FILM-ARGENTINA: Recuperating the Collective Memory

"People cannot live without their memory. Memory is about culture, and culture is identity," said Argentine filmmaker Fernando 'Pino' Solanas, presenting his latest documentary 'A Social Genocide', in London.

HEALTH-ZIMBABWE: Risky Sex and the Law – Incompatible Bedfellows?

For teenagers in the eastern Zimbabwean town of Mutare, a popular disc jockey who goes by the name of Kaiboni has long epitomized the glamorous life. But now, his future is anything but enviable.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-BRAZIL: Lula Double Feature

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is a central character in two newly released Brazilian documentaries - despite the fact that he does not actually appear in one of them.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ ARCHITECTURE-CUBA: Camaguey, the Undiscovered City

Narrow alleyways, colonial houses with tiled roofs and tree-filled inner courtyards, along with fascinating local legends make Camagüey one of the most attractive destinations in Cuba - and one of the most sadly overlooked by the mainstream tourism industry.

/ART WEEKLY/CULTURE-INDONESIA: Wheel Street’s Public Forum

‘Lalampa' is a delicious rice cake made of glutinous rice. The steamed rice is rounded around a piece of fish meat, wrapped up with banana leaves and barbequed in charcoal heat. It is finger-sized, rather oily and tasty, but also a little bit sweet.

HEALTH-SOUTHERN AFRICA: AIDS Initiative Focuses on Women

"HIV is just a virus...If we change our attitudes, HIV will die. It will have no space and capacity to spread," says Musa Njoko, a young South African woman who has been living with the virus for the past decade.

EDUCATION-AFRICA: Universal Schooling an Elusive Goal

A new report by the South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) has highlighted the challenges and constraints facing education in Africa.

WORLD AIDS DAY: African Women’s Rights Protocol a Weapon Against HIV

"When you look at the larger picture of HIV/AIDS, the leadership is mainly men. We need to train and have more women leaders," says Prudence Mabele, an AIDS campaigner in South Africa.

WORLD AIDS DAY: HIV/AIDS Threat Unites Religions in India

Fear of a rapidly spreading HIV/AIDS epidemic in India has resulted in a rare coming together of the country's several religious faiths that are known to have a tremendous influence on their respective flocks.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC: Jamaican Business Joins Chorus Against Anti-Gay Songs

Jamaica is preparing itself for what many people believe could be economic fallout from the decade-long battle between gay rights groups and the local entertainment industry.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ ARCHAEOLOGY-MEXICO: World Heritage Site in Danger of Disappearing

Along the canals of Xochimilco in the Mexican capital, throngs of tourists fill the colourfully decorated gondolas known as trajineros, admiring the scenery, listening to mariachi bands, eating tacos and buying crafts.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CHINA: Ying and Yang of Abstract and Traditional

Maoist sobriety is out, but so is flashy Western- induced modernity. China's new urban rich are trying to reach out for a new, eclectic Chinese style that combines oriental opulence with sophisticated simplicity.

/ARTS WEEKLY/CUBA: The Ever New Old Havana

For anyone, whether they are foreign nationals, people who live on the other side of Cuba, or natives and residents of the capital,taking a walk through Old Havana these days is like discovering a new city.

POLITICS-NAMIBIA: Farewell, the 2005 Gender Target

In the aftermath of this month’s general elections, gender imbalances in government still pose a challenge in Namibia.

LATIN AMERICA: Nobel Laureate Saramago Warns of Danger After Bush Reelection

U.S. politics over the next four years will be rooted in patriotism and religion, an "explosive combination" that will require Latin Americans to "arm themselves with strength, courage and bravery," according to Portuguese writer José Samamago, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature.

RELIGION-GULF: Scholars Try to Rein in the ‘Sheikhs of Death’

Denouncing misguided religious fanaticism and terrorism, Muslim scholars and religious leaders who recently attended a major world Islamic conference in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), jointly called for the issuing of a unified 'fatwa' (edict) on pressing issues in order to avoid the misuse of the religion.

U.S. ELECTION: 59,054,087 ‘Stupid’ – 6,260 Sorry

Thousands of Americans are apologising to the world for the millions of their fellow citizens who voted President George W. Bush back into office Nov. 2.

HEALTH-KENYA: Women Prime Targets for HIV

Kenyan health officials have expressed concern about the fact that women in the East African country are more vulnerable to AIDS than men, and that the gap between men and women as regards new HIV infections appears to be widening.

POLITICS-U.S.: From Plymouth Rock to Baghdad, Iraq

As U.S. families partake of the turkey, yams, and other staples of the traditional Thanksgiving feast Thursday, they are unlikely to reflect on the enduring ideological - as opposed to the gastronomic - influences of that hardy band of Pilgrims that celebrated their first year of survival in the Massachusetts colony on the American continent back in 1621.

U.S.: Jewish Groups Press Mideast Peace

A growing number of American Jews believes that major changes in U.S., Israeli and Palestinian policies are essential to the resumption of any meaningful negotiations for peace - but they are fighting an uphill struggle because of President George W Bush's support for the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

INDIA: Temples of the Holy Become Coffers for the Greedy

The recent arrest of a highly influential Hindu cleric - regarded as Hinduism's Pope - on murder charges has exposed the huge wealth amassed by India's temples, religious institutions and shrines.