obama, stepping up court challenges on issues of prisoner abuse to test the reality of the president’s pledge to create a 'an unprecedented level of openness' in government.

Amid calls for Washington to increase its engagement with the international community, U.S.-based rights groups and civil libertarians are denouncing the Barack Obama’s administration’s boycott of a global conference against racism next month.

Experts agree the current financial crisis is largely due to economic deregulation. But despite the downturn’s dramatic effects on developing countries, the European Union (EU) is still pushing for the trade liberalisation deals called economic partnership agreements (EPAs) to be signed by African governments.

Who will save Ukraine? On the verge of state bankruptcy, the country is considering its options both East and West.

For years, Abdelhalim Kandil has been one of Egypt's most high-profile opposition journalists, known for writing hard-hitting articles critical of the ruling regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

The cluster of blue-and-white Stars of David - Israel's national flag - had seen better days. In the wake of unseasonably heavy rain, they looked limp, anything but proud - in direct contrast to the mark their bearers hoped to make.

Although it concluded more than 60 years ago, the Tokyo War Crimes Trial is still a live issue today - in Japan as in the world at large.