RIGHTS-CHINA: Terror Label Used to Persecute Religious Sect – HRW

The Chinese government is using "separatist" and "terrorist" labels to justify religious repression of the Uighur ("Weager") people, a nomadic Muslim minority group in the oil-rich Xinjiang province, says a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Human Rights in China.

RIGHTS-CHINA: Terror Label Used to Persecute Religious Sect – HRW

The Chinese government is using "separatist" and "terrorist" labels to justify religious repression of the Uighur ("Weager") people, a nomadic Muslim minority group in the oil-rich Xinjiang province, says a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Human Rights in China.

BRAZIL: Lula Promotes Closer South-South Ties on Fourth African Tour

-Promoting South-South cooperation in general, and forging closer ties with Africa, are clearly top priorities for Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is currently on his fourth official African tour since taking office in January 2003.

DEVELOPMENT-SUDAN: Donors Urged to Tie Aid to Gender Equality

When this week's international donors conference on Sudan winds up in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, the long-neglected women of South Sudan hope a substantial funding would be allocated to empower them after a 21-year civil war.

POLITICS-US: Crusader for a Christian Nation

In all the hullabaloo raised by the cable news coverage of the Terri Schiavo case and the so-called miracle of Ashley Smith, a Georgia woman freed by her kidnapper after she read him passages from a bestselling Christian self-help book, few are talking about the elephant in the room - the Christian right's vision of cultural transformation in the United States.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: The High Cost of Death Hurts the Living

South Africa's first comprehensive look at the financial lives of poor families has uncovered a fascinating world where things are not always as they appear.

ENVIRONMENT-SWAZILAND: Indigenous Trees Facing Extinction

Can carved masks, toy drums and grass baskets pull Swazis out of the chronic poverty that grips two-thirds of Swaziland's population?

RELIGION: New Pope Will Emerge From a Holy Lock-Up

Whether Latin American, African, Asian or European, the successor to Pope John Paul II will be elected through a uniquely secret gathering of the electoral College of Cardinals. The Pope will be elected at a conclave, which in Latin means locked up 'with key'.

CULTURE-UGANDA: Muslims Demand Changes in Bill on Women’s Rights

Members of Uganda's minority Muslim community have criticised their country's domestic relations bill, saying it goes against the teachings of Islam.

RELIGION-CHINA: Diplomatic Breakthrough in Sight After Pope’s Death

The death of Pope John Paul II, a lifetime crusader against communism, has sparked speculation of an imminent diplomatic thaw between the Vatican and mainland China - more than 50 years after the communist government expelled all foreign priests and severed links with the Holy See.

POPE JOHN PAUL II: Paying Respects, But Also Hoping for a Miracle

Reform-minded Catholic groups in the United States are praying the successor to John Paul II will prove more receptive to softening church doctrine on contraception, abortion, homosexuality and women's equality, although they acknowledge that these issues are probably not high on the Vatican agenda.

BRAZIL: Latin America’s Giant Has ‘Exceptional Prospects’ for Development, Say Analysts

Brazil has "exceptional prospects" for development over the next two decades, a period that will likely witness the full integration of the "United States of South America," according to economist Carlos Lessa.

RELIGION: Malaysia Remembers Pope As Defender of Palestinian Rights

Tributes for the late Pope John Paul II in this Muslim-majority nation have cut across the political and religious spectrum. Many have recalled the pontiff's opposition to the invasion of Iraq, his defence of Palestinian rights and openness to inter- religious dialogue.

RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE: Zero Tolerance for UN Troops Involved In Sexual Abuse

The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone may be preparing for the final pullout of its peacekeeping force by the end of the year, but it seems, the mission wants to leave behind a clean record, in so far as sexual exploitation and abuse is concerned.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-MEXICO: Indigenous Youngsters Conquer Audiences Everywhere

They learned to play music while playing children's games in the hilly scrubland of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, and although they are still just youngsters, they can read sheet music and execute works by Beethoven and Latin American popular music standards with equal ease.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CHILE: Prize-Winning Author Fights Book Piracy

This year is the 500th anniversary of Don Quixote, and a prize-winning Chilean author feels like he is tilting at windmills - though not at all imaginary - in his fight against book piracy and the government's indifference to the illegal industry.

RELIGION: Now the Church May Rise Above the Pope

Pope John Paul II was a towering figure; but under his long shadow concern arose whether he could have stood too tall over the Church itself.

/ARTS WEEKLY/INDIA: Bold Film ‘Busts’ Female Beauty Stereotypes

Tollywood, the eponymous Bengali film industry based in the ill-equipped Tollygunge studios of this eastern Indian metropolis, often rushes where perhaps Hollywood fears to tread.

RELIGION-BRAZIL: John Paul Left a Clergy More Subordinate to Rome

In Brazil, the legacy of Pope John Paul II's lengthy papacy is a Church led by bishops who are "less independent, and less capable of thinking for themselves," according to priest Oscar Beozzo, a theologian specialising in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

LATIN AMERICA: Archbishop Romero’s Legacy Lives On, Says Liberation Theology

Latin America's indigenous communities and downtrodden poor are a vivid reminder for the Roman Catholic Church that Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero's steadfast commitment to the poor must be kept alive, said Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez, one of the founders of Liberation Theology.

RELIGION: Why India Grieves for Pope John Paul II

There is much more to the three-day official mourning India has ordered for Pope John Paul II than the fact that this country's most powerful politician, Sonia Gandhi is both a Roman and a Catholic by birth.