/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ CULTURE-CUBA: Reinaldo Arenas Star of Internet Journal’s Debut

The life and works of the late Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, an artist celebrated in Hollywood and mistrusted in Havana, are the centre of the premiere issue of La Jiribilla, a Cuban cultural journal published on the Internet.

FILM-BRAZIL: Festivals Fuel Dreams of Major Productions

Lidio Sohn stood out at the fifth Film and Video Festival of Curitiba, in southern Brazil, because of his bald head and his goatee, but especially because of his filmmaking history and his years beyond those of his fellow competitors who, like him, dream of making a living with their art.

CULTURE-VENEZUELA: Romulo Gallegos Centre Gets Second Wind

The Rómulo Gallegos Centre for Latin American Studies (CELARG) was once a reference point for the region's writers and academics. Efforts are underway in Venezuela to make sure the institution is able to recover its past stature.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/LITERATURE-INDIA: Storyteller Narayan Gone, But Malgudi Lives On

In the demise of R K Narayan, the country is bound the feel the literary vacuum left by perhaps the greatest Indian writer of the twentieth century.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ CULTURE-US: Black Circus Heads for Africa

The only African American-run circus in the world will make its first overseas pilgrimage this summer to perform in South Africa on Nelson Mandela's birthday.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-CARIBBEAN: Making Dollars From the Steel Pan Industry

Trinidad and Tobago misses no opportunity to gloat that it once gave the world "the latest music invention" in the steel pan. But for the majority of bands, activity is limited to the six-week annual celebration of carnival.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-US: Warning: This CD Could Make You Worship the Devil

First, a few "facts". Disco music causes homosexuality in mice and deafness in pigs. Ninety-eight per cent of teenage pregnancies are a result of listening to rock 'n' roll. White children who play black music are contributing to the "mongrelisation" of America. Oh yeah, and the Captain and Tennille worship Satan.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-SYRIA: Politics Influence Pop Art

It's interesting to watch politics influence the development of pop art.

THEATRE-LATIN AMERICA: Something is Rotten in the State of Peru

In the last scene of Hamlet, currently showing in the Peruvian capital, the audience is reminded that just as in the Denmark portrayed by William Shakespeare, "something is rotten" in Lima, and that only a few months ago they had to "take arms against a sea of troubles" to topple a corrupt government.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/LITERATURE-CHINA: Racy Books, Authors’ Wars Thrive/REPEAT

Mao Zedong's writings might have defined the literary outlook of generations of Chinese people before 1978, but these days what readers find exciting is a far cry from the sober lines of the Chairman's poetic exploits.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/LITERATURE-CHINA: Racy Books, Authors’ Wars Thrive

Mao Zedong's writings might have defined the literary outlook of generations of Chinese people before 1978, but these days what readers find exciting is a far cry from the sober lines of the Chairman's poetic exploits.

LITERATURE-NICARAGUA: The Orphaned Poets Society

A group of writers 25 to 30 years old are pulling Nicaragua's "young" poetry out of anonymity with the publication of the magazine 400 Elefantes (400 Elephants) and the anthology 'Los huérfanos de Rubén' (Ruben's Orphans).

CULTURE: Celebrating The Best In Zimbabwean Arts

At a time of tumultuous change in Zimbabwe, the third Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) has offered the best in Zimbabwean arts and culture.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-PERU: Rock ‘n’ Roll Between Christ, Satan and the Andes

Rock 'n' roll in Peru is clearly divided into styles, and includes a range of genres within the evangelical Christian movement, a series of groups dedicated to music of the underworld, and bands that are heavily influenced by indigenous music and culture.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE: Artists From 35 Countries Join Zimbabwean Performers

Artists from 35 countries have joined Zimbabwean performers in the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) this year.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-AFRICA: Italy Opens Up to African Culture

African culture appears to be very much in fashion in Italy with a number of exhibitions and concerts across the country showcasing the art of the continent.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS-AUSTRALIA: New Book Celebrates Aboriginal Art

Australia's indigenous peoples have been producing creative works long before the first European settler set foot on this continent, but it has only been in the last several years that the art of the country's Aborigines began becoming popular outside their communities.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-COLOMBIA: Ancient Composers Conquer Modern Audiences

Música Ficta, a Colombian group that performs compositions originating in Spain and Latin America during the colonial era, has proved its mettle by turning into the main attraction of a music festival here this month.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-JAPAN: All Eyes on Royal Pregnancy

The race for a new prime minister in Japan ranks as major news here, but many have their eyes fixed on what to them is good news that has been lacking in tough economic times: reports that Crown Princess Masako is pregnant.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS: Jamaican Author a Finalist for High- Price Literary Award

"It's Easter, and Jamaica is in a state of emergency." Little did Margaret Cezair-Thompson know that those first words in her first novel would begin a story that would make her a finalist for literature's richest prize.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-UAE: Bedouin Wedding a Riot of Colour and Music

For centuries they have wandered across the vast expanse of the Arabian desert on camel back, braving dry, hot winds.