Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a national inquiry into institutional responses to the sexual abuse of children.

The move followed pressure from lawmakers amid police claims the Roman Catholic Church had concealed evidence of paedophile priests.

The inquiry will look at religious groups, NGOs and state-care providers as well as government agencies.

Ms Gillard said a Royal Commission was the best way to investigate the claims.

By Arianna Skibell

A man misses the bus one evening after dark and decides to walk the two miles home. On his way, he thinks about what he can do to enhance attitudes in the work place, what he is going to make for lunch the next day and which pajamas he’s going to wear to bed.

By Kareem Fahim

CAIRO — The young activists lingered on the streets around Tahrir Square, scrutinizing the crowds of holiday revelers. Suddenly, they charged, pushing people aside and chasing down a young man. As the captive thrashed to get away, the activists pounded his shoulders, flipped him around and spray-painted a message on his back: “I’m a harasser.”

By David Smith

More than one in three men surveyed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's war-torn east admits committing sexual assault, and three in four believe that a woman who "does not dress decently is asking to be raped", researchers have found.

Some 61.4% of men interviewed said women sometimes deserve to be beaten; 42.7% think that "if a woman doesn't show physical resistance when forced to have sex, it's not rape"; and 27.9% believe that sometimes women want to be raped.

By Amnesty International