POLITICS-IRAN: Fires of Defiance Light the Night Sky

Bonfires roared and firecrackers split the dark as Iranians defied Islamic hardliners to enact ancient rites ahead of the Persian New Year, which starts on Mar. 21.

POLITICS: For U.S. Hawks, Madrid 2004=Munich 1938

For neo-conservative and other right-wing U.S. hawks, Madrid has suddenly become Munich in 1938 and Spain's Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.

GLOBALISATION: Dairy Farmers Pit ‘Jamaica Hope’ Against Subsidies

Aubrey Taylor's dairy farm has made him all-island Champion Farmer many years running, but these days he struggles to stay in business.

POLITICS: Activists Tackle Bulldozer Maker, US Aid to Israel

Still angered by the death of Rachel Corrie, a U.S peace activist who was run over and crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer, peace campaigners here are urging U.S. legislators to investigate the death of the 23-year-old activist.

POLITICS: For U.S. Hawks, Madrid 2004 = Munich 1938

For neo-conservative and other right-wing U.S. hawks, Madrid has suddenly become Munich in 1938 and Spain's Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.

CUBA: Small Rice Paddies Produce Big Results

Cuba aims to keep driving up rice production by encouraging cultivation in small paddies through a programme involving 190,000 farmers across the island.

BRAZIL: Sugar a Celebrity in Trade, Villain of Obesity

The international offensive against refined sugar "is foolishness based on erroneous science," and could aggravate the trade protectionism that is already taking a toll on Brazil's sugar exports, says a Sao Paulo sugar industry executive.

HAITI: U.S. Wants Aristide Official Extradited from Canada

A former senior official in the government of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide will remain in legal limbo in Canada at least until next week after a judge adjourned his extradition hearing Tuesday.

ENVIRONMENT: Prepare for the Worst, Says Next Host of Climate Change Meet

In the past five international conferences on climate change, hopes have focused on attempts to get the United States and Russia to agree to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. But the wait has been in vain, and the global meetings flopped, one after another.

ECONOMY-SWAZILAND: Loosening the Reins on Mineral Resources

The exploitation of Swazi mineral resources has long been a sensitive area of debate, as the colonial era saw a considerable portion of these resources being depleted by foreigners. However, the overtures of a South African businessman might be about to change all that.

POLITICS: India Shining but Only for Some, Say Critics

There are few takers for the 'Shining India' election campaign of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and even some its close allies seem to have problems with what they consider a slick, empty theme.

POLITICS-EUROPE: Spain Tilts the Power Balance

The Socialist triumph in Spain last Sunday has transformed the balance of power within Europe in favour of France and Germany, who have been pleading for a common foreign policy independent of the United States.

ENVIRONMENT-BURUNDI: Preventing a Lake From Doing a Vanishing Act

One of Burundi's ecological jewels, Lake Gacamirinda, is in danger of disappearing. The circumstances of this problem provide a case study in what can happen when human and environmental factors combine to affect a natural resource.

RIGHTS-BURMA: Refugees’ Return Won’t be Easy or Quick

When the U.N. refugee agency takes its first tentative steps into military-ruled Burma this year, the workshops and seminars it holds there will form the foundation of plans to prepare for the return - if and when this happens - of thousands of refugees.

POLITICS-BALKANS: War Crimes Trial Opens in Serbia

Six men accused of the massacre of 192 Croatian prisoners of war back in 1991 went on trial in Belgrade last week.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ LITERATURE-ARGENTINA: It’s Gombrowicz’s Turn

Czech writer Milan Kundera considers the author's work the precursor to the modern European novel, and Mexico's Carlos Fuentes says one of his novels should be included among the 10 best of the 20th century, but Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz never imagined fame when he went hungry, living as an outcast in Argentina.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ POETRY-CUBA: Roberto Mendez, Patience in the Provinces

Twenty books published is a record for a Cuban author - the island's publishing industry can't keep up with national literary output - but it is even more astonishing for a poet from the provinces like Roberto Méndez, who has achieved this and much more.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ART-JAPAN: Nostalgia for Showa Period Is In

Nostalgic for the heady fifties and sixties when Japan embarked on its post-war economic miracle, 68-year-old Hidetoshi Yokokawa goes back to the past through his Showa Retro Products Museum, which displays collections of items from that era.

DEVELOPMENT-EU: NGOs Fear Water Privatisation

Civil society groups are calling on the EU to ensure that a new initiative does not further water privatisation in developing countries.

GLOBALISATION: Finland and Tanzania Point to a New Way

Long associated with human rights and East-West bridge building, Helsinki has given its name to a new effort to democratise North-South relations and end rapacious market policies imposed on poor countries.

HEALTH-SRI LANKA: Regulators Target Advertisers’ Wild Claims

The Sri Lankan government is clamping down on advertisers' wild claims about the benefits of certain food products, starting with new restrictions on nutritional and protein claims to take effect on Apr. 1.