/ARTS WEEKLY/BRITAIN: A World in Exodus Captured

The spread of the free market has brought prosperity and freedom for some. But for others rapid economic and political changes sweeping the globe today have brought only instability and misery.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MEDIA-ARGENTINA: Quechua Language on the Air

Descendants of indigenous people in northwestern Argentina have launched a radio station that broadcasts in both Spanish and the Quechua language, as part of a plan that includes the creation of six similar stations.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-BRAZIL: Inmates Sent to Slaughter

"Carandirú", the new sensation at the Brazilian box office, recounts the story of the country's worst prison massacre while also attempting to demonstrate the human side of those who lived under their own laws in the "prison-slaughterhouse" that gives the film its name.

/ARTS WEEKLY/INDIA: Computerisation Threatens Urdu Calligraphy

Saba Zaidi, a student of fine arts, dreams of being a good calligrapher of Urdu, Arabic and Persian, but she knows there are few patrons left for this ancient art of writing with style.

/ARTS WEEKLY/THEATRE-NIGERIA: Cleansing the Film Industry

Every weekend, youth of different ages and sexes converge on Nigeria's magnificent, but dying, National Theatre located in this former capital to watch new video films shown by producers before being released for sale to the public.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ART-PAKISTAN: ‘Cartoon is Blank Verse’

Is it valid to render tragic moments and events in illustrations? What is so funny about the invasion and occupation of Iraq, or for that matter, the barbs that the governments of India and Pakistan are trading?

/ARTS WEEKLY/BOOKS-COLOMBIA: Paradoxes of Writers and Reading

A new generation of Colombian writers, taking a different path than the magical realism of their compatriot Gabriel García Márquez, are among the main attractions at the 16th International Book Fair of Bogotá, paradoxically taking place in a country that reads very little and comprehends less, according to studies.

/ARTS WEEKLY/THEATRE-CUBA: Naked Celestina

The months go by and the long queues continue outside the Trianón cinema-theatre in the Cuban capital, where 'El Público' troupe is staging a controversial interpretation of the Spanish masterpiece "La Celestina".

/ARTS WEEKLY/VIETNAM: Gritty Reality Film Makes Industry Sit up

A film that has shaken audiences with its potent combination of sex, drugs and HIV/AIDS, set against a stark portrayal of the lives of young prostitutes, is just as effectively forcing Vietnam's film industry to take a long, hard look at itself.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CULTURE-VENEZUELA: The Death of Arts Patronage

Private foundations promoting the arts are headed towards extinction in Venezuela, disappearing amidst the acute economic crisis and the lack of legislation that would provide incentives for their efforts.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ARCHAEOLOGY-MEXICO: Cement Defeats the Aztec Gods

The archaeological enigma of the Teotihuacán citadel, located near the Mexican capital, will guard its secrets under the cement and steel of urban growth, perhaps forever.

/ARTS WEEKLY/THEATRE: Sri Lanka Looks at War Through Art

Political and military conflict can often be a fertile ground for artistic creativity. Art can serve as an important outlet for those who find themselves caught in the middle of warring factions. It can also be a useful propaganda tool for rival factions.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM: ‘Chilean Geisha’ Moves to Big Screen

Anita Alvarado, known as the ''Chilean geisha'', went from Cinderella to a controversial female version of King Midas, who turned to gold everything he touched. A former prostitute-turned-millionaire celebrity, she is now about to make the leap to the big screen.

/ARTS WEEKLY/GERMANY: Hot Secrets of Cold War Revealed

Espionage can hardly be considered an ideal form of contact between peoples. But it was once such a part of everyday life in divided Germany that citizens - east and west - seemed at times to take it almost for granted in the Cold War years.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-CUBA: A Festival for Those Low on Cash

Cuba is preparing to receive a selection of films from outside the major international movie industry, the aim being to give the best of the bunch prizes that are much more useful than the traditional statues or plaques.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MIDEAST: The ‘Intifadah’ Comes to Stage

These days mark the start of one of Israel's s most important trials in years, the court martial of Jonathan Ben Artzi, nephew of former hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is charged along with nine others with refusing to do his compulsory military service.

/ARTS WEEKLY/THEATRE-CHINA: Broadway Musicals Draw in the Crowds

In Broadway and London's West End, musicals may have bid farewell to the crowds and the days of standing ovations, but in China, the musical is the hottest thing to happen in the culture circles here.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-U.S.: Drummer’s Legacy will Long Echo

"Thank you for bringing me safely home to the house of my father."

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM: Long Ago is Today in Zimbabwe Political Tales

According to a Zimbabwean proverb, Long ago did not live long ago.

/ARTS WEEKLY/INDIA: On Film, The Life and Times of a Nationalist Hero

A film that seeks to portray the turbulent final years of one of India's greatest heroes of its freedom struggle is finally under way, but not without controversy.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-ARGENTINA: The Set Is Enormous, and Keeps Growing

Some 10,000 workers from the film, television and advertising industries in Argentina have been enjoying a boom during the past year, thanks to the depreciation of the currency, which turned this country into an affordable, attractive and multifaceted film set.