AUSTRALIA: Pulling Plug on Ethnic TV Shrinks Space for Diversity

Sydney's ethnic community groups are outraged by the media regulating body's decision to pull the plug on an innovative television channel in Australia that has been giving a voice to them for 11 years now.

RELIGION: Talking to Terrorists Can Work

There is much talk of terrorism, and little talking to them. But a bold move in Yemen to open a dialogue with branded terrorists is bringing unexpected results.

CULTURE-ZIMBABWE: "Dogs and Pigs" No More?

"Worse than dogs and pigs" is how Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe described homosexuals almost a decade ago, when the gay community attempted to highlight widespread homophobia in the Southern African country.

RELIGION: Islam Begins to Pull the Secular

The high mediaeval fortress has stood out for centuries in the ancient city of Aleppo in the north of Syria. But now this city presents a sight never seen until recently; the large number of women dressed in black from head to toe.

INDIA: New Leader Boosts Chances of Healing Hindu-Sikh Rift

The appointment of Manmohan Singh, a follower of the Sikh faith, as India's prime minister may finally bridge a serious rift between the small but powerful religious minority and the Congress party.

SPORTS: Developing World Abandoned at the Foot of Olympus

The developing world can give up on its dream of hosting future Olympics - That is the message the International Olympic Committee sent when it announced the five cities that are still in the running to host the 2012 summer games.

SOCIETY-IRAN: Soap Opera Sparks Feminist Backlash

A soap opera on Iran's state-run television has created a backlash among female journalists and other educated women in the capital, who have denounced the show as a ''propaganda machine for sexism and discrimination against women.''

EDUCATION-JAPAN: Visa Crackdown Adds to Foreign Students’ Woes

It took Chaturani Perera two years to convince Japanese immigration officials to grant her a student visa. The 20-year-old Sri Lankan had to prepare the necessary documents and accrue a hefty 10,000 U.S. dollars - her family's life savings - in a bank account

/ARTS WEEKLY/SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Globalisation Provokes New Visual Vocabulary

While globalisation keeps transforming the cities of South-east Asia, its influence on the region's cultural landscape has led to an array of styles that convey how artists from Bangkok to Bandung are grappling with their evolving times.

GLOBALISATION: Barcelona Forum Yet Another Space for Inequality

The Universal Forum of Cultures is, according to organisers, a space to reflect on the principal cultural and social conflicts that humans face in the 21st century. But obstacles arise each step of the way in keeping this space open to all.

SOCIETY-CHINA: Old Fears Return about ‘Quality’ of Race

The liberalisation of China's marriage law is reviving old fears about the 'quality' of China's race, as eugenics experts sound the alarm about the growing number of babies in the world's most populous country that are born with birth defects or diseases.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: American Indians Take Charge of Healing

The policy was to "kill the Indian and keep the man."

PORTUGAL: Fatima Moves Mountains, Terrorist Fear Moves Security

Even after 87 years the question marks surrounding Fátima remain. Was it the Virgin Mary who appeared before the astonished eyes of three young Portuguese shepherds, as the Roman Catholic Church claims? Or was it a tall, blond Englishwoman, whose fair traits had never been in those isolated rural parts, as the non-believers maintain?

POLITICS-PAKISTAN: Gov’t, Tribesmen Back to Square One

The Pakistani government and the country's hardy tribesmen, the two sides in the saga of military operations against Taliban members suspected to be in Pakistan, are again back to square one.

THAILAND: Premier in Damage-Control Mode after Southern Violence

The Thai government's damage control measures in the wake of recent bloodshed in the south are aimed at the larger Islamic world in addition to its own Muslim minority.

THAILAND: After Violence, Truth Seekers Called ‘Unpatriotic’

Among the files that lie on Jaran Ditapichai's desk is one that contains messages of rage directed at the 56-year-old member of this country's national human rights commission.

RELIGION: French Want to Teach to Preach

The French government decision to expel imams suspected of supporting terrorism or preaching violence against women has led to demands for education of clerics.

INDONESIA: Muslim Cleric a Terrorist to Some, Teacher to Others

Less than 12 hours after deadly bombs had exploded near two nightclubs in the Indonesian island of Bali and killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, in October 2002, dozens of Muslim 'ulama' conducted a press conference in Solo, in the hinterlands of Java, around 800 kilometres west of Bali.

RELIGION-IRAN: Ruling Shiites’ Influence Eroded by Other Faiths

''Be aware young men, safeguard your beloved Shiite Islam.''

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-HAITI: Scientist Transformed Radio Into Weapon Against Abuses

"I have no weapon other than my journalist's profession, my microphone and my unshakable faith as a militant for change," said famed Haitian radio personality and human rights advocate, Jean Dominique, who was assassinated four years ago.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ FILM-MEXICO: Revolutionary Zapata Reinvented

The film "Zapata, el sueño del héroe" (Zapata: The Hero's Dream) premiered in Mexico in the wake of a major advertising campaign and under harsh criticism for pulling the revolutionary hero out of historic context and putting him in a landscape of fantasy.