INDIA-AUSTRALIA: ‘Curry Bashing’ in Oz Sours Bilateral Ties

A series of bloody attacks on Indian students in Australia, that many are convinced have racial undertones, threaten to undermine efforts to build relations between the two Asia Pacific countries.

THAILAND: Courts to Military, ‘Deaths in Custody’ Are Okay

A verdict by a provincial court is poised to deepen the sense of injustice felt by Thailand’s Malay-Muslim minority in the country’s southern provinces, where an insurgency has been raging for over five years.

RIGHTS-CHILE: Ex-Soldier Arrested for Victor Jara Murder

A judge in Chile has charged a former soldier in the 1973 murder of internationally renowned Chilean folk singer Víctor Jara. Up to now, the only person prosecuted in the case was the commanding officer at the temporary prison camp where the songwriter was killed shortly after the Sept. 11, 1973 coup led by General Augusto Pinochet.

MIDEAST: Political Clouds Hang Over UNESCO Selection

With only a few days left before the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) nominates final candidates for the post of director-general, controversy continues to swirl around the leading contender, Egyptian culture minister Farouk Hosni.

CHILE: Study Shows How Leading Paper Colluded with Dictatorship

The coverage of human rights violations cases by the powerful conservative Chilean newspaper El Mercurio during the country’s 17-year dictatorship was the focus of a meticulous study by five young reporters.

CHINA-EU: Summit Redefines Diplomatic Boundaries

The global economic crisis has helped China and the European Union mend their recent rift over Tibet and human rights, but the two sides remain distrustful of each other’s intentions. Beijing complains that the EU’s crowded agenda makes it lose sight of the bigger picture in dealing with China. Brussels for its part, believes China is exploiting the EU’s divisions and treating the 27-state bloc with ‘diplomatic contempt’ on a range of issues from trade to the Dalai Lama.

POLITICS: At East-West Crossroads, Turkey Presses Ambitious Agenda

Two soaring bridges link Asia and Europe in this historic city, which straddles the two continents.

ARGENTINA: Blogs – a Shortcut to Fame?

While many are still warning that the Internet will do away with reading, unknown writers in Argentina who have joined the global trend of blogging are winning prizes around the world and watching their online writings turn into books, plays and television screenplays.

LITERATURE: Mario Benedetti, the Most Beloved of Uruguayan Writers

The literary oeuvre of Uruguayan author Mario Benedetti, who died Sunday night, is enormous and diverse, comprising dozens of books of poetry, songs, novels, short stories, chronicles, essays, plays and humour. As he himself used to joke: "The only thing I never wrote is an opera."

CHINA: Secret Memoir Highlights Political Dissent

Painstaking efforts by Chinese leadership to maintain the cloak of official silence over the crackdown of a 1989 pro-democracy movement backfired this week when Hong Kong released explosive clandestine memoirs of an ousted reformist party leader.

MIDEAST: Israel Expanding ‘Beautifully’ In Jerusalem

Even as Pope Benedict XVI tries his best during his current Holy Land visit to pay reverence to the attachment of all three monotheistic faiths to Jerusalem, on the ground a less lofty imprint is already furthering Israeli control over the Holy City in a way that could threaten the claims of all but Jews to Jerusalem.

INDONESIA: Using Religion to Strengthen Gender Equality

‘My husband rapes me repeatedly. I asked the ulama (religious leader) for help, but he sided with him, saying that according to Islam, a woman has to obey her husband. I have nowhere else to go. I have no tears left to shed. I no longer scream.’

ARTS-CUBA: Aura of Deja Vu at the Biennial

Too bold for some tastes and too dissident for others, some of the Cuban exhibits at the recent Havana Arts Biennial brought to mind the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the visual arts were in the vanguard of national culture.

RIGHTS-IRAN: Damaging Forced Confessions

Iranian political refugees living in India say there is an all too familiar ring about the supposed confessions of arrested journalist Roxana Saberi, which they expect to see footage of on television soon.

AUSTRALIA: Asylum Seekers at Centre of Political Squabble

Australia’s opposition and governing parties have been admonished for attempting to make ‘political capital’ out of the recent spike in asylum seekers trying to reach the nation’s shores by boat.

CAMBODIA: Corruption Allegations Undermine Khmer Rouge Tribunal

The voice of Comrade Duch reverberates daily through the speakers at the 500- seat courtroom in Phnom Penh as he gives testimony in his trial for crimes against humanity.

MAY DAY-ARGENTINA: ‘My Mom Is a Taxi Driver’

A new collection of children’s books in Argentina shows women in jobs and professions that are traditionally held by men, challenging sexist preconceptions.

POLITICS: U.S. Lacks Capacity to Win Over Afghans

President Barack Obama and other top officials in his administration have made it clear that there can be no military solution in Afghanistan, and that the non-military efforts to win over the Afghan population will be central to its chances of success.

CHILE: Transparency Law Opens Access to Information

The Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information came into force in Chile on Monday. Although experts say there is room for improvement, and they foresee some difficulties in its implementation, they do not hesitate to describe it as a useful step forward.

THAILAND: With Censorship, Thais Turn to Websites and Foreign Media

When the Thai government imposed an emergency law cracking down on rampaging red-shirted protesters on the streets of Bangkok, the military, in combat gear, was not its only weapon. The state’s censors were given liberty to silence critical media.

CHINA: Macau Gaming Boom at a Cost

Beijing’s decade-old flirt with lucrative gambling in the booming casino town of Macau has gone decidedly sour.