/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-JAMAICA: Documentary Goes Behind the Scenes of ‘The Harder They Come’

When the movie 'The Harder They Come' opened worldwide in 1972, the name of Perry Henzell, its director and co- writer, was unknown. Unknown then too and for decades after its release, were the struggles Henzell faced trying to bring this tale of urban Jamaican life to the silver screen.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/INDIA: UNESCO Recognition Raises Hopes For Himalayan ‘Toy Train’

Visitors to this popular hill resort in the eastern Indian Himalayas come for the bracing mountain air and the spectacular view of the snow-covered Kanchenjunga - the third highest mountain in the world.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-JAMAICA: Local Music Pioneer Dies

When Theophilus Beckford, who musicologists credit with recording the first hit song in Jamaica, died here recently, he was a broken man who was unknown to most of his countrymen.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-THAILAND: Historical Film Makes Viewers Sit Up

When the Thai film 'Bang Rajan', based on the struggle of villagers who tried to fend off Burmese invaders, began to make money, its director and even moviegoers themselves were surprised.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-VENEZUELA: A Writer Who Suffered His Country’s Pain

It's not every day one has the chance to interview someone who holds identification card number 21 and who was Venezuela's most internationally recognised intellectual figure.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-BRAZIL: ‘Taina’ Defends Nature and Children’s Cinema

The loneliness of Tainá, an indigenous girl in the middle of Brazil's seemingly infinite Amazon forests, only grew worse with the death of her elderly Uncle Gé, but she inherited from her people a courageous heart and a wealth of knowledge about nature - both of which help her survive.

/ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-KENYA: The ‘Bad Girl Of South African Pop’ Thrills Fans

Kenya being Kenya, political intrigue permeates everything. Brenda Fassie's first Nairobi show was no exception. Just seconds before the 'bad girl of South African pop' was due to go on stage at the City Cabanas, all the lights went out.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ARTS: WOMADelaide Wows Audiences Once More

It is supposed to be held every two years, but the last two WOMADelaide festivals were so successful that there are now talks of the arts festival being held annually.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURE-COLOMBIA: Carnival Celebrations Invade Bogota

One of the most representative and popular Carnival festivals from throughout Colombia is taking the capital by storm this year, part of a joint effort by official entities and private enterprise.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS-US: The Darker Side of Fast Foods

In today's fast-paced world, fast food has become a cheap and welcome alternative for many people balancing busy lives. But the price on the menu is far from the true cost consumers are paying, according to a new book on the "dark side of the all-American meal".

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ARTS-NIGERIA: Plans To Sell Off National Theatre Criticised

"It's all rumours. Government cannot sell off the National Theatre. It's not possible," says a staff at the National Theatre, which is located in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos.

MUSIC: Sparrow Gets Caribbean’s Highest Award

The Mighty Sparrow, has come a long way since the days calypsonians were put on par with dogs in Trinidad and Tobago.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-PERU: Persistence of Racism Explored in Hallucinatory Film

The film 'Bala perdida' (Stray Bullet) is a "psychological fantasy of horror", according to its director, Aldo Salvini, who is putting together a singular story of the brutal racism that subsists among Peru's urban youth.

SPORTS-CARIBBEAN: West Indies Seek Outside Help to Improve Cricket Game

When the visiting Australians beat the mighty West Indies cricket team in a Test Series back in 1995, it marked the end of a 15-year period of dominance of the game world-wide for the boys from the Caribbean.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC-KENYA: Death Of ‘Malaika’ Music Legend

The death of Fadhili Williams, the man who first sang the world-famous love song 'Malaika' (Angel), is a big blow to Kenya's music fraternity, particularly the older generation.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/THEATRE-PERU: The Sound of Dreams

In the surviving shell of the Peruvian capital's scorched Municipal Theatre, a group of composers, musicians, singers and actors present 'Zona de neblina, el sonido de los sueños' (Zone of Mist, Sound of Dreams), an extraordinary multimedia spectacle.

/ART & ENTERTAINMENT/BOOKS: John Le Carre’s Fiction Keeping Pace With Real Life

News reports from Nigeria a month ago described the agony of health officials and human rights activists over allegations that unapproved tests by one of the world's major pharmaceutical companies had caused the deaths of 11 children and serious injury to many others.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ART-INDONESIA: Bali’s Women Artists Break into Male Territory

She is the oldest living artist of the most traditional style of Balinese painting, but there was a time that the works of Ni Made Suciarmi could not be found in any of the numerous art galleries here.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-PORTUGAL: Captains of April 1974 as Midwives to Democracy

The military captains who overthrew Portugal's dictatorship on Apr. 25, 1974, subverted the nature of a coup d'etat, turning it into an instrument of democracy.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/FILM-NEPAL: Local Cinema Slowly Replacing India’s Bollywood

Once Indian cinema enthusiasts, Nepali film watchers are now getting keen about home-made productions as the local film industry tunes into popular tastes, making the most of government tax breaks and digital technology.

/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/LITERATURE-AFRICA: Wole Soyinka Speaks His Mind

The conference room was packed to bursting. Yet more and more people were determined to squeeze in, tripping over a maze of camera cables and microphone leads. The assorted journalists, usually known for their cynicism, gazed at the old man on the platform with something akin to awe.