RELIGION: The G8 Is Not the World, Says Honduran Cardinal

"The world cannot be reduced to a G7 or G8 (the grouping of most powerful countries) and an impoverished majority," stressed Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga in an exclusive interview with IPS.

IRAQ: Talks Do Not Constitute Agreement

Iraqi political factions have not been able to work out an agreement on a new constitution despite extended deadlines and growing U.S. pressure.

RELIGION-GERMANY: Committee for Pagan Fun Criticises Catholic ‘Invasion’

The "Committee for Pagan Fun", born out of opposition to the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Day, was created by organisations and individuals who called for the creation of "religion-free zones."

BRAZIL: Awakening the Dreams of Young Slum Dwellers

Left blind in one eye by a bullet wound, 18-year-old Rosinaldo Inaldo admits that he used to be violent, but says he now dreams of becoming a singer of traditional songs from northeastern Brazil like the "axé" and "frevo".

POLITICS-US: Generals for Jesus Ignore Academy Flap

A retired Army major general has thrown fuel on the burning issue of religious discrimination at the U.S. Air Force Academy by urging commanders there to back a Christian evangelical rally for military personnel sponsored by Rev. Billy Graham's ministry - and signing his letters "Your Partner in the Gospel".

VENEZUELA: World Youth Fest – Activism and Celebration

A lengthy statement against "U.S. imperialism" was adopted at the close of the 16th World Youth and Students Festival, which drew thousands of young people from more than 100 countries to Venezuela over the past week.

POLITICS: At Forty, Singapore Craves More of the Same

At forty, like a successful man approaching a mid-life crisis, what this nation of four million people yearns for is more of the same.

RIGHTS: The Miseducation of Canada’s First Nations

In the small island community of Alert Bay near northern Vancouver Island, hundreds of survivors of St. Michael's Residential School stood on the idyllic shoreline near the U'mista Cultural Centre around ten in the morning. It was misty as the fog rolled in and perched on the calm water.

RELIGION-US: Pizza Magnate Flees the Pagan Hordes

They may not become as ubiquitous as the Domino's Pizza outlets that dot the U.S. landscape, but Tom Monaghan, the man who founded that fast food giant, is hoping that the town he is building for orthodox Catholics in Florida will one day replicate itself across the country.

AIDS-VENEZUELA: An Ounce of Prevention, Aimed at Women and Youth

The Venezuelan government has launched an AIDS prevention campaign that specifically targets women and youth, sectors in which the incidence of the disease is growing worldwide.

VENEZUELA: World Festival Draws 15,000 Young Activists

Over 15,000 young people from 144 countries around the globe have gathered in Venezuela for eight days of seminars, workshops and an "anti-imperialist tribunal", along with a healthy dose of music and dance, as part of the 16th World Youth and Students Festival.

INDIA: Ghosts of 1984 Anti-Sikh Pogrom Haunt Congress Party

Two decades after mobs, infuriated by the Oct.31, 1984 assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, massacred more than 4,000 members of the religious sect, India's Congress party continues to pay a price for the pogrom.

GERMANY: The Blind Lead the Way to a Unique Food Experience

"It's like entering a completely different world, suddenly everything in your own world just disappears," says Ralf Mechlinski, manager of the world's first restaurant staffed entirely by the blind and visually impaired, where patrons are invited to experience what it is like to live without sight.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Sugar Daddies – The Bitter Truth

"People who don’t know me see this stylishly-dressed young woman driving a nice car, and they think, ‘Isn’t she lucky? She has a rich man as a lover to give her things’," says Angela Shabalala as she manoeuvres her blue BMW sedan onto a highway leading to the Swazi capital, Mbabane.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-MEXICO: Organ Grinders Proud of Century-Old Trade

Alfonso, a 35-year-old organ grinder, is dressed like the revolutionaries who fought in Mexico a century ago.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CULTURE-CUBA: Cienfuegos – Now a World Heritage Site

The urban historic centre of Cienfuegos, known in Cuba as the "Pearl of the South", has become the first city founded in the 19th century to be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List of cultural sites.

/ARTS WEEKLY/IRAN-THEATRE: Traditional Ta’zieh Play Pokes at Regime

By the time it was banned, a week before the Aug. 6 swearing in of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President of Iran, a bold Ta'zieh (traditional tragedy theatre) on the 1997 serial assassinations of several leading dissident intellectuals, had already had a month-long run.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY: With Violent Greetings

Indonesian soldiers cut the face and body of Petto Wenda with a razor and a knife before pouring petrol on his head and setting him on fire. Petto was attacked when the soldiers overran Pyramid village of the Lani tribe in the Papuan highlands in July. He is not expected to survive.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY: New Universities for a Multicultural Mexico

Seven intercultural universities in Mexico are going a long way towards preserving the historical and cultural roots of the country's indigenous community, which comprises more than 10 percent of the country's 106 million people.

POLITICS-US: A Holy Trinity of Church, Boardroom and GOP?

U.S. Pres. George W. Bush continues to seek broader support from the African American community - most recently with a pledge to persuade corporate foundations to give more money to faith-based charities.

RIGHTS-PUERTO RICO: The Taino’s Last Stand

A group of indigenous Puerto Ricans is occupying a cultural centre in hopes of pressuring Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá to meet with them and address what they say are continuing violations of human rights and desecration of sacred sites around the Caribbean island.