CULTURE-CHINA: Nuder Than Nude

In a society that dictates how a woman should look - hourglass figure and shiny, long hair - Chinese artist Xiang Jing dares to turn stereotypes on their head and disturb those who view her fibreglass sculptures.

MIDEAST: Cash Gifts Come Back to Haunt Olmert

Even a seasoned, street-smart political brawler like Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would require a salvage act of Houdini-like magnitude to survive his current predicament. Engulfed by a corruption scandal, his government is unravelling, his own party is beginning to turn against him and, most critically, his public support has evaporated.

Q&A: Malawian Aquaculture Initiative Gives Cause for Quiet Hope

From time immemorial, fishermen on Lake Malawi have depended on the chambo to help feed their families - all without upsetting the stocks of this fish species. Following the start of commercial fishing on the lake, however, the annual catch of chambo plunged, from 3,250 tonnes in 1985 to 207 tonnes in 2002.

DEVELOPMENT: Japan-Africa Outcome ‘Inadequate’

A key document emerging from the fourth round of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has failed to address HIV/AIDS in the region, says a non-governmental organisation.

POLITICS: Who Will Make Peace for the Peacemaker?

An intensifying fight between Turkey and a reorganised Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) threatens to introduce a new element of instability to the Middle East at a time when some of the most chronic crises in the region are taken on by regional actors, ironically with Turkey itself playing a key role as a peace mediator.

CARIBBEAN: Mega-Farms Could Ease Food Import Bill

Early next month, Caribbean governments will host a global forum in Caricom's regional trade bloc headquarters Guyana in hopes of attracting international investors to the languishing agriculture sector.

POLITICS-CANADA: Few Mourn Fallen Foreign Minister

Canada's gaffe-prone foreign affairs minister, Maxime Bernier, resigned suddenly this week after revelations that he left sensitive and confidential government documents at the home of his ex-girlfriend, Julie Couillard.

RIGHTS: Cluster Bombs May Drop Out of Sight At Last

Cluster bombs should be outlawed in most of the world thanks to an agreement formally endorsed by over 100 governments in Dublin May 30.

RIGHTS-MAURITIUS: ‘‘We Are Not Animals,’’ Say Foreign Workers

Officially, everything is fine in the export processing zones (EPZs) in Mauritius. But, in reality, many foreign workers suffer dismal working conditions. Those who organise to improve their lot do so under the constant threat of intimidation and deportation.

PAKISTAN: Musharraf’s Exit Imminent?

While Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has dismissed widespread speculation in the media of his imminent resignation, the odds are against the former military ruler continuing in office for long.

EAST TIMOR/INDONESIA: Reconciliation at the Cost of Justice?

East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta's decision to pardon those involved in the 1999 killings, and the violent incidents of 2006, has thrown a shadow over the fledgling country's justice system and efforts at reconciliation with former occupiers Indonesia.

RIGHTS: U.N. Vows to Halt Child Abuse in Its Own Ranks

As the United Nations celebrated the 60th anniversary of its peacekeeping mission Thursday, a British-based charity has released a report charging that U.N. peacekeepers and humanitarian workers have sexually abused children in countries Haiti, Cote d'Ivoire and Sudan.

MEXICO: Drug Violence, the Army and Human Rights Abuses

The Mexican government says the 4,200 drug-related murders committed since December 2006 and the growing brutality of drug traffickers are a sign that the war on drugs is working.

DEVELOPMENT: NGOs Marginalised at Japan-Africa Meet

If the fourth round of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) concluding Friday is seriously flawed, it is because non-governmental organisations have at best been allowed to influence the policy dialogue between Japan and the African governments only from the margins.

ECONOMY: 'Biofuels Will Keep Food Prices High'

In the next ten years, prices for agricultural commodities will come down from current record levels but remain higher than the mean of the past decade, according to a new prediction.

Q&A: 'Arab Legislations Go Far Beyond Islamic Law'

Is Islamic law - Sharia'a - the only legal instrument regulating the death penalty in Arab and Muslim countries?

Q&A: "But They Never Killed My Spirit"

On Sep. 7 last year, as she walked to her home, parliamentary candidate Flora Igoki Terah was attacked and tortured by a gang of five men. Terah's case is one of several case studies highlighted in Amnesty International's 2008 report on the state of the world's human rights, released on May 28.

Q&A: 'Development Aid Is No Panacea'

Celine Tan is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Birmingham. Her doctoral research has focussed on development financing, in particular its impact on global governance and international relations.

POLITICS-US: Florida Could Be Back in the Delegates Game

With just three relatively small primaries left in the protracted Democratic nominating race, the party's national leadership and the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) are still debating whether or not to count votes cast in that state's presidential primary in January.

PAKISTAN: Quake Orphans Still Dependent on Charity, NGOs

Thousands of children orphaned by the earthquake that hit northern Pakistan in October 2005, leaving 85,000 people dead, continue to be dependent on charity and support provide by donors and non-government organisations (NGOs).

POPULATION-CHINA: Quake Shakes One-Child Policy

Almond-shaped eyes; a young face of poignant beauty reminiscent of Hu Die - the Shanghai film star of yesteryears. The impression is helped by the stark, retro-like monochrome photo. But the leap of imagination is clipped almost immediately by the black ribbon draped around the photo and the grieving man clutching it.