ARGENTINA: Book Sheds Light on Enigmatic President

Who is Néstor Kirchner, really? This is the main question that Walter Curia attempts to answer in his book, currently a best-seller in Argentina, about the country's outspoken president, who enjoys high approval ratings at home but has had frequent public clashes with several governments in the region.

ARGENTINA: Both Foreigners and Locals Drive Tourism Boom

Since the 2002 devaluation of the peso, Argentina has not only drawn increasing numbers of foreign visitors, but many locals, who in the 1990s took advantage of the strong peso to travel abroad, have turned their gaze instead to their own vast country as a tourist destination.

BOOKS: Starting a New Conversation About Iran

Amid the overwhelmingly negative media coverage of Iran in the west, a chorus of new literary voices has emerged that portrays a far more complex image of that nation and its culture.

CORRECTED REPEAT*/ARTS: Jamaica Bids Farewell to a Cultural Icon

Like the legendary reggae singer Bob Marley, "Miss Lou", as she was affectionately known, will go down in the history of the Caribbean for having brought Jamaican culture to the rest of the world.

BRAZIL: Mother Courage of the Fashion World

The film "Zuzu Angel", which hits theatres in Brazil Friday, providing a fresh look at the crimes committed by the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, ends with a moving new version of renowned singer-songwriter Chico Buarque's 1977 song "Angélica", which was written in homage to Zuleika Angel Jones.

CULTURE: Many Notes, One Rhythm

A Bollywood dance class, the tones of a Chinese bamboo flute, a Cuban cookery lesson, Saharan soul music and later some hip-swivelling to a Mexican Latino-ska outfit.

PANAMA: Residents Evicted as Buildings Are Restored

The historic centre of Panama City has never looked better, thanks to the restoration of picturesque buildings, improved sidewalks and tighter security. However, thousands of residents have been forced to leave their homes as government and private investors have moved in.

MEDIA-AFRICA: It Shouldn’t Have to Bleed to Lead

The state of Africa, Charlayne Hunter-Gault says in her most recent book, "New News Out of Africa", is in many ways shaped by the public's image of Africa, and the image of Africa is in the hands of the media.

RUSSIA: Doing Acrobatics to Keep Kids Off the Streets

The magic of the circus feeds the dreams and fantasies of children in the audience, but at the Upsala Circus it has the same effect on the artistic troupe, made up of troubled boys and girls from the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia's second biggest city.

BRAZIL: Book Takes Dark Journey into World of Police Corruption

Amancio, a military police officer in Rio de Janeiro, was severely wounded in the back by an automatic rifle fired by a drug trafficker, according to official reports. But he was actually hit by "friendly fire" in the stomach, he told a friend just before he died in the hospital.

ARGENTINA: Industrial Design + Garbage = Jobs

With the support of three industrial designers and an architect, a group of informal garbage collectors in the Argentine capital has come together in a project to design and produce furniture and other objects out of waste materials.

FILM-RWANDA: Portrait of Genocide Probes Idealism and Faith

From "Schindler's List" to "Hotel Rwanda", popular films that depict individual responses to state-sanctioned terror often spotlight the extraordinary courage of selfless heroes.

BOOKS-US: A Call for Open Arms, Not Sealed Borders

"Before you build a wall, fix the problem," says Michelle Wucker, author of the new book "Lockout", which ties immigration to the United States' - and the world's - long-term economic viability.

ENVIRONMENT-U.S.: Al Gore Is Back and Greener Than Ever

Six years after he lost his bid for the White House, Al Gore, the former U.S. vice-president, has returned to the national stage, but this time as a champion of the movement to fight global climate change.

MUSIC-AFRICA: Refugee All Stars Stir Hope From Despair

While the international community has invested Sierra Leone's recovery in trials and tribunals, Sierra Leoneans themselves have relied on family and sheer inner will to rebuild lives devastated by the country's civil war.

FILM: Setting the Record Straight on Global Warming

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's documentary on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth", is filling theatres across North America - and gets the science right, according to climate experts.

MEXICO: Hurricane-Proofing History

New infrastructure, insurance and technical training are part of Mexico's preparations for protecting valuable archaeological sites, museums, and buildings dating back to colonial times in the forthcoming hurricane season.

CHILE: Musicians’ Strike Leads to Cancellation of Opera Season

The Santiago Municipal Theatre, one of Latin America's foremost orchestra halls, is facing its worst crisis ever: for the first time in its nearly 150-year history, it has been forced to cancel its opera and concert season because of a strike by musicians.

ARGENTINA: World Cup – Behind Bars

The Argentine team lost 7-3 to Ivory Coast and was eliminated from the 2006 world football championship. But luckily for Argentina, this is not the World Cup that kicks off this month in Germany, but a contest that has already begun in 32 prisons in the province of Buenos Aires.

CARIBBEAN: Recognising the Legacy of Slavery

Slavery is inextricably intertwined with the history of the countries of the Caribbean, and a new Sites of Memory on the Slave Route project is focusing on the African influence in Aruba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

DEVELOPMENT-BRAZIL: Music Can Conquer Poverty

Mozart's music has transformed the small, impoverished town of Sao Caetano, a forgotten backwater in the state of Pernambuco in northeast Brazil, ever since its children's orchestra began to win national and international fame, 13 years ago.