MEDIA-PAKISTAN: Viewers Want Politics out of TV War

Accusations are traded, diplomats are regularly expelled, and their soldiers trade fire routinely. Pakistan and India have exploited every possible means to snipe at each other, including by the reciprocal banning of television channels.

CULTURE-KENYA: ‘Nowhere in Africa’ Wins an Oscar

Kenyans are delighted that a film shot in Kenya, 'Nowhere in Africa', won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film at this year's awards.

INDIA: Killings Put Pressure on Peace Approach by Kashmir Gov’t

The Sunday killings of 24 Hindus in India's Muslim-majority state of Kashmir has shaken its new government, which was popularly elected in September on a mandate to bring peace to the territory long disputed by neighbouring Pakistan.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-ZIMBABWE: Decision to Scrap Import Duty Welcomed

Artists have welcomed a recent decision by the government of Zimbabwe to scrap import duty on all musical, film and video equipment.

/ARTS WEEKLY/JAPAN: Old Farmhouses Signal Return to Tradition

The former home of an empress, old farmhouses and a determined citizens' group are helping revive an interest in tradition in Japan.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-BRAZIL: The Madman of Sound

Brazilian musician Hermeto Pascoal is a "madman", say audiences in recognition of his unique approach to sound. His odd physical appearance, his creativity and the unique musical pieces he composes and performs explain why he has been dubbed "O Bruxo", or sorcerer.

IRAQ: U.S.-led War Shrinks Room for Tolerant Islam in Indonesia

''This is an attack on Iraq. It's not an attack on Islam. I've been trying to make this clear to Muslim communities here,'' says Hidayat Nurwahid, chairman of the Indonesian Justice Party after leading a huge rally against the U.S.-led war here Thursday.

ARTS-MIDEAST: ‘DisORIENTation’ in Berlin as War on Iraq Gets Underway

By a bizarre coincidence, a major exhibition featuring contemporary Arab artists from the Middle East opened here in Berlin on the very day the U.S.-British spearheaded war on Iraq got underway.

IRAQ: Son of Nicaraguan Revolutionary Sent to Fight for US

Renowned Nicaraguan singer-songwriter Carlos Mejía Godoy, who wrote hundreds of popular songs as well as the hymn of the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), is suffering first-hand the anguish of the war the United States has declared against Iraq.

ARGENTINA: Bolivian Immigrants Complain of Racist Football Chants

The Bolivian immigrant community in Argentina is upset over football - not because of the recent defeat of the Bolivian club Oriente Petrolero at the hands of Racing, a local team, but due to the indifference of football authorities to repeated complaints of racial taunts in the stadiums.

SPORTS-KENYA: Cricket Fans Gearing Up for World Cup Final against India

Kenyan cricket fans are gearing up for Thursday's World Cup semi-final against India, pretty confident of their chances of success.

RELIGION-AUSTRALIA: Intolerance in Anglican Church Sows Worries

The description of non-believers as devil worshippers by the new Anglican dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, is fuelling a religious row, drawing accusations of insensitivity and intolerance in this multicultural country.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC-SENEGAL: Gulf War Casts Shadow on U.S. Tour

Despite the expanding popularity abroad of artists like Baaba Maal, Youssou N'Dour is probably still the only Senegalese performer who can sell out venues across North America.

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC: Jamaican Dancehall Singer Finally Gets U.S. Breakthrough

With a hot song riding the Billboard charts and a new album out, dancehall singer Wayne Wonder is enjoying the best time of his career. One of the most durable performers the genre has produced, Wonder has made the leap from the Jamaican charts to mainstream U.S. success with the hit single, "No Letting Go".

/ARTS WEEKLY/MUSIC: Make Music, Not War

Make music, not war - that is the message coming loud and clear from the international music festival called World of Music, Arts and Dance or WOMAD, just held this month in Australia and New Zealand, and now travelling throughout the year to Spain, Britain, Italy and Singapore.

/ARTS WEEKLY/FILM-CUBA: Best-Known Actor Waiting for Next Big Role

A decade after his celebrated interpretation of a gay man in the internationally acclaimed film 'Strawberry and Chocolate', Cuban actor Jorge Perugorría says he is waiting for another role of that stature.

CULTURE: Destructive Superstitions Key Part of Political Life in Swaziland

''Ritual murder'' has allegedly long been a dark and secret part of politics in Swaziland, a conservative kingdom where traditions good and bad, including some destructive superstitions, are a key part of life.

CHINA: Friction Rises over Reinvention of Beijing for Olympics

The reinvention of Beijing as a modern international city ready to host the 2008 Olympic Games has presented Chinese planners with a dilemma - how to reconcile imported design ideas from the West with China's unique architectural heritage.

CULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Tourist Industry Taps Into Apartheid Legacy

This picturesque city has witnessed some of the monumental battles of the apartheid era, as South Africa's white minority government attempted to rid the city of its black and coloured populations. The legacy of these historic struggles is fast becoming a major attraction to international visitors to Cape Town and the post-apartheid tourism authorities are only too happy to show it to the world.

PAKISTAN: Secular Peace Movement Lost amid Sounds of War on Iraq

The looming U.S.-led attack against Iraq is turning out to be a litmus test of the strength of secular peace movement in Pakistan, in comparison to the one spearheaded by the right-wingers.

POLITICS-INDIA: Excavation May Open a Religious Pandora’s Box

On Wednesday, the government's Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) launches a truly extraordinary project when it starts excavating the super-controversial site in Ayodhya in northern Uttar Pradesh state, where a 16th century mosque was destroyed 10 years ago by a Hindu mob.