ECONOMY-IRAN: Waiting for Ahmadinejad to Deliver

While President Mahmud Ahmadinejad is busy running a high voltage campaign against the United States and its policies, back home citizens are wondering if he will ever make good on an election promise to crack down on the corrupt and distribute Iran's vast oil revenues more equitably.

PAKISTAN: Taliban Back in Business in Border Areas

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's controversial peace deal with Pakistan-based Taliban has already resulted in a new assertiveness by the ‘Islamic Scholars' in the Waziristan agency which borders Afghanistan.

RIGHTS-NEPAL: National Commission in ‘Deep Coma’

When government and Maoist leaders sit across from one another, a week from now, they will discuss a handful of deals on various issues that are supposed to culminate in a 'pivotal' meeting. At least two of the agreements specify a role in the peace process for the local United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) - none mention Nepal's own National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

FINANCE: Bread Before Circuses, Poverty Activists Urge Govt

British Columbia's auditor general says the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, set to take place in Vancouver and Whistler, will cost at least 2.2 billion dollars, fueling concerns that the games could divert scarce resources for affordable housing and other critical needs of low-income Canadians.

RELIGION-GERMANY: Opera Hits a Discordant Note

German politicians met Muslim leaders this week for an unprecedented Islam Conference - a debate that the government hopes will pave the way for smoother integration of the country's Muslims, even though community representatives warn that more needs to be done.

CHILE: Disturbing Exhibit Combines Technology, Human Rights, Art

The screens of more than 100 old television sets flicker with poems on torture and death that are generated by a sophisticated computer programme.

THAILAND: Coup Leader May Heal Rift With Malay-Muslims

Even as he gives shape to a political agenda in the Thai capital, coup leader Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin has reason to worry about the troubled southern provinces along the Malaysian border.

ARGENTINA: Bringing Films – and Filmmakers – to Prison

A pilot project with recreational and social reinsertion goals was launched in Argentina to show films in prison, followed by discussions between the inmates, the filmmakers and actors, and experts on the issues touched on by the movies.

INDONESIA: Journalism as Jihad

An Indonesian journalist has news for those of the country's Muslims who have turned to terrorism to express rage. ''Journalism is my jihad,'' says Agung Rulianto, who leads a team of investigative reporters for the 'Tempo' weekly magazine.

COLOMBIA: Measuring the Cost of Paradise by Cup Size

Setting a telenovela ratings record in Colombia, more than six million viewers recently tuned in to an episode of "Sin tetas no hay paraíso", (Without Tits There's no Paradise), barely two weeks into the show's run. The record means a lot to this country, which has become one of the world's leading exporters of soap operas.

CHINA: Yasukuni Shrine Key to Future Ties With Japan

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's annual pilgrimage to the Yasukuni shrine, where war criminals are honoured alongside Japan's war dead, has come to symbolise the seething historical tensions between China and its former invader and coloniser.

RELIGION: Muslims Offered Italian Values

Interior Minister Giuliano Amato proposed in August that Muslim organisations in Italy will need to subscribe to a Charter of Values to signal their readiness to be fully integrated into Italian society and its political culture.

HEALTH-INDONESIA: Building Awareness Against Bird Flu

On a recent evening, Muhammad Farhan worked the crowd in an up-market café with the banter that has earned him fame as one of Indonesia's popular talk show hosts. A new book by a local author- In Bed with Models'- set the tone for this off-the-air performance.

DEVELOPMENT: From the Margins of Society, to Centre Field

Nelson Mandela delivered his first speech there after leaving prison. The square has also been the scene of anti-apartheid protests and military parades. This coming week, however, Cape Town's Grand Parade will be a venue for something entirely different: street soccer matches played during the 2006 Homeless World Cup (HWC).

POLITICS-ASIA: Nepal Ripe for Army Coup?

Thailand's coup has hit close to home in Nepal's capital. Here, a hereditary monarch, who like his South-east Asian counterpart claims to be the incarnation of a god, sits in his palace brooding - or Internet gambling, depending on the rumours - after being forced to return power to the people in April, following three weeks of swelling street protests.

JAPAN: Shinzo Abe Will Boost Patriotism, Ties With US

The election of Shinzo Abe as head of the powerful Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and prime minister designate is watched with a sense of doom by liberalists, while his backers display satisfaction that a conservative politician will now steer the country towards a dominant role in Asia.

MEXICO: Sex Abuse Victim Under Fire from Catholic Church

Joaquín Aguilar has been seeking justice since 1994, when he says he was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest in Mexico who is accused of molesting some 60 other boys as well.

BOLIVIA: Morales Takes Coca Campaign to U.N.

Bolivian President Evo Morales is telling the world what he says it has been unwilling to acknowledge for the past half a century - that coca is not the same as cocaine.

SPAIN: Latin Kings Gang a “Cultural Association” in Barcelona

The Spanish chapter of the Latin Kings, a gang that emerged in Chicago decades ago and spread throughout the United States and more recently to Spain, is undergoing a legalisation and integration process in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region, although its members continue to be targets for law enforcement.

POLITICS: Thai Coup Blow for ASEAN Democracy

Malaysians, led by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, uniformly reacted in shock at the sudden and unexpected crash of democracy in Thailand - a country that Malaysian civil society looked up to for pointers after two decades of autocratic rule under former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

PAKISTAN: Bill to Save Women From Religious Law Flounders

Danish Zuberi, a lawyer and rights activist is partly relieved that the government has deferred passage of a bill to protect women to build a "broader consensus". The government has fixed no dates and says it prefers "soundness over speed''.