RIGHTS: Indigenous Peoples Push for Restitution

Their ultimate goal is to set up a truth and reconciliation commission to redress colonial injustices that stripped them of their heritage.

SPORTS-AFRICA: Prestigious Continental Games Kick Off Next Week

Nigeria hosts the 8th All African Games in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, next week. The games, the most prestigious on the continent, will be attended by 7,000 athletes, 1,500 journalists and over 10,000 fans from across Africa.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Despite Sound and Fury, ‘Hudood’ Laws Still Stay

The furore over Pakistan's controversial 'Hudood' laws and the burden they force on women has been rising again, but activists and even human rights officials are not at all optimistic about their repeal in this mainly Muslim country.

RIGHTS-MALAYSIA: Detainees Want Their Day in Open Court

Edmund Bon, a 29-year-old law graduate, is busy with a case that few lawyers in Malaysia want to touch.

POLITICS: Edward Said’s Death a ‘Fallen Tree’ for Palestinians

Edward W. Said, a lifelong champion of the Palestinian cause, died here late Wednesday after a decade-long battle with leukaemia. He was 67.

MEXICO: Church Caught Up in Real-Life Narco-Drama

Purported ties between the Roman Catholic Church and drug traffickers in Mexico have gone from the terrain of speculation in literature, film and academic studies to a police investigation of a 70-year-old cardinal who has been mentioned as a papal candidate.

PAKISTAN: Desperation, Lack of Options Drive Women to Abortion

Hamida, a frail 65-year-old woman, works deep in a squatter settlement in this port city A trained 'dai' or traditional birth attendant, Hamida knows well that some of the work she does is illegal, because abortions are not permitted in Pakistan unless necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.

CULTURE-UGANDA: Using Talent to Fight Early Marriages

Dorcus Apecu is a primary seven schoolgirl who keeps her fingers crossed. She is praying that her mother does not take her out of school and get her married due to lack of school fees.

BRAZIL: Evidence of Pre-Columbian Civilisation Found in Amazon

Relatively large pre-Columbian societies dramatically modified one of the least-known areas of the Amazon Basin, the Upper Xingú River, along the Brazilian Amazon's southeast edge, says a study published last week by Science magazine.

HEALTH: Botswana’s Women-Led AIDS Success Story

Wearing a beauty queen's sash, Kgalalelo Ntsepe, had her audience at the International Conference on AIDS in Africa in stitches and in an almost non-stop round of clapping when she spoke this week.

MIDEAST: Despite Exceptions, Region Misses Out on Women’s Potential

If you listen to what she says, she sounds like any chief executive officer in London, Paris, or California's technology belt.

/ARTS WEEKLY/VIETNAM: Foreign Designers Come In, Locals Venture Out

While more and more foreign designers are keen on coming to setting up shop in Vietnam, local ones are turning their eyes away from the local trade, saying the fashion market is still in its infancy stage.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-NAMIBIA/: Musicians Let Down by Their Own System

Talented and ambitious musicians always set their eyes on becoming instant millionaires, but in Namibia artists still struggle for basic needs like food and accommodation.

/ARTS WEEKLY/SPORTS: African Americans Striking Out From Major League Baseball

James "Cool Papa" Bell could run faster than a speeding baseball, according to a fellow Negro League player. "Once he hit a line drive right past my ear," said pitcher Satchel Paige. "I turned around and saw the ball hit his ass sliding into second (base)."

/ARTS WEEKLY/BRITAIN: A Circus and So Much More

The French-Canadian company Cirque du Soleil has dramatically changed the way audiences view a circus. They have got rid of animals, sequins and traditional clowns, and presents shows with contemporary live music, interlocking stories and multi-talented performers.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ FILM-VENEZUELA: Don Drug Trafficker

Venezuelan-Uruguayan filmmaker José Ramón Novoa is working on the final takes of the feature film "El Don", one of the few cinematic productions being filmed this year in Venezuela, with the aim of premeiring next year.

/ARTS WEEKLY/LITERATURE-CHILE: Neruda, Eternal Poet

In the wake of the tributes to former Chilean president Salvador Allende marking the 30 years since his death in the military coup of Sep. 11, 1973, the country - and admirers around the world - now pay homage to Pablo Neruda, the eternal poet, who also died three decades ago.

RIGHTS-GUINEA: Women Fight to Overcome Cultural Barriers

Idiatou Balde, in her late 30s, exhibits and sells indigo-tinted fabrics in an up market in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

POLITICS-INDIA: Verdict Shakes Confidence in Judicial System

The Indian public's confidence in the judicial system has been badly shaken by the recent decision of a subordinate court not to indict a top Cabinet official for the razing down of a 16th century mosque in 1992, an incident that deepened communal divisions that plague the country to this day.

RIGHTS-MALAWI: Media Workers Shun Government Call for HIV/AIDS Testing

Media workers in Malawi have responded negatively to a call by the government for them to act as community role models and go for HIV/AIDS voluntary counselling and testing.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Women Sue Government Over Enforced Name Change

What's in a name? Married women in Zimbabwe are taking the government to court over a procedure that compels them to adopt their husbands' surnames as a precondition to official documents, including registering the birth of infant children