MUSIC-JAMAICA: Remembering “Stepping Razor”

During his life, Peter Tosh grew to be one of reggae's most controversial figures. Today, 11 years after his death, mention of the man they called the "Stepping Razor" still causes heated argument.

CULTURE-ZIMBABWE: Activism Through Art

Through the eyes of a group of young Zimbabwean artists, the rising increase in violence against women and children in Zimbabwe has leaped further into the public domain.

CINEMA-USA: The United States – ‘The Big One’

Why call it the United States of America when you could use a more evocative name - like "The Big One"? Why should patriotic Americans stand for the the "Star-Spangled Banner" when the national anthem could be that catchy little number by Queen - "We Will Rock You"? ' These are just some of the questions asked by writer-director- author Michael Moore in a scrappy, affably populist way in his new quasi-documentary movie - called "The Big One" (distributed by Miramax).

ARTS-ENTERTAINMENT – 4.

Hong Kong soon will be celebrating the first year of its return to China, but a series of documentary films being shown here reveal the mixed emotions felt by Hong Kong people toward their ancestral homeland and Britain, the former colonial power.

ARTS-ENTERTAINMENT – 5. LITERATURE: Snake Language – Seeking a Femininist Voice

Literature written by women generally is ignored in Chile because of a tendancy to ignore anything to to do with reflecting the feminist perpective. At least, that is the conclusion of Raquel Olea, a professor in literature and a prominant feminist, in her new book: "Lengua Vibora - Producciones de lo femenino en la escritura de mujeres chilenas" (Snake Language. The feminist angle in writings by Chilean women).

ARTS-ENTERTAINMENT – 5. LITERATURE: Snake Language – Seeking a Femininist Voice

Literature written by women generally is ignored in Chile because of a tendancy to ignore anything to to do with reflecting the feminist perpective. At least, that is the conclusion of Raquel Olea, a professor in literature and a prominant feminist, in her new book: "Lengua Vibora - Producciones de lo femenino en la escritura de mujeres chilenas" (Snake Language. The feminist angle in writings by Chilean women).

CINEMA-USA: The United States – ‘The Big One’

Why call it the United States of America when you could use a more evocative name - like "The Big One"? Why should patriotic Americans stand for the the "Star-Spangled Banner" when the national anthem could be that catchy little number by Queen - "We Will Rock You"? ' These are just some of the questions asked by writer-director- author Michael Moore in a scrappy, affably populist way in his new quasi-documentary movie - called "The Big One" (distributed by Miramax).

ART-ZIMBABWE: Local Artists Quench Foreign Tastes

Every time a new art gallery opens in Zimbabwe, young painters here have another window through which to show the world their creative expression, but the window is far bright.

CULTURE: Life in a Global Village

Faith, hope and charity came together in Washington this week in a somewhat mawkish and misleading mix at the 'Global Village' - described by organisers as "a life-sized re-creation of living conditions among people from around the world."

CINEMA-BRAZIL: Children Bring Social Drama to the Screen

Like thousands of Brazilian children, Vinicius de Oliveira, dreamed of being a star on the football field - with its rich rewards providing a way to escape the poverty of his family life.

ARTS-ENTERAINMENT – 6.

When hundreds of students rampaged through Dhaka recently demanding examinations scheduled next month be postponedso they could watch the World Cup soccer fimnals in Franceit was a pointed reminder of the power TV has over youth in this country.

ART-USA: Fernand Leger’s American Sojourn Re-visited

When French painter Fernand Leger visited New York City in 1930, he wrote back to his friends that the city's "overloaded spectacle" had driven him "mad with joy." Now, a New York exhibition recaptures his experience in a survey of Leger's machine-inspired and yet sensuous work.

MUSIC-CARIBBEAN: David Rudder Just Wants to Make Music

His costume soaked with sweat, David Rudder leans back and laughed as the crowd of Jamaican music lovers screamed and shouted for more of his commentary-type calypso tunes.

BOOKS-JAMAICA: It’s Not All Violence and Crime

British writer Guy Kenneway was familiar with books about Jamaica, a country he repeatedly has visited since 1985. What he read was mostly negative - violence and crime being the dominant features.

BOOKS: Liberterians Explore Freedom of the Internet

Every political ideology can be transmitted through the Internet, from the missives of Zapatista leader 'Subcomandante Marcos' to the rantings of the neo-Nazi organisation - White Aryan Resistance. But for some users of the web, the communications network has fostered its own ideology: post-partisan libertarianism.

CULTURE-RELIGION: Rare Display of Shroud of Turin

The shroud of Turin, believed by some Christians to be the cloth that covered the body of Jesus Christ after he was crucified, is on public view in Italy for the first time in 20 years.

LITERATURE: “Half Mourning” for Uruguyan Dictatorship

Uruguyan author Mario Delgado Aparain has come a long way since the days 30 years ago when he roamed the countryside while his parents searched for work. Today his books have been translated into seven languages.

MUSIC-MALAYSIA: Islam Goes Pop

Move over those Backstreet Boys and Hanson. A new Islamic musical revolution is sweeping Malaysia and is threatening to spread to the rest of Asia. It's led by a clean- cut singing group of young men called 'Raihan', which in Arabic means 'sweet scent to heaven.'

MUSIC-USA: 100 Years After Birth, Paul Robeson Gains Recognition

Long before there was a Michael Jackson, a Denzel Washington, a Michael Jordan - or even a Jesse Jackson, there was Paul Robeson - whose centennial birthday last week revived interest in arguably the most multi-talented African American artist in U.S. history.

CULTURE-ISRAEL: The Man Who Spread the Hebrew Word

Back in 1889 in then Palestine, Lithuanian-born Eliezer Ben Yehuda made a pact with a group of his Jewish friends to stop using their native Yiddish, and speak only in Hebrew.

CINEMA: Mexican Screen Legend Makes Comeback

Who says 84 is too old to be working? Not Mexican actress Maria Felix, who first shot to fame on the silver screen in 1943 in the character of "Dona Barbara."