CULTURE-JAMAICA: History and Heritage Take a Back Seat

The death in virtual obscurity of a local dancer who retained the movement of her African heritage, once again has raised questions about the lack of emphasis Jamaicans place on their cultural figures.

BOOKS: Selling Myth of Powerlessness in Global Economy

Linda McQuaig manages to write best- selling books in Canada on what most people would consider extremely arcane and boring - business and economics.

ART: Picasso – Between Wine and Ballerinas

Pablo Picasso, acknowledged as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, first came to Italy in 1917, when he visited Rome, Naples, Pompeii and Florence, and was impressed by the country's women, good food and, curiously, carnival masks.

TOURISM: “There she blows – Cameras Ready!”

The group aboard the small boat, eyes tired from peering endlessly at the empty ocean, slumped disappointedly in their seats.

ART-KENYA: City’s Walls Mirror the Lives of Street Children

A group of Kenyan artists and street children literally are painting the town red...and blue, and green, and yellow and orange.

MUSIC-JAMAICA: Showdown Over Reggae Royalties

Two pioneers of reggae are headed for a showdown over the question of royalty payments that has dogged the music scene since Jamaica introduced its new copyright law in 1993.

ARTS-ENTERTAINMENT – 1.

In the early 1980s, U.S. scholar Clifton Fadiman devised a plan to present an exhaustive look at all the major poets, in every culture and language, from the Bronze Age to modern timesa project which has now resulted in a new anthology, 'World Poetry'.

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The novel is experiencing a rebirth in Peru with a crop of new writers using it as a device to offer testimonies and new points of view on the state of the nation.

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-- What happens when the religious and cultural festivals of two great civilisations coincide in one country? The combined festivity takes on an identity that extends far beyond the sum of each part.

AFGHANISTAN-CULTURE: War Abets Plunder of Gandhara Relics

The first few items of broken sculpture were some Gandhara Buddha heads, a large foot, part of a stone stupa, and some small seated Buddhas. They were laid out under the pale winter sun in the courtyard of a bazaar in this Pakistani town.

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Almost after two decades of raunchy, "roots" plays, dubbed "crotch theatre" by one critic, social commentary has returned to Jamaican stage, paralleling the movement in reggae/dancehall music.

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It's been a strange few months for musicals. First Tom Hanks directs a movie about a Beatles-style group in 'That Thing You Do!', next Madonna stars as Evita Peron -- and now, suddenly, Woody Allen has decided to become the next Fred Astaire.

CINEMA: Madonna’s ‘Evita’

After years of controversy, the film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical about Argentine political idol Evita Peron has opened to great success in U.S. cities - sparking, in the minds of many critics, a rebirth of modern musicals.

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Barbados' "Paint It Jazz Festival" -- part of a craze spreading across the region -- came of age this year, both as tourist attraction and a lure for music lovers.

CULTURE-GUATEMALA: Indian Poetry to Feed the Spirit

The Guatemalan indigenous poet Humberto Ak'abal, when asked about his work, says it is meant to feed the spirit, not to be the subject of complex analysis.

CULTURE-SINGAPORE: Watch out McDonald’s

On Serangoon Road, a 'Little India' carved out of one of the world's most modern cities, a veritable culinary revolution is underway: fast food with a difference.

ARTS-USA: Painting as Theatre

Moody, sensual and lush, the work of black American painter Robert Freeman has received acclaim throughout the world.

MUSIC-NIGERIA: There’s A Message in the Sound

Fusing the lively sounds of Nigerian pop music with lyrics on development issues has gone a long way in bringing about awareness on family planning and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

BOOKS-GERMANY: Louis Farrakhan’s Story

German journalist Hans Hielscher was correspondent in the United States for the German news magazine 'Der Spiegel' when the 'One Million Man March' occurred in Washington DC on Oct 16, 1995. The mammoth event pulled hundreds of thousands of black men. Their leader was the black nationalist Louis Farrakhan.

BRAZIL-CULTURE: Records in Sales Boom

Brazilian records are making music in the marketplace with sales of compact discs (CDs) boosting Brazil from 13th to 6th place in total sales worldwide.

CULTURE-INDIA: Ministers Harness Cosmic Forces to Stay in Power

Indian politicians are harnessing cosmic forces to stay in office and are willing to spend lots of money in order to obtain the necessary "positive energy".