DEVELOPMENT: Malaysia ‘Model’ Offers Lessons for Muslim World

Malaysia is about to do something unique in the Muslim world, one that would be a rarity in the Third World as well.

HEALTH-CHILE: Junk Food, TV, Sedentary Lifestyle – Overweight Kids

Growing consumption of fast food and junk food, long hours in front of the TV set, and a sedentary lifestyle have led to an increase in obesity among schoolchildren in Chile.

PAKISTAN: Alliance of Gov’t, Religious Parties Boosts Conservatism

The amity between the military-backed government and right-wingers, and their near agreement to end the persistent political deadlock, may involve a quid pro quo that may strengthen religious conservatism in Pakistan.

RELIGION: Controversial Fatwa Seeks to Unite Muslim Lovers

A leading Muslim scholar in Yemen has issued a controversial fatwa to create "married friendship" among Muslims living in the West.

CULTURE-NIGERIA: Ritual Killings Resurface on the Campus

Tough measures introduced in the 1990s to curb the activities of cults in the higher institutions of learning in Nigeria seem to be failing.

RIGHTS-KENYA: Former Freedom Fighters to Sue Britain for Compensation

Forty-nine years after the death of his wife, General Kibira Gatu is still a bitter man, thanks to the atrocities committed during the British colonial era.

HEALTH-ETHIOPIA: AIDS Fight Hindered by Stigma, Discrimination, Say NGOs

Miss Ethiopia has joined hands with non-governmental organisations (NGOS), which are based in the capital Addis Ababa, in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ LITERATURE-VENEZUELA: Invasion of Eroticism

Erotic literature has won respect as an art form in Venezuela with the publishing success of the collection "Letra erecta" (Erect Letter), dedicated to this genre which is breathing new life into a sluggish book industry.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ARGENTINA: Theatre Group Raises Awareness on ‘Disappeared’ Children

Just three years after two prominent actors in Argentina brought to the stage the story of a young woman who had been illegally adopted after her parents were ''disappeared'' during the 1976-1983 dictatorship, around 800 people are now involved in the ''Theatre for Identity'' movement.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-JAPAN: Small Filmmakers Wait for the Big Break

A load fell off the shoulders of Kaoru Ikeya, a documentary maker for more than 20 years, when Japan's public broadcasting company, NHK, agreed to sponsor his documentary on China's Cultural Revolution, 'Daughter from Yan'an', for its release in November.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC: Reggae Super Producers Take Taxi to Christmas Release

For more than two decades, the names Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare have appeared in the credit section alongside some of the biggest names in the music business, from Bob Dylan to No Doubt.

RIGHTS-INDIA: Justice Catching Up with Gujarat Chief Minister

The anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat state last year, which left more than 2,000 members of the minority community dead, may have ensured electoral victory for its chief minister, but justice is fast catching up with the perpetrators of the worst sectarian violence since India's partition along religious lines in 1947.

RIGHTS-MALAWI: Women Gang up against Child Labour

Women activists in Malawi have waged war against child labour saying it is one of the many forms of violence that women in the country suffer from.

RELIGION-TOGO: Charismatic Churches Prey on Vulnerable Women

Ayele Ajavon is a happy woman, so she believes. After she was divorced by her husband, she sought solace in the church.

/SEPTEMBER 11/RIGHTS: Arabs, Muslims Ponder ‘Home’ Two Years After 9/11

Some were arrested without charge and held in jail despite their rights to freedom. Others were sneered at, spat upon or even attacked.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-JAPAN: Hip-Hop Comes of Age

In neon-lit Roppongi in the Japanese capital, boys in baggy pants and baseball caps break-dance on a busy street. In the trendy Shinjuku neighbourhood, rap music blares from speakers in a music store, while would-be instrumentalists try to play along.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ MUSIC-MEXICO: A Militant Song for Chile’s Allende

The 30 years since the Augusto Pinochet-led military overthrow in Chile of socialist president Salvador Allende are being remembered in many countries through concerts, expositions and seminars, with the late Allende a symbol of social justice.

RIGHTS-GHANA: Protecting the Identity of People Living with AIDS

Joana (not her real name) hurriedly jumped out of a tro-tro (minibus) at Circle heading straight towards Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. She was about 15 minutes late for her fortnightly meeting with an association of people living with HIV/AIDS in Accra.

RIGHTS-SWAZILAND: Women Battle With Culture in order to fight AIDS

Swazi women are engaged in a quiet cultural revolution with self-empowerment as their goal, but in the face of traditional laws that have long denied them equal rights. The battle directly affects women's ability to cope in the current AIDS crisis.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-NEPAL: Documentary Comes of Age

Bright, genial, and intensely energetic, Narayan Wagle is one of Nepal's most widely followed journalists, with a number of groundbreaking stories to his credit.

/ARTS WEEKLY/BOOKS-MALAWI/: Inspired by Oppression

Malawi's award-winning poet Jack Mapanje is using his work to remind Malawians of the country's former notorious detention camps.