BRAZIL: Art is the Best Education

A broad range of projects in Brazil are using ballet and folk dances, classical and popular music, theatre, circus arts, capoeira - an Afro-Brazilian combination of dance and martial arts - fashion, visual arts and the audiovisual media to reach disadvantaged and at-risk children.

NIGERIA: Govt Gears Up for Another Offensive in the Delta

There is mounting evidence that the government of Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'adua is set to launch a full-scale offensive in the Niger Delta when a ceasefire declared by rebels ends on Sep. 15.

CHINA: Communist Resort Makeover Mirrors State’s Populist Shift?

The summer capital of China's political intrigue is taking a break from the years of intense infighting and maneuvering that Chinese communist leaders used to engage in while hidden in their secluded villas.

MIDEAST: NGO Reports on Gaza War Belie Israeli Claims

This week, two respected human rights organisations - one Palestinian, one Israeli - each came out with very full reports into the extent of the damage caused by the assault Israel waged against Gaza last winter.

MIDEAST: Israel Taking Sharp Measures Over Iran

Questions about Iran's nuclear thrust are tumbling out, echoing around the world in several directions.

COLOMBIA: Neutrality Impossible for Indigenous Groups

The latest killings of Awá Indians in southern Colombia – 12 members of a family, including four children and three teenagers –, the forced displacement of hundreds of native villagers, and death threats against indigenous leaders and teachers are signs indicating that their demand to be considered neutral in the armed conflict is still being ignored.

Q&A: The World Needs a Marshall Plan for Climate Change

When world leaders meet for a mega talk-fest on climate change at the United Nations in late September, the focus will be more on politics and less on finance.

BRAZIL: Military Deal with France Strengthens Multipolar Focus

With the announcement of a multi-billion-dollar military technology-sharing deal with France, Brazil is projecting itself as a future regional military supplier, while sending out a clear signal about the multipolar focus of its foreign policy.

POLITICS-US: Obama Struggles to Regain Early Momentum

The United States Congress returns to work Tuesday after a turbulent summer recess that has raised doubts over President Barack Obama's ability to face down domestic opposition from Republicans and enforce party cohesion on issues ranging from healthcare reform to troop commitments in the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

G20: Moving Up BRIC by BRIC

Every one of these 'G' meetings becomes now an occasion for the developing countries - say the emerging economies - to turn that extra energy into a louder voice in the business of global decision-taking.

IRAQ: Stormy Times as U.S. Withdraws

Political violence in Iraq killed 456 Iraqis in August, the highest monthly death toll since July 2008. And with the U.S. showing no sign it plans to reverse the troop withdrawal that is now well underway, numerous struggles for power are shaping up inside Iraq.

G20: More May Be Needed, to Do More

The tests are coming thick and fast. After the G20 summit in Washington last year, the G20 in London in April, and the G8 in L'Aquila that was substantially a G20, the G20 finance ministers are meeting in London this Friday and Saturday ahead of the G20 gathering in Pittsburgh later this month.

CHINA: Burma’s Surprise Attack Against Ethnic Rebels Poses Dilemma

Preoccupied with ethnic tensions in the vulnerable areas of Tibet and Xinjiang, Beijing was caught off guard by Burmese military regime's decision in late August to use force against armed rebel ethnic groups in the country's north, which resulted into military strife that forced thousands of refugees to flee into China.

IRAN: Backlash Mounts Against Women Ministers

The Iranian Parliament will begin voting on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nominations for 21 cabinet positions on Wednesday. What makes this process unique is the inclusion of three women for ministerial posts, a fact that Ahmadinejad also pointed to during the three-day parliamentary debates on his nominations, which started on Aug. 30.

EUROPE: Socialists Sinking Between Left and Right

The rise of The Left party in regional elections in Germany may signal a rearrangement at the cost of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), political analysts say.

MIDEAST: Olmert’s Peace Plan May Go Down With Him

The State of Israel against the former leader of the State of Israel - for the first time, a former prime minister will soon be in the defendant's chair in a criminal court.

MIDEAST: Can Final Peace Deal Overcome Settlements Roadblock?

The Barack Obama administration - perhaps the president himself - will reportedly be launching a new round of authoritative Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations sometime during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session, which is scheduled to start in New York on Sep. 15.

MIDEAST: Obama Steers the Peace Train On

It isn't formal yet, but it's bound to be soon - within the coming six weeks, Palestinians and Israelis will again be sitting down around the peace table.

EUROPE: Divided We Stand United

The "poison" of populist politics in central and Eastern Europe is behind an escalating row between two new EU member states that could spill over into ethnic violence, political analysts warn.

POLITICS-US: Health Reform Bogged in PR Battle

The message machine of the Barack Obama administration appears to need oiling, as the U.S. president's push for a Sep. 15 deadline for a bipartisan deal on healthcare reform in the U.S. Congress continues to meet stiff resistance.

POLITICS-CUBA: Wanted – Socialist System that Meets Real Needs

Cuba's communist government is being challenged to move toward a more participative and inclusive socialist system, one that offers real economic well-being and responds to the social and political demands that have built up and been expressed in different ways in recent years.