ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT / MUSIC-HAITI: Rapper Invites Caribbean Diaspora to ‘Carnival’

The peoples of the Caribbean diaspora are so diverse that perhaps only a New Yorker can meld their cultural influences.

IPS BULLETIN OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS / UNITED STATES: Recalling ‘4 Little Girls’ Who Died In 1960s Alabama

History generally fails to record what happens to ordinary people whose lives are transformed by momentous events.

HAITI-UN: Peacekeepers May Stay in Haiti Despite Objections

The United Nations is close to an agreement to maintain a small peacekeeping force in Haiti until the end of November, despite the increasing unpopularity of the U.N. force on the Caribbean island, according to diplomatic sources here.

US-FINANCE: Let the Good Times Roll

For U.S. corporations, the past has been a week of almost unrivaled optimism: the stock market rose above the 8,000-point level, companies like Pepsico and Philip Morris reported strong profits and the chairman of the Federal Reserve told Congress the good times could last a while.

ARTS-ENTERTAINMENT – 2

History generally fails to record what happens to ordinary people whose lives are transformed by momentous events. A new documentary film about the families and friends of four young girls killed in the bombing of a church in Alabama, however, achieves the rare victory of focusing on the everyday lives of the people who were most affected by the crime.

UNITED NATIONS-US: Washington Yields to South on Council Seats

The United States has dropped its five-year opposition to the inclusion of developing countries as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - but the change of heart has not resolved the long debate over Council reform, say diplomats here.

UNITED NATIONS: Annan Proposes Sweeping Reforms at U.N.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, pressured by the United States and other western nations, Wednesday announced sweeping reforms for the world body which will consolidatew many of its agencies.

UNITED NATIONS: Annan Proposes Sweeping Reforms at U.N.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, pressured by the United States and other western nations, Wednesday announced sweeping reforms for the world body which will consolidatew many of its agencies.

EAST TIMOR-HUMAN RIGHTS: Fresh Abuses Brought Before U.N. Committee

Indonesian troops have stepped up a campaign of arrests and atrocities against the civilian population in East Timor, pro-Timorese activists and human rights groups argue.

CONGO-HUMAN RIGHTS: Rights Groups Object to Agreement with Kabila

Six human rights groups have joined together to criticise the United Nations for what they believe is a deal to undermine the work of the U.N. human rights rapporteur to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

WESTERN SAHARA: Baker Announces Plans for New U.N. Talks

The United Nations will host a fresh round of direct talks before month's end between the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front, a rebel movement which favours the independence of Western Sahara.

U.N.-HUMAN RIGHTS: Mary Robinson Named as Rights Commissioner

Irish President Mary Robinson's appointment to become the second U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has won the praise of human rights activists dismayed at the record of her predecessor, Jose Ayala Lasso.

/IPS BULLETIN OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS/ UNITED STATES: Can Jesse Jackson Take on Martin Luther King’s Job?

Supporters of former presidential candidate, the Rev Jesse Jackson, are hoping that the prominent black activist can fill the shoes of the most famous U.S. civil rights leader, the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.

/IPS DEVELOPMENT BULLETIN/ UNITED NATIONS: UNICEF Takes Issue with Restructuring Plan

Tension is rising among U.N. agencies as officials throughout the system wonder how intended U.N. streamlining will affect the independence of highly autonomous U.N. organs devoted to development, children, and other causes.

/IPS DEVELOPMENT BULLETIN/ SOUTH AFRICA: When Will the Investors Feel Safe?

When South African officials come here to court Wall Street bankers and U.S. businesses, they often meet a litany of excuses about why their country still deters investors: high crime, tough exchange controls, political uncertainty.

UNITED STATES: Can Jesse Jackson Take on Martin Luther King’s Job?

Supporters of former presidential candidate, the Rev Jesse Jackson, are hoping that the prominent black activist can fill the shoes of the most famous U.S. civil rights leader, the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.

UNITED NATIONS: UNICEF Takes Issue with Restructuring Plan

Tension is rising among U.N. agencies as officials throughout the system wonder how intended U.N. streamlining will affect the independence of highly autonomous U.N. organs devoted to development, children, and other causes.

SOUTH AFRICA-FINANCE: When Will the Investors Feel Safe?

When South African officials come here to court Wall Street bankers and U.S. businesses, they often meet a litany of excuses about why their country still deters investors: high crime, tough exchange controls, political uncertainty.

SOUTH AFRICA-FINANCE: When Will the Investors Feel Safe?

When South African officials come here to court Wall Street bankers and U.S. businesses, they often meet a litany of excuses about why their country still deters investors: high crime, tough exchange controls, political uncertainty.

UNITED STATES: Bombers’ Trial Will Not Deter Extremist Militias

The conviction of former U.S. Army soldier Timothy McVeigh of the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma has made him a pariah in much of the United States -- but not among the country's extreme right wing, militia analysts say.

CINEMA-USA: School Reunions Are Hell

According to Hollywood, meeting your old school friends can be one of the most traumatic - and rewarding - experiences of later life.