THEATRE-US: Native Son Rising

Edwina, played by de'Adre Aziza, an attractive young lady in the church choir, has her eye on "the Youth" (Daniel Breaker). She informs him, "And after we marry and you've got a job in the corporate sector, you'll buy me a sprawling two-storey house fulla African sculptures from tribes we know nothing about, kente cloth couch covers, and Malcolm X commemorative plates lining the walls of our airy, peach-coloured breakfast nook?"

BOOKS-US: A Path Out of the Wilderness

Helena Cobban's new book, "Re-Engage! America and the World After Bush", is not aimed at a target audience of officials, policy wonks and Washington elite think-tank types. So much is clear from a tagline running across the bottom of the cover: "An informed citizen's guide."

POLITICS-US: My Big, Fat Geek Voter Drive

Few events elicit the passion evident at the International Comic Con convention, as fanboys and gals descended upon San Diego over the weekend, braving long lines to marvel at the latest creations of their long-standing heroes.

FILM: Boys of Mass Destruction

In a twist of realism, a new feature film, "Johnny Mad Dog", uses a cast of actual ex-child soldiers from Liberia to portray the violent lives of youth forced to participate in armed conflict.

NORWAY: Make Africa’s Tragedies Comic

How do you wake up comfortable Norwegians to the distressing realities of child deaths and maternal health in developing countries? Through the comic books they so love.

BOOKS-US: Blogging Brobdingnagian Blowback

It was neoconservative pundit Charles Krauthammer who, in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse, inaugurated Washington's unipolar moment.

BOOKS: Muqtada – One Man’s Meat, Another Man’s Poison

"He is an American spy," the militiamen shouted at Patrick Cockburn four years ago in Kufa, south of Baghdad. He could have hardly imagined that he would live to write a book on the very people who kidnapped him.

THEATRE-US: Desegregating Schools, Then the Supreme Court

As Sen. Barack Obama prepares to accept the Democratic presidential nomination at a 75,000-seat football stadium in Denver, Colorado next month, a play on New York's Broadway takes audiences back to another iconic and groundbreaking figure in U.S. civil rights history.

BOOKS: You’re Not on Their Speed Dial

Amidst the rise of multinational corporations, technology that unites people across borders, and new waves of international migration, globalisation has also ushered in the formation of a powerful network of elites who have access to unprecedented resources and influence - and whose decision-making impacts the lives of millions across the globe.

Q&A: Will Olympics Break China's Human Rights Paralysis?

Barely a month before the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympics in China, it remains uncertain whether the Chinese government will respect basic human rights and press freedom during the Games.

LEBANON: Conflict Finds a Creative Side

Can beauty arise from conflict? When looking at the art scene in the Middle East, where a fault line of political instability stretches from Lebanon, Syria and Israel to Iraq and Iran, the answer seems to be a resounding 'yes'.

AFRICA: Artists Reflect on World Through Toys With A Difference

It’s not child’s play to showcase ‘‘toys’’ made by artists reflecting on a changing world in African countries. Miniature construction vehicles from Malawi, next to a diminutive Nelson Mandela presiding over South Africa’s first democratic parliament, jostle for space with the Belgian comic hero Tintin on safari in the Congo – all captured in carefully crafted wood.

RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: ‘The Other Final Match’

Thirty years after Argentina won its first Football World Cup, human rights groups and former players will pay homage to the victims of the dictatorship ruling the country at the time.

BOOKS-US: All Doughnuts Lead to the Pentagon

U.S. defence spending in recent years has either matched or exceeded the military budgets of the rest of the world combined. Presented with that fact, the next logical question is, where is all the money going? The answer is simple: Everywhere.

CUBA: The ‘Telenovela’ as Springboard for Public Debate

Months have gone by and he still receives suspicious calls on his cell-phone. Memories of a woman who became obsessed with him are triggered every time Chucho sees a popular prime time Brazilian TV "telenovela".

RIGHTS-CHAD: "Africa's Pinochet" Still Eluding Justice

Two years after the African Union mandated Senegal to conduct the trial of Chadian dictator Hissenè Habré, who is accused of thousands of political murders during his eight-year reign, the prosecution remains in limbo, six human rights groups complained in a joint statement Monday.

BRAZIL: African Rhythms Open Prospects for High-Risk Youngsters

"Axé" is a word that means "positive energy or life force" in the Yoruba language of West Africa, an important concept in the Afro-Brazilian "candomblé" religion. For hundreds of children and young people involved in the Axé Project, it is indeed a force for life.

BRAZIL: Delivery Boy Newshounds Show Life in Sao Paulo

Cleyton Perroni’s motorbike has been a part of his life since he was 12. But 19 years later, its role changed from recreation to an essential working tool as, equipped with a cell phone, he became a reporter of daily life in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.

THEATRE-US: Welcome to the Machine

"The Adding Machine" (1923) and "Top Girls" (1983) are separated by 60 years, but both used stylised techniques to portray workers as willing slaves of capitalism. That system has destroyed them, but they haven't the consciousness to know it. And they absorb attitudes that are racist and sexist.

GERMANY: Berlin Emerges as Arts Centre

Renowned for its rich assortment of music, opera and theatre life, Berlin is today the centre of the German art scene. A magnet for artists from around the world, thanks to its freewheeling lifestyle and abundance of low-cost studios, the German capital now increasingly attracts artists, international dealers and collectors.

BOOKS-IRAQ: The Fruit of a Poisonous Tree

For those seeking different and deeper reasons why Iraq ended up where it is today, other than the often-cited but somewhat clichéd list of blunders like the disbanding of the Iraqi army and dissolving of the Baath party, Jonathan Steele's "Defeat: Why America and Britain Lost Iraq" is a must-read.