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".

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Toots Hibbert refuses to give his age. But the pioneering Jamaican reggae singer has been around for some time. A presence in the charts and electrifying stage performer for 40 years, he is reputed to have sung the 45 RPM that gave the name to the beat that developed at the end of the 1960s'Do the Reggae'.

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The staging of a local verion of 'Beauty and the Beast' in Mexico marks the first step in a concerted attempt by celebrated U.S. producers to introduce their theatre into Latin America.

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With loads of new titles planned and an optimistic outlook that belies the reality of a difficult local market, two energetic firms are riding the crest of a publishing wave in Jamaica.

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Her tunes are heard everywhere, from the farthest kampong or villages to fast-encroaching towns to modern shopping malls in the rapidly growing Malaysian capital.

CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Of Many Colours

All over the world, the New Year is welcomed with song and dance, but few carnivals can rival the colourful 'Coon' Carnival held here - the songs and costumes of which remind of the community's complicated past.

BOOKS-USA: Ralph Ellison’s Hidden Stories Come to Light

One of the strangest things about Ralph Ellison's career as a writer is that he is readily acknowledged as one of the major U.S. novelists of this century even though he has only published one novel, the 1952 opus 'Invisible Man'.

MUSIC-CONGO: Songs of Love and Peace from an Army General

A high-ranking member of Congo's armed forces has won the hearts of his compatriots - not with force or political rhetoric, but with his songs about love and unity.

CINEMA-USA: Intelligent Life Discovered – and Killed

A hatred of authority and a love of comic- book thrills fuel the movie 'Mars Attacks!', a frantic tale of inept attempts at communication and inter-planetary warfare between Martians and that trusted defender of Earthly freedom, the United States.

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That Indians speak in a medley of tongues was long known, but the full picture of the country's linguistic mosaic has been uncovered for the first time now.

MUSIC-USA: New Generation Takes on Salsa

After a marked downturn earlier this decade, the romantic, propulsive groove of Latin salsa music is back, and as popular among U.S. audiences as ever.

MUSIC-JAMAICA: No Payment, No Play

The dominance of dancehall on Jamaican radio stations has prompted frustrated musicians and producers of other musical genres to accuse disc jockeys of accepting bribes from the producers of what they call sub-standard songs.

CULTURE: Tom and Jerry, The Chinese Version

China's kids, like their counterparts in many other countries, switch on the TV-set every day to watch their favourite cartoon shows and relax after school.

MUSIC-LATIN AMERICA: Who Invented the Tango?

As if their eternal battles on the football field were not enough, Brazil and Argentina are now fighting over the paternity of the tango.

CINEMA: Out of Kazakhstan, a Hunter’s Family

The collapse of the former Soviet Union left a once thriving film industry largely silent. Now, some of the former republics are dusting themselves off and struggling to re- establish a presence in the cinema world.

INDIA-TELEVISION: Hindi-Speaking Simpsons Invade South Asia!

The popular U.S. television show, the Simpsons, has invaded South Asian homes by using the language of the people: dubbed in grammar book Hindi, the show has stretched its audience reach beyond the narrow band of non-English viewers.

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With its beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife, Kenya used to be an irresistible location for international film and documentary makers.

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With a finger popping and moving bass line, strong, snarled and superfly vocals, the "Godfather of Superfunk" grooves to the beat of a different rhythm. The music here is funk and the beats are supplied by George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars.

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Jazz traces its roots back to such unspiritual places as Memphis nightclubs and New Orleans brothels, but some jazz musicians are bringing the sacred sounds of gospel back into the genre.

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Buju Banton's short musical career has been marked by a sequence of breakneck changes. Lambasted some years ago for pouring scorn on black women, the Jamaican pop singer found himself being denigrated later for promoting homophobia. Now he is being touted as the future of reggae.

BULGARIA-ART: National Gallery Collection Goes to Waste

Some time ago, a security guard found two drunken men lost among the thousands of valuable pieces of art housed in Bulgaria's National Art Gallery. The drunks could not remember details of their adventure so the guards were unable to determine how they had penetrated what is supposed to be a closaely guarded place.