THEATRE-SIERRA LEONE: Colonial-Era Play Sparks Controversy

A locally-written play, which relates the story of a traditional ruler who mobilised his people not to pay a 'hut tax' to British colonial authorities in the 19th century has stirred up a political dust storm.

CINEMA-PAKISTAN: A Look At 50 Years of History

A very readable book by Mushtaq Gazdar on 50 years of Pakistan cinema fills a vacuum in this nation's history by elucidating on the cultural processes involved in the production of locally-made movies.

CINEMA-JAMAICA: Jamiaca Awards its First “Oscars”

Jamaica's movie and television industry, after years of playing second fiddle to the music and theatre world, finally had their night of stars recently with the first Hollwyood Oscar-style awards for cinema stalwarts.

CULTURE-GUATEMALA: Traditional Dress a Part of History

The more than 800 styles of traditional dress used by indigenous communities in Guatemala provides the country's peoples with much more than just clothing.

CINEMA: Ethics Questions Over Eco-Documentaries

Film makers and broadcasters from 47 countries at the recent 'Wildscreen '98' - the world's largest festival of wildlife and conservation films - prompted some impassioned debate here between the north and south.

ART-SOMALIA: Struggling to Survive

Artists from Somalia, struggling to survive an eight-years-long conflict in the Horn of Africa, drew attention to their plight at an exhibition at the National Museums of Kenya which closed last week.

LITERATURE-THAILAND: Rekindling the Poetic Soul

Literature in Thailand has a long and rich history teeming with novelists, essayists and short-story writers but when it comes to poetry the ranks are surprisingly thin.

TOURISM-JAMAICA: Jazz, Rhythm ‘n Blues to the Rescue

A year of disturbances which cut heavily into the leisure industry - the lifeblood of the resort town of Ocho Rios - gleeful tourism officials saw the crowds return this weekend for the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival.

MUSIC-BENIN: Funeral Music Becomes National Rhythm

Benin, renowned throughout the world for its bronze statues, curiously has suffered a culture gap in that there is no national dance movement in the west African nation.

CINEMA-AFRICA: Learning From Life 2000 Years Ago

Southern African nations, grappling at the end of the century to establish political and economic co- operation, could do worse than looking back on the life of their ancestors of 2,000 years ago.

CINEMA-VENEZUELA: New Movie Complexes Lure Crowds

Movies were playing to nearly empty houses in Venezuela just one year ago, but now the lines are back at the box office.

MUSIC-US: Celebrating 100 Years of George Gershwin

U.S. musicians - rappers, classical orchestras, jazz chanteuses and rock stars - all appear to have one thing on their mind this fall: the music of George Gershwin.

BOOKS-JAMAICA: Veteran Politician Looks Back

Veteran politician Dudley Thompson has achieved notoriety in Jamaica during his 82 years life. Thompson, who made his name as a young lawyer defending Kenyan statesman Jomo Kenyatta during the 1950s, remains the only government minister who has been cast in a movie while he has always made headlines with his political utterances.

BOOKS-CHILDREN: Toward a Better Life Through Storytelling

Iranian Monir Pouraslani held her audience spellbound as she quietly revealed her success in using the power of the written word to change the attitude of 400 youths held in a penitentiary in her homeland.

MUSIC-JAMAICA: New Twist in Saga of Bob Marley

Reggae superstar Bob Marley, who died 17 years ago, seems destined always to be in the news about the world of music.

THEATRE-MALAYSIA: Political Playwright Turns Romantic

Writer-director Huzar Sulaiman made his name in Malaysia's theatre world with stage works that had strong political undertones. His latest play, however, is on a different tack - and the critics and audience are lapping it up.

SCULPTURE: Knowing the Value of Granite

Leading Zimbabwean sculptor, Joram Mariga, learned a valuable lesson on a recent trip to Japan; Japanese sculptors are producing magnicient pieces by using Zimbabwean granite, which is virtually ignored by artists here.

CINEMA-VENEZUELA: Picking the Pocket of the Pickpocket

The latest movie by Argentine-born film- maker Alejandro Saderman comes at an appropriate time; amid the global economic upheaval of today he has produced a satire on a financial crisis in Venezuela.

CULTURE-MEXICO: If the Shoe Fits – Wear It!

Museums around the world can be unique in their exhibits. There are medieval "torture museums' in many parts of Europe even a sex museum in Amsterdam and a space museum in Washington but there is believed to be only one museum that exhibits only shoes.

BOOKS-GERMANY: The Abominable Snowman Unmasked

Yeti jokes did the rounds at the recent Frankfurt Bookfair when famed mountaineer Reinhold Messner presented his book 'Yeti', which debunks the centuries-old myth of an abominable snowman stalking the Himalayas.

CULTURE-LEBANON: Wine the Great Survivor of Civil War

In the Lebanese valley of the Bekaa, not far from where Romans venerated the god of wine, Bacchus, Bedouins are busy harvesting grapes for the new vintage of Lebanese wine - as they did during the 1975-1990 civil war.