/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-HONG KONG: Hardcore, Wild and Socially Conscious

King Lychee's music is not for the faint-hearted. This is hardcore punk angry screaming with earsplitting guitar screeches and super fast pounding drum beats coupled with wild stage antics - the kind of stuff rightist Christian fundamentalists would term 'devil' music.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-MEXICO: New Generation Brings New Life to "Dying" Industry

Mexico is becoming a major presence in the movie industry worldwide thanks to a new generation of successful young actors,directors and cinematographers, practising their craft both at home and abroad.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CHILE: Talented Young Writer Catapulted by Fanfic on Harry Potter

A 21-year-old journalism student Francisca Solar, from Chile, published her own version of the sixth part of the Harry Potter saga on-line in Spanish, and more than 11,000 visits to the web site and the interest of a major publishing house have shown that "fanfics" can help catapult a young and talented writer's career.

EGYPT: Christian-Muslim Rift Widens

Tension is simmering between Egypt's Muslim and Christian communities after allegations of forced conversions to Islam.

RIGHTS-ZAMBIA: If You’re in the Dock, It’s Useful to Be a Man

In Zambia, the battle for equality between men and women is being waged on many fronts - not least concerning the sentences handed down by courts.

SOUTH AMERICA: Reviving the Ancient Guarani Pathways

In 1524 Spanish conquistador Alejo García walked the paths of Tapé Avirú. Today this ancient network of trails is being rescued from oblivion by scientists and government officials from Paraguay and Brazil as they attempt to protect the indigenous Guaraní culture.

/ARTS WEEKLY/LITERATURE-ARGENTINA: Gardel’s Life, Meticulously Researched

After two decades of research and interviews based on 30,000 sources, ‘Carlos Gardel. La Biografía' (Carlos Gardel: The Biography) has finally come out in Argentina - a meticulously researched book that also promises to heat up the endless controversy over several aspects of Gardel's life.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ARGENTINA: Catholic Intolerance Vs Freedom of Expression

Ultra-conservative protestors and Catholic church authorities in Argentina have launched furious attacks on three art exhibitions in recent weeks, and have succeeded in shutting two of them down, on the grounds that they are an insult to Christianity.

/ARTS WEEKLY/JAPAN: Korean Cultural Loot Still Remains Buried

The issue of missing cultural property is an emotive thorn in the tortured relationship between Japan and the two Koreas. The Japanese looted thousands of cultural artifacts from Korea, during Japan's occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. But repatriation still remains controversial and complex.

CHALLENGES 2004-2005: Push for Moderate Islam in South-East Asia

Indonesia's new president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, steps into the political limelight just as South-east Asia's identity as a symbol of moderate Islam gets increasingly bruised by the region's own Muslims.

LATIN AMERICA: Co-Productions Give Local Films a Global Audience

Co-productions and strong promotion efforts are essential for Latin American films to reach the major international distribution circuits, according to Chilean director Silvio Caiozzi.

CULTURE-AFRICA: Weak Dollar, Civil Wars Hurting Arts Business

Foundiku Ousman started his arts business with three friends, after raising a small capital of about 700 dollars, at Founmban in western Cameroon, in 1997. Today he is regarded as a wealthy man in a trade where only hard work opens the door to success.

POLITICS-SOMALIA: New Government Falls Short on Gender Equity

For women in Southern Africa, it’s 30 percent. Further north in Somalia, the target is a more modest 12 percent. Even so, this goal is not being met.

EGYPT: Religious Tension Rises After Years of Calm

Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt burst onto the public stage last week after allegations by Coptic Christians of forced conversion to Islam triggered demonstrations in Cairo. Sectarian friction was also reported in provinces of Upper Egypt.

/ARTS WEEKLY/BOOKS: History Debunks Bush Myth

U.S. President George W Bush is not known for his love either of books or of history.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ ARCHITECTURE-CUBA: Restoring Colonial Era Homes and Neighbourhood Charm

Isabelita del Barrio is anxiously awaiting the day that a brigade from the Office of the Historian in this Cuban city will "finally" knock on her door to begin renovating the home where her family has lived for nearly a century.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-UAE: Dubai Festival Bridges Cultures and Minds

Move over Cannes, it's Dubai's turn now to send across the message of cultural harmony and understanding.

JAPAN: Simply Irresistible ‘Yonsama’ Helps Cool Bilateral Tensions

Japan's diplomacy with East Asia may have taken a turn for the worse recently but the whopping popularity of several Korean stars among the public here signals how arts can play a more important role than politics in easing bilateral tensions.

CHILE: 31 Years After Victor Jara’s Death, Justice May Be Done

More than 31 years after the murder of singer-songwriter Víctor Jara in Chile, the possibility has opened up that justice will finally be served, after a judge ordered the prosecution of a retired army lieutenant colonel Thursday.

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: Good News for Gays in U.S. Churches

For supporters of gay and lesbian civil rights, the news in recent weeks has not been encouraging.

VENEZUELA: Intellectuals of the World Unite With Chavez

Hundreds of intellectuals and artists from around the globe gathered in the Venezuelan capital to show their support for the political and social reforms being undertaken by President Hugo Chávez, and agreed to forge an international network "in defence of humanity".