CULTURE-NIGERIA: Amina Lawal’s Fate to be Decided by September 25

Amina Lawal, condemned to death in the Katsina state, northern Nigeria for adultery will, on Sept 25, know if she will be stoned to death or not.

CULTURE-SWAZILAND: Mswati Takes Eleventh Bride, Criticised for Breaking

When the revered leader of a country crippled by an AIDS crisis breaks his own rules intended to curb the HIV infection rate, the policy is doomed to failure, critics of King Mswati's decision to take an eleventh bride said this week.

CULTURE-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Progress Towards Gender Equality Disappointing

Southern Africa leaders reaffirmed their commitment to reach a target of at least 30 percent of women in political and decision-making structures by 2005.

POLITICS-INDIA: Mumbai Blasts Bode Ill for Hindu-Muslim Ties

Fears of increased Hindu-Muslim tensions are rising in the wake of Indian security agencies' findings that Monday's twin car-bomb blasts are part of a series of attacks in this bustling port city to avenge an anti-Muslim pogrom last year in adjacent Gujarat state.

RELIGION-GUINEA: Islamic Fundamentalism Makes In-roads

Aissatou Bah, 17, used to dress in the latest fashions and frequent trendy nightclubs in the capital Conakry just like any other girl of her age.

CULTURE-THAILAND: Hill Tribes’ Conversion Eroding Tradition

Ake Chermu has a pivotal role in this village, where faith in animism runs deep. The 67-year-old Ake is the shaman, the religious leader who keeps alive the ceremonies associated with the rice harvest or when new homes of bamboo are built.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-U.S.: African Choir Unites International Singers in Harlem

A joke making the rounds about the New York African Chorus goes something like this.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-ZIMBABWE/: Gov’t Stifles Critical Voices in the Media

No sooner had it made its debut in May that musician Leonard Zhakata's latest album disappeared from the airwaves.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ COLOMBIA: A Talent for Stories

Sociologist, piano teacher, mother of three and grandmother of four, Inés Grimland decided at age 55 that the time had come to dedicate herself to what she really wanted to do: be a storyteller.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ ARGENTINA: Voices for Hire

Light-headed from so much panting, the woman takes a break. She removes her headphones and leaves the sound studio to get a drink of water, but she is gone just a few minutes because in Argentina the high demand for film and video dubbing is keeping voices like hers busy.

POLITICS-INDIA: Sectarian Strife Feared after Mumbai Blasts

After 45 persons died in two car-bomb blasts that rocked western Mumbai city, India's 'financial capital', on Monday, authorities moved to contain possible sectarian strife that have, in the past, followed similar attacks.

EAST TIMOR: Post-Independence Frustrations Find Release in New Rock

As the frustrations of young East Timorese grow in the days after the world's newest nation became independent last year, their restiveness is finding release in a new form of rock music, peppered with socially-conscious lyrics.

SPORT: On a Tricky Track to the Olympics

Preparations for the 2004 Olympics are back on track after a shaky start, say officials in Athens, the land of their birth.. But some have their doubts.

INDIA: Opposition to Cow Slaughter Bill Undercuts Pro-Hindu Agenda

The failure by India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to muster support from its allies for a controversial bill aimed at a nationwide ban on the slaughter of cows is a sign of these supporters' larger opposition to the government's pro-Hindu policies.

CULTURE-ZIMBABWE: Women Bear the Brunt of Economic Difficulties

For taking part in the protest, 48 women and four babies were bundled into police vehicles and detained in cramped cells for two days.

CULTURE-KENYA: Award Winning Writer is Obsessed with Writing

She is so artistic, so poetic, that every sentence she jots accentuates her creativity and passion for writing.

CULTURE-TANZANIA: African Women Called on to Stop Embracing Poverty

Women in Africa have to rise up to the challenge of developing positive attitudes as a key factor to advancing themselves, as well as attaining sustainable socio and economic development of the continent.

RELIGION-SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Pan-Islamic State More Fantasy than Fact

Among the many theories that are gradually crumbling in the ongoing 'war against terrorism' is one that came to life almost a year ago - that South-east Asia needs to fear a campaign by Muslim extremists to carve out a pan-Islamic state in the region.

CULTURE-PAKISTAN: Dancer Makes Fragile Stand For Peace

''The day I stop dancing will be the day I die,'' said Sheema Kermani, Pakistan's leading classical dancer. The petite 52-year-old is not given to making such statements lightly, and particularly not given the cultural repression and outright threats she has faced.

/ARTS WEEKLY/ MUSIC-CUBA: Rap on the Offensive

Rap music in Cuba has made it past the initial phase of rejection and incomprehension that its controversial and critical lyrics produced, and continues to gain space in national culture. And now has its ninth festival - with local and international artists - under its belt.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC: Label Link Gives Dancehall Reggae New Life in U.S.

In 1991, dancehall reggae cracked North American charts in a way Bob Marley could only dream of during his heyday in the 1970s. But after two years, U.S. music fans tired of the latest overseas novelty and it would be a decade before the Jamaican beat would make an impact in the United States.