/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ BOOKS-US: Taking the Shine Off the US Services Sector

Until the recent US economic downturn, pundits on both the left and right had claimed that job growth had picked up during the past decade. In a new book, one left-leaning journalist finds out the reality behind the service-sector boom by actually trying to work in it.

MUSIC-JAMAICA: Dancehall Beats the Odds

Dancehall music, often criticised by musicologists for its risque and violent themes, has confounded its detractors by becoming the subject of a wave of albums reissued by North American record companies.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-BRAZIL: Copacabana, a Haven for the Elderly

A healthy portion of the Brazilian middle class's memories are concentrated in Copacabana, a coastal neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro that developed and aged during the 20th century, turning into a paradise for retirees - now the theme of a new film.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE: South Africa in the Eye of a Surrealist

Images of urban squalour and bloodshed juxtaposed with pictures of comfortable white suburbs in Johannesburg make up some of the work of South African artist William Kentridge, on display in his first US retrospective at New York's New Museum.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-CARIBBEAN: Calling International Listeners

Caribbean music, still trying to find its legs in the lucrative world of mainstream music, is once again receiving help in testing those waters with the launch of Caribbeat Entertainment Limited (CEL), an entity geared toward introducing the various offshoots of the region's music to international audiences.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-JAPAN: Stress-free, Nature-Friendly Life Draws Tired Urbanites

When Yoko Tashiro arrived in Shintoku nearly six years ago, her only thought was to get away from a hectic and oppressive lifestyle in Tokyo, the capital city where she was born and raised but in which she felt stifled.

MUSIC-MEXICO: Trevi, from Stardom to Condemnation

Mexican singer Gloria Trevi remains at the peak of fame, no longer because of her musical career, but because of a shocking story of sex, murder and the abuse of minors, a case that has beefed up profits for publishers and television networks in Mexico.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ARTS-CUBA: National Museum of Fine Arts Reborn

The reopening of Cuba's National Museum of Fine Arts is anxiously awaited this week after a long period of restoration that changed its facade and expanded its presence in the capital's historic district from just one building to three.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC: Promoters Drive Top Star out of Kenya

Kenyan lingala fans are left wondering if they will ever see another Congolese musician in their country after the abysmal treatment of Koffi Olomide on his recent visit.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-US: From the Mouth of the Crocodile

The African seduction of New York City audiences continues this summer with a new offering from Habib Koite, one of Mali's brightest stars, and his band Bamado - which roughly means "from the mouth of the crocodile".

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/LITERATURE-LATAM: Elena Poniatowska Gazes Heavenward

Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska has boarded so many airplanes in the last three months that she has not had time even to make a stop in Mexico. On all her flights, she requests a window seat so she can enjoy the view of the firmament, just like Lorenzo de Tena, the protagonist of "La piel del cielo" (the skin of heaven), her latest novel.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/THEATRE-PALESTINE: Reflecting Pain, Horror and Desperation

With the continuation of the intifada - an uprising - and Israel's sealing-off of the Gaza Strip along with many towns and villages in the West Bank, Palestinians are again made to live their lives in a virtual state of siege.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Emancipation Celebrations with a Difference

This year's Emancipation Day celebrations, which run from Jul 27 until Aug 1, are being transformed and include plans to attract African entrepreneurs in a bid to redefine the 'middle passage' - the notorious route along which slaves were transported across the Atlantic ocean.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-SINGAPORE: City-State Wants a Sporting Chance

Singaporeans are probably among the most competitive people in Southeast Asia, but the likes of them channeling their energy into sports rather than in activities that would ensure their economic future used to seem quite far-fetched.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/TELEVISION-ARGENTINA: Gov’t Takes Humour Seriously

A television parody in which the star is President Fernando de la Rúa, played by a comedian, last week broke records for total viewing audience - and now the government has made it into a state matter.

BOOKS-LATAM: Have You Read the One about Pirates?

Publishers are looking at ways to fight the pirating of books in Latin America, where an estimated 50 million to 60 million books are photocopied annuallya practice defended by students and even by the writers themselves, who question the scant portion of the income generated by their works that ends up in their pockets.

MUSIC-KENYA: Raising the Profile of Local Artists

The Safari Sevens is one of the premier annual events in Kenya's social diary. It's an international seven- a-side rugby tournament, attracting competitors from all over Africa and Europe.

FILM-US: No IMF, No Cry

When then Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley was first forced to seek a loan from the International Monetary Fund in 1977, it was a major retreat for his People's National Party.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-ZANZIBAR: Behind the Veil

Sayyida Salme was one of the most extraordinary women of the 18th century. Born into the closed community of the Zanzibar court, she broke with tradition and taught herself to write and from there went on to become the first author from the region to write extensively about life in her tiny country.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-CUBA: Ibrahim Ferrer Challenges Time, Yet Again

The British record label World Circuit has begun recording its second album in the Cuban capital with local singer Ibrahim Ferrer, who at the age of 73 won recognition in the United States as a "new artist."

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-JAMAICA: Reggae Aficionados Ready to Storm US Airwaves

With mass media in the United States still out of its reach after thirty years, reggae music is in line for its biggest break in that country with the advent of the satellite formatted XM Radio.