RIGHTS: Unease Grows Over Thai Refugees in Malaysia

Uneasiness is steadily spreading through the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as ethnic disaffection in Thailand's southern provinces threatens to stain the country's laudable record in dealing with refugees.

PORTUGAL: Controversy Burns Over Sensationalist TV Coverage of Fires

The heavy live television coverage of the forest fires that have swept Portugal this summer has sparked critics' complaints of sensationalism and warnings of the danger of encouraging arsonists.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-URUGUAY: Reviving Classical Music Splendour

In the last few months, the classical music scene in Uruguay seems to have awakened from a long slumber, and operas like "La Bohème" by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini are raising it from the ashes in which it was left by a 12-year dictatorship, repeated economic crises and official neglect.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-INDIA: Anthem Against Poverty from ‘Mozart of Madras’

If ever music could wipe poverty off the face of the earth, then India's internationally rated musical genius, A. R. Rahman's latest composition, "Pray for My Brother", could do a job the United Nations dearly wants to see happen.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM: “Viva Cuba!” Vies for Oscar Nomination

A children's movie exploring the themes of friendship, intolerance and emigration has been chosen as Cuba's entry for an Oscar nomination in the best foreign language film category at next year's Academy Awards.

POLITICS: Obscure Sect Stumps for New Zealand Right

A little bit of U.S. "traditional family values politics" is shaking up the upcoming elections in New Zealand.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: In Search of Afro-Gucci

The names alone are evocative - Stoned Cherrie, Black Coffee, Sun Goddess - and the clothes they're stitched into even more so.

POLITICS-US: Katrina Aid Steered to Notorious TV Preacher

Just one week after the U.S. State Department denounced right-wing televangelist Pat Robertson's call for the Central Intelligence Agency to "take out" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Washington's federal disaster agency recommended that people wishing to donate to victims of Hurricane Katrina should send their cash to Robertson's main charity organisation.

UGANDA: Uneven Progress on Gender Equality

Uganda has been widely praised for having a constitution that reflects gender concerns. The 10-year-old document commits the country to affirmative action in the workplace, freedom from sexual discrimination and economic rights for women.

POLITICS: India Foxed as Pakistan Plays the Israel Card

Pakistan has stunned the world-and its subcontinental neighbour and rival India-by making an overture to Israel, which it long shunned and condemned as a 'Zionist' state.

DEVELOPMENT: Now an Africa Concert Speaks Out

An all-Africa concert on making poverty history will seek to speak - or sing - the language of aid concerts, but with an African voice.

IRAQ: Deadliest Day Needed No Bombs

The death toll from a stampede of Iraqi Shiite pilgrims continued to climb Wednesday, with security officials saying nearly 800 people perished and 323 were injured when rumours of a suicide bombing sparked chaos on a Baghdad bridge.

MALAYSIA: Independence Day Observed as Melting Pot Boils

''A melting pot of peoples, cultures and traditions, Malaysia thrives on its diversity and is indeed the epitome of the adage that variety is the spice of life,'' was how the official BERNAMA news agency concluded a special feature for Malaysia's 48th Independence Day on Wednesday.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ECOTOURISM: Maoris Reap Benefits of Past Conservation

To Maoris conservation of land and water has been at the forefront of their existence and today they are capitalising on the carefully nurtured resource and gaining livelihoods through eco-tourism.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-ARGENTINA: Fighting Chagas’ Disease, Camera in Hand

"I met so many people suffering from this disease, people who are used to living a hard life, to suffering in silence, who don't complain or demand that more attention be paid to this problem," said Argentine filmmaker Ricardo Preve.

/ARTS WEEKLY/THEATRE-BRAZIL: Shining the Spotlight on Science – Literally

Arte Ciência no Palco (Art and Science on Stage) is a unique Brazilian theatre group devoted exclusively to scientific themes, as a means of highlighting the fight for knowledge as one of the most dramatic battles in human history.

POLITICS-KENYA: Church Leaders Reject Draft Constitution

Religion is playing a major role in undermining Kenya's draft constitution. Christians and Muslims, who have lived peacefully for decades, have now suddenly found themselves at loggerheads over the document.

MEXICO: Wal-Mart’s Plans for Indigenous Areas Under Fire

The U.S.-based retail giant Wal-Mart, which last year opened a store near the ancient Teotihuacan pyramids of Mexico despite loud protests from local activists and small businesses, is now seeking a repeat of its earlier victory, this time in two heavily indigenous areas. But local opponents are set for a pitched battle.

HEALTH: New Haj Rules to Push Polio Vaccination in India

New polio vaccination rules for Haj (the annual pilgrimage to holy Mecca) announced by the Saudi Arabian government are expected to have a salutary effect on Muslim communities in India, who are otherwise reluctant to get their children immunised, say followers of the faith.

RELIGION-INDONESIA: Fatwas by Clerics Spur Debate on Islam

Ever since Indonesia's highest Islamic authority, the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) issued eleven 'fatwas' or edicts against liberal Islam, a fierce debate has begun raging in the world's most populous Muslim nation on what constitutes an Islamic society.

ARGENTINA: Talk of Alleged Plot Surrounds Resignation of Progressive Bishop

Argentina's episcopal conference expressed solidarity with a bishop known for his social action who reportedly resigned in the face of threats that a compromising video would be made public. However, the bishops made no reference to the alleged campaign to discredit him.