/ARTS WEEKLY/AUSTRALIA: Odyssey from Tiananmen to Down Under Goes Onstage

After the Tiananman Square massacre in 1989, Chinese actor Yang Li was once told by a fortune teller to place his trust in women if he wanted to advance in his career and never give up on life.

TAIWAN-CHINA: Reunification Goal Fast Becoming Fiction

Beijing still preaches brotherhood and cultural kinship with ''Taiwanese compatriots'' whom it calls the fellow descendants of the Yellow Emperor, but the emergence of an assertive Taiwanese identity is making the idea of re-unification between China and Taiwan an obsolete remnant of a bygone era.

SOUTH ASIA: Sports Beats Politics in Making Headway in Peace

Sports often supercedes politics as a vibrant expression of the best that talented humans can offer, reflecting a nation's image, strength and national character. And sometimes, the struggle on the playing field can excite the worst passions that are otherwise manifested in combat on the battleground, escalating divisions and causing cleavages.

POLITICS-SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Moderate Islam Stands Tall

The likelihood of Malaysia going in the direction of countries known for their intolerant strand of Islam - such as Saudi Arabia - has just been stopped in its tracks by ballots, not bombs and bullets, at the weekend's polls.

CUBA-US: Knocking Down ‘People-to-People’ Bridges

The United States seems to have opted for open confrontation with Cuba on all fronts, even to the detriment of the ''people-to-people'' contacts allowed by U.S. law and promoted since the 1990s.

POLITICS-MIDEAST: After Killing, Anger, Frustration and Fear Peak

As Arabs and their leaders widely condemn Israel's assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Monday, anger continues to spill into the streets, many are bracing for a violent backlash and moderates are raising their hands in frustration.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Ruling Party Win Leaves Opposition in Tatters

In what is probably the biggest upset in Malaysian electoral history, the Islamic opposition party and its sole ally, the National Justice Party of jailed former deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim, have lost nearly everything they had won in the 1999 election.

POLITICS-CANADA: Calls Grow to Block U.S. Guns

After being lectured by U.S. officials and politicians about their allegedly lax immigration, refugee and drug policies, Canadians are hitting back with questions about inadequate regulation of guns by their southern neighbour.

THAILAND: Ties with Muslim South Tense with Lawyer’s Disappearance

The disappearance of a senior Muslim lawyer has added another troubling dimension to the Thai government's increasingly tense relationship with the country's Muslim minority.

POLITICS-IRAN: Fires of Defiance Light the Night Sky

Bonfires roared and firecrackers split the dark as Iranians defied Islamic hardliners to enact ancient rites ahead of the Persian New Year, which starts on Mar. 21.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ART-JAPAN: Nostalgia for Showa Period Is In

Nostalgic for the heady fifties and sixties when Japan embarked on its post-war economic miracle, 68-year-old Hidetoshi Yokokawa goes back to the past through his Showa Retro Products Museum, which displays collections of items from that era.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Constitutional Endorsement of Muslim Courts Provokes Anger

A meeting of church leaders in Kenya has been called to discuss how they can remove a clause in the draft constitution that recognises Muslim courts - also referred to as Kadhi's courts.

RELIGION: Dialogue Can Ease World Tensions, Say Asian Thinkers

To a world that to many seems to be bracing for a 'clash of civilisations,' some of the brightest minds in Asia offer a simple answer - dialogue.

CULTURE-ZIMBABWE: Bulawayo’s Old Men of Jazz

A white-suited quartet slides onto a small stage in Bulawayo, southern Zimbabwe. There’s a flash of a smile before the grey-haired men step forward, their songs matching the rhythm of their feet. The Cool Crooners are on their way to charming another audience.

SOCIETY-CHINA: New Rich Trade Communal Blocks for Trendy Flats

-As China's Parliament meets to amend the communist country's constitution and protect private property rights, China's new rich are abandoning proletarian apartments in communal blocks and moving into trendy duplex apartments and suburban villas.

CULTURE-IRAN: Holy Month Reveals Schism Between Shiite Youth, State

The holy month of Moharram, marked by ritual mourning, has highlighted a rift between official religious doctrine and young people who make up the large majority of this Shiite Islamic republic's population.

RELIGION-SERBIA: Church Takes On a Sausage

It seemed like excommunication days again, and over a sausage.

/CORRECTED UPDATE*/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-U.S.: ‘The Passion’ Incites New Divisions Among Neo-Cons

Increasingly split and defensive over whether the United States must cooperate more with the United Nations and Europe and whether Syria or Iran should be ''next'' in the war on terrorism, the neo-conservative movement is now beset by a new source of tension within its ranks - Mel Gibson's film, 'The Passion of the Christ'.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-VIETNAM: Filmmakers Question How to Develop Industry

Vietnam's movie industry is focused on the question of how to revitalise itself. Some directors say it should produce enjoyable films to appeal to local youth while others believe filmmakers should move away from traditional plot-oriented educative movies to more innovative ones designed to make a strong impression on audiences at home and abroad.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-U.S.: ‘The Passion’ Incites New Divisions Among Neo-Cons

Increasingly split and defensive over whether the United States has to cooperate more with the United Nations and the Europeans and whether Syria or Iran should be ''next'' in the war on terrorism, the neo-conservative movement is now beset by a new source of tension within its ranks - Mel Gibson's film, 'The Passion of the Christ'.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ TV-MEXICO: ‘El Chavo’ Vanquishes Time

'El Chavo del Ocho', the poor Mexican eight-year-old (really a 40-year-old man dressed as a boy) with a heart of gold and a bit on the clumsy side, was the star of a television series of the same name three decades ago, and today survives as a TV favourite for millions of viewers.