JAPAN: Koizumi at Yasukuni Shrine Again

Ignoring the sentiments of neighbouring countries, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi observed the 61st anniversary of Japan's surrender to Allied forces on Tuesday by paying his respects to the war dead at the controversial Yasukuni shrine.

BALKANS: A Lot to Save in Kosovo

No decisions on the future of Kosovo seem imminent despite months of talks.

INDIA: Has al-Qaeda Landed?

As tens of thousands of policemen in India fan out to guard 'sensitive' sites and installations in preparation for Independence Day celebrations on Tuesday, a climate of anxiety and fear has descended over the country.

MEDIA-PAKISTAN: Taliban Wins Hearts and Minds With Gory Videos

The terror and agony on the faces of the two men, chained to the rear of a moving vehicle and dragged over a rough, unpaved road, are vivid. Relief comes in the shape of a dagger that slits their throats, to shouted cries of Allah-o-Akbar (God is great) in the background.

CHINA: Few Takers for Gov’t Cultural Revival Plan

A cultural campaign aimed at reviving the zest of China's national folk festivals has failed to generate the enthusiastic response hoped for by government officials - this despite an unusual apology issued by the culture minister for half a century of persistent destruction of the nation's heritage.

SRI LANKA: Civilians Displaced and Dying in Shadow War

Death hangs over this deserted town in eastern Sri Lanka and the stench of decomposing bodies is overpowering. Most of its 50,000-odd inhabitants have fled and there is no one around to bury the dead.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Available for Serving Drinks – Not for Sex

When next in Nairobi, spare a thought for the women who will in all likelihood serve you, if you visit a bar or two in search of a drink.

RIGHTS-BRITAIN: ‘Every Muslim a Suspect’

The arrest of 19 people - all Muslims - over what the police have described as a sinister plot to blow up U.S. bound aircraft from London, has cast a shadow of suspicion over the entire Muslim community in Britain.

CULTURE: Brecht Back On Stage with ‘Threepenny Opera’

Fifty years after his death in East Berlin on Aug. 14, 1956, legendary leftist playwright Bertolt Brecht is being remembered with a rash of exhibitions, panel discussions, films, readings and performances of his famous plays in Germany, confirming his lasting international importance in the theatre world.

BOOKS: Starting a New Conversation About Iran

Amid the overwhelmingly negative media coverage of Iran in the west, a chorus of new literary voices has emerged that portrays a far more complex image of that nation and its culture.

POPULATION-INDIA: Crackdown on Sex Selective Abortions, Finally

For campaigners against the practice of selectively aborting unborn girls - that has already affected the gender balance in northern India - nurse Pooja Rani is something of a heroine.

RIGHTS: Native People Demand Self-Determination

Leaders of the world's 370 million indigenous people are calling for the United Nations General Assembly to recognise native peoples' right to self-determination.

CULTURE-CAMEROON: Celestial Solutions for Material Problems

Crumbling campuses, inadequate equipment, a lack of bursaries: the problems facing Cameroonian students are numerous - and they're not only compromising the education that students receive. These difficulties have also laid the ground for sects and religious groups to flourish on campuses.

CORRECTED REPEAT*/ARTS: Jamaica Bids Farewell to a Cultural Icon

Like the legendary reggae singer Bob Marley, "Miss Lou", as she was affectionately known, will go down in the history of the Caribbean for having brought Jamaican culture to the rest of the world.

MIDEAST: Christians Caught in Political Crossfire

Many Lebanese Christians say they feel caught in the middle of a war in which they have a lot to lose and little to gain.

AFGHANISTAN: Drought, Poppy Profits Cause Wheat Shortage

Millions of Afghans are facing hunger because of a food shortage that the government and aid agencies say is because of a prolonged dry spell in the country.

POLITICS: OIC Meet Exposes Muslim World’s Rifts

Notwithstanding the strongly worded demands for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and intervention by the United Nations, the emergency session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in the Malaysian capital only managed to expose a lack of unity within the Muslim world.

PAKISTAN: Fatwa Bans Women Working With NGOs

Negative publicity and attacks by Islamist groups on non- governmental organizations (NGOs) working with women have forced several to close their offices and move staff out of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

BRAZIL: Mother Courage of the Fashion World

The film "Zuzu Angel", which hits theatres in Brazil Friday, providing a fresh look at the crimes committed by the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, ends with a moving new version of renowned singer-songwriter Chico Buarque's 1977 song "Angélica", which was written in homage to Zuleika Angel Jones.

SRI LANKA: Local Water Dispute Turning Into Open War

As heavy fighting continued Thursday between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil rebel militants, to gain control over an irrigation sluice near Trincomalee port, fears are growing over the fate of a ceasefire brokered by Norway in 2002.

COLOMBIA: ‘We Will Not Leave Our Land’ Say Pijao and Paez Indians

The Pijao and Paez indigenous communities in Colombia, who survived near extermination at the hands of the Spanish colonialists, continue to defend their land, lives and cultures against a new array of encroachers, as they face evictions, displacement, death threats and forced disappearance.