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.

CHINA-TRAVEL: “Farewell” Tours as Controversial as Dam

Tourists are flocking to this port city to get what could be the final glimpse of the breathtaking scenery on the Yangtze River.

CINEMA-INDIA: ‘Fire’ Brings Another Taboo Subject to Screen

'Fire', the debut film of Indian director Deepa Mehta, a somewhat controversial portrayal of modern Indian women forced to confront difficult relationships, offers further evidence that cinema is alive and well on the sub-continent.

ARGENTINA: Young People Embrace the Tango

The Tango, quintessential symbol of Argentine culture, is enjoying a renaissance. Young people who had once discarded the sensual dance as something for oldsters are now embracing it as they search for identity.

CINEMA-TURKEY: Rip Off the Blanket of Fear

For the first time in years cinema buffs in Istanbul are queuing up in front of movie halls - to see a Turkish film.

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The band doesn't quite send the audience into fainting or screaming fits -- but then again, that would be a drag for Filipino fans who are busy skanking as live 'ska' music throbs on around them.

LITERATURE-CHILE: The Song for Tolerance of Luis Sepulveda

A "song for tolerance" is how writer Luis Sepulveda defines his latest novel, 'The Story of a Dove and the Cat Who Taught Him How to Fly', unveiled recently at the 16th Book Fair in Santiago.

MUSIC-JAMAICA: Music Business to Play Serious Side

Members of Jamaica's music community hope that a more organised approach will allow them to make some profitable deals at next year's MIDEM Music Festival in Cannes, France.

CINEMA-USA: Standard Action for Amnesiac Housewife Annex Assassin

After the bombast and machismo of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone films, a movie that matches explosions and gun battles with an appealing female protagonist could be a refreshing change of pace.

CULTURE-SLOVAKIA: New Centre to Study Jewish Culture and History

Slovakia now boasts of a new Jewish studies institute with the objective of conducting studies and research into Jewish history and culture.

MUSIC-USA: Go-Go Still Going Strong

Almost two decades ago, the citizens of Washington, D.C., were convinced that the beat-happy music they called "go-go" would become the biggest dance sensation in the country.

CINEMA-INDIA: Film Makers Go Abroad to Lush Locales

Indian film-makers are going abroad to shoot song sequences in exotic locations in a bid to hit the box-office jackpot.

FILM: Big and Daring, London Festival at 40

London's annual film festival marked its 40th year last week with one of the largest -- and most provocative -- ever staged.

CHINA-ARTS: Change, Change on Arts Front Leaves Some Behind

One year after graduating from the Central Music Conservatory, 23-year-old Fan Wei got a job. Not just any job: Fan was appointed acting first clarinettist in the newly founded China National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO).

(ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT)

The government of St. Kitts and Nevis says it is getting serious about developing a policy that will make it a "hot spot" for cultural activity and wants its Caribbean neighbours to follow suit.

MUSIC: Punk, Funk and African Singing Add Up to Become Fado

In the expanding market of 'world beat music', one of the most curious stars is a 25-year-old Portuguese crooner who dresses in flowing capes, sings passionately about the sea and death and tries to wed African singing and punk rock.

YUGOSLAVIA-FILM: “Pretty Village, Pretty Flame”

It is April 1992, the first day of war in Bosnia. But the friends do not know that the conflict has already erupted.

CULTURE-INDIA: Waiting for Death in Varanasi

For pious Hindus, this is India's 'eternal city' - a centre for pilgrimage and an auspicious place to die.

(ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT)

Small independent labels are tapping into the enduring popularity of 1970s Jamaican music by re-releasing vintage recordings from that era.

(ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT)

None of the other vendors took it seriously when women descended from the Ngong hills near the capital to hawk ethnic Maasai beadwork.

MUSIC-URUGUAY: Tango’s Long Journey to the Top

Born in the second half of the last century in the suburbs and port areas of the capitals of Argentina and Uruguay, the tango has reached its maximum international recognition at the dawn of the 21st century.