CULTURE: In Bridal Gowns and Tuxedos, Chinese Tie the Knot in Style

It took Liu Ying and Guo Jianfeng nearly a year to prepare for their wedding - an elaborate amalgamation of old and new, Chinese and Western.

MEXICO: Anti-Homophobia Campaign Draws Fire from Conservatives, Catholics

When 17-year-old Mexican Antonio Ruiz was murdered, his killer wrote "I'm a faggot" and "queer" on his body. He was one of an average of 30 homosexuals killed because of their sexual preferences every year in Mexico, which will be launching an official government campaign against homophobia in April.

CULTURE-CUBA: Intolerance Cuts Both Ways

The death of Cuban writer Guillermo Cabrera Infante brought back memories of controversies over the cultural policy of the socialist government of Fidel Castro, censorship, and intolerance.

LABOUR: Muslim Workers in Fight With Dell Over Prayer Break

U.S. computer maker Dell Inc. is disputing allegations by 30 Muslim workers who say they were fired for demanding break time to perform a 15-minute prayer at sunset.

RELIGION: Legionaries of Christ Launch Conservative ‘Megamission’

Some 50,000 followers of the Legionaries of Christ, a conservative Catholic congregation founded in Mexico and viewed with favour by the Vatican, will set out later this month to distribute donations and doctrine to the poor in 31 different countries - while fervently striving to defend their founder, accused of pedophilia.

BRAZIL: Bringing Deaf Children Into the Educational System

Brazilian engineer Eduardo Monte, 51, who has been deaf since childhood, is a consultant for small companies and is also active in several social projects in Rio de Janeiro.

RIGHTS: Violence Against Women Defies Laws, Education Campaigns

A decade after a landmark United Nations conference resolved to tackle violence against women head on, not enough has been done to put an end to this scourge, say female legislators from East Africa.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY-ARGENTINA: Exhausted Women

Noemí gets up early, prepares breakfast, throws a load of laundry into the washing machine, and puts vegetables on to boil to get an early start on that evening's dinner.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY: South Africa Linked in the Global Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, particularly of women and children, in South Africa is not slowing down while the country’s government has not yet implemented legislation recognising this vicious flesh trade as a crime.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CHINA: Antiques, Now the Craze of New Rich

Panjiayuan, the notorious ''dirt'' market of Beijing, is an unlikely place for China's new rich to flash their wealth. Famous for its tacky trinkets, Mao memorabilia and piles of junk carted from all over the country, this jumble-sale place has resisted numerous attempts by city officials to smarten it up.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-ARGENTINA: New Generations Lead Tango Renaissance

Alejandro Schaikis is a violinist with Argentina's National Symphonic Orchestra, with the expected classical training. But since being bitten by the tango bug a few years back, he now says the mating of the two genres is giving birth to "a new form of Argentine music".

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM: Movie Queen’s Kiss and Tell Episode Rocks Pakistan

Is it really just ''a storm in a tea-cup'' and a ''non-issue'' that some people seem so ready to dismiss? Why such a hue and cry, after Meera - known as the 'queen of Pakistan cinema' - locked lips with her Indian co-star?

RELIGION: Thoughts Turn to the ‘Pope-Ables’

With the 84-year-old Pope John Paul II barely able to move freely or speak coherently, attention has shifted to how long his 26-year reign, the fourth longest in history so far, could last. And, consequently, to his successor among the 'papabili' ('pope-ables')..

RIGHTS-UGANDA: Gov’t Takes Two Steps Backwards

Women in Uganda have accused the government of President Yoweri Museveni of using culture to undermine their rights.

SCIENCE: Penguins Revive Debate on Homosexuality in Animals

At a German zoo, the behaviour of six penguins that formed same-sex couples has revived the scientific debate about the origins of homosexuality in the animal kingdom: biological or social?

BALKANS: One Language Finds Many Names

The Bosnian Muslim minority in the southern Serbian area of Sandzak claim to have won the right to education in Bosnian language last month after a long battle with Serbian authorities.

RELIGION: Long Live the Pope, Somehow

Pope John Paul II has overcome yet another crisis, this time after a trachea operation to aid breathing. His health gets worse by the day, but he remains the Pope.

CULTURE-INDIA: Oscar Triggers Celebration, Anger in Red Light Area

Life in the mean streets of Kolkata's biggest red light district Sonagachi had only hopelessness to offer them. But the moments of glory at this year's Oscar night in Los Angeles might change the lives of the little shutterbugs who are 'Born into Brothels' - much to the chagrin of a few sex workers' organisations who have slammed the documentary as ''lacking depth''.

RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: Giving the Budget a Gender Agenda

Talk is cheap, but carrying out the promises you make less so. That being the case, has all the talk about ensuring equality between men and women in South Africa resulted in action where it counts most: the allocation of funds along gender lines in the national budget?

POLITICS-CAMEROON: English Speakers Dream of “Le Divorce”

Members of Cameroon’s minority Anglophone population, which has long complained of discrimination at the hands of majority French speakers, say secession may become necessary if conditions for their community do not improve.

FILM: Uruguayan Wins First Oscar Ever Awarded to a Song in Spanish

The Spanish language scored a major surprise victory in Hollywood when Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler won the Oscar for best original song, which formed part of the soundtrack of the movie "Motorcycle Diaries".