BALKANS: Mixed Marriages On Rise Again

Bozana Savicki (26), a Serb from Belgrade is about to marry Igor Dumic (28) from Zagreb in Croatia. They met at the Croatian coast last summer.

THAILAND: Bombings Hit Peace Plans With Muslim Minority

A spate of bomb attacks in Thailand's troubled southern provinces on Thursday morning served up the first of many hurdles to a government blueprint for peace in the region.

PAKISTAN: TV Debates Take on Anti-Women Islamic Laws

Filmmaker Hasan Zaidi is an optimist. He is sure that debates currently being conducted over a private TV channel could help see the repeal of Pakistan's Hudood Ordinances - a set of laws based on Islamic decrees, criticised as being anti-women.

EAST ASIA: ‘Koizumi’s Exit Good for Regional Relations’

Analysts believe that when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi demits office in September it will open the door for improved relations with China and a better overall environment in the region.

POLITICS: Caterpillar Pressured Over “Weaponised Bulldozers”

The parents of a U.S. peace activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer built by the global machinery giant Caterpillar confronted the company Wednesday for the first time and urged shareholders at its annual meeting to end sales of "weaponised bulldozers to Israel".

CHILE: Musicians’ Strike Leads to Cancellation of Opera Season

The Santiago Municipal Theatre, one of Latin America's foremost orchestra halls, is facing its worst crisis ever: for the first time in its nearly 150-year history, it has been forced to cancel its opera and concert season because of a strike by musicians.

UAE: Cashing In on Football Frenzy

A record-breaking sponsorship deal, corporate ‘season tickets' at hotels with purpose-built arenas equipped with plasma screens and projectors and smart cards that give access to matches are just a few of the businesses that are riding the craze in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to watch world cup football, without going to Germany.

ECONOMY: Racism, a Factor in World Trade?

Lakshmi Mittal, who heads the world's largest steel manufacturing conglomerate, has no business interests in India. Yet, his failed attempts to buy Arcelor, the European steel-maker, are followed closely in his country of origin.

RIGHTS-CAMEROON: An Unwelcome “Gift of God”

Josiane Matia, making her way along a school route in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé, is far less carefree than other 11-year-olds. Walking slowly, she complains of the pain caused by a breast band that her mother has forced her to wear for three months.

IRAQ: Priceless Assyrian Relics Used for Target Practice

Home to some of the most significant standing monuments of ancient Assyria, the Khinnis site in northern Iraq is a historical and cultural hallmark in desperate need of protection, warn Mesopotamian archaeologists and Assyriologists.

BRAZIL: Controversy Over Digital TV

The current global battle in the field of communications is about taking a decision now for one of the three digital TV standards, or postponing it till later. But in Brazil the debate involves several dilemmas and disputes that are set to run on for years.

MALAYSIA: Minorities Wary of Islamist Party’s Overtures

Malaysia's opposition Pan Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) has been making serious overtures to the country's non-Muslims, promising them ‘justice and equality'.

SRI LANKA: Civilians, Children Die as Oslo Talks Fail

The failure of Norwegian peace brokers to get representatives of Tamil Tiger rebels and the Sri Lankan government to sit across a table, after their arrival in Oslo, appears to have served as the cue for renewed violence and brutality in Sri Lanka.

RIGHTS-IRAN: Braving Threats, Women Demand Legal Reforms

On Monday, Iranian women activists will again demonstrate in Tehran to demand changes in the oppressive laws that are written into the country's constitution.

RIGHTS-NEPAL: Untouchability Persists Despite Ban

In 1955 Nepal's revised civil code outlawed untouchability; in 2002 the government created the National Dalit Commission; and three years ago a new leadership pledged to lay charges against anyone accused of discriminating against untouchables, also known as dalits (the broken).

SPORTS-BRAZIL: Fans Cope With Favourite Status, World Cup ‘Baggage’

Bad memories are putting a damper on Brazil's enthusiasm for its national football team - enough to rattle fan confidence even though the team is the international favourite to win the FIFA World Cup tournament, which kicked off Friday in Germany.

THAILAND: Bash on the Water to Mark Royal Milestone

When the sun sets on Monday, the gently flowing Chao Phraya river, which undulates past this sprawling city, will reclaim for an hour its role as the cradle of Thai culture.

BOLIVIA: In Search of the Toromona

A scientific expedition will return this austral winter to the Madidi jungle in the Bolivian northeast in a bid to definitively certify the existence of the ancient tribe of Toromona, who are the origin of the Paititi legend, a southern Amazon version of the El Dorado myth.

SPORTS: A Lot Goes Round With the Football

In a marked departure from previous World Cup football events, host nation Germany has conjured up a hugely ambitious cultural programme for the tens of thousands of football tourists who will soon be flooding into the country, many of them without stadium tickets.

SPORTS: Green Goals for World Cup Nets

With its Green Goal programme, the organisers of the 2006 Football World Cup aim to reduce the environmental impact of the international sports tournament that is expected to draw more than three million spectators in Germany beginning Jun. 9. But environmental groups say the efforts will come up short.

SPORTS-KENYA: “For Our People in East Africa, Soccer Is Very, Very Important”

It has been dubbed "The Greatest Show on Earth", and in Kenya that's precisely what the Football World Cup is. So, with just days before the latest tournament kicks off in Germany, excitement amongst sports fans in the East African country is mounting.