CHILE: Images of Exile

Painful images of the exile suffered by thousands of Chileans during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet and of the expressions of solidarity from the countries that took them in are presented in a new book with a prologue by internationally renowned writer Ariel Dorfman.

MUSIC-VENEZUELA: “The System” Continues to Collect Accolades

"Another prize...let’s go get ice cream to celebrate," said their mother, and the boys jumped up to get their shoes on and head out for their reward, as the TV set in their tiny living room broadcast the news about the tribute paid at OAS headquarters to the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela.

POLITICS: Thailand Marks New Year with Bullets, Troops Clash with Protesters

Water fights and neon-coloured water guns are a standard feature on Bangkok’s streets at this time of the year. They are part of the revelry as Thais douse each other during their New Year festival, Songkran.

EAST TIMOR: Indonesian Artist Adopts Local Talents

Yahiya Lambert won’t leave East Timor until he’s set up the country’s first art academy. He’s been here for 28 years, so a few more won’t be a problem for the 37-year-old Indonesian, a native of the Maluku Islands.

ARGENTINA: In the Shadows of Mentally Disabled Siblings

"He’s the favourite. I always have to let him play," complains a boy with a mentally disabled brother. "Will she have to come live with me?" is a common worry among siblings of the disabled.

PAKISTAN: Another Terror Attack For TV Cameras

The brazen armed attack on a police academy near Lahore on Monday underlines the danger that the Pakistani state faces from militancy linked to the ‘war on terror', but with historic roots in the earlier Afghan war of liberation from Soviet occupation, or ‘jihad' against ‘God-less communists'.

MUSIC-ITALY: Nurturing Opera

Fabrizio tells a young woman, Eriko, that it is very cold outside, while logs crackle in the fireplace and the sun sets behind the mountains, adorned with last night's snowfall. It is all true, but they are acting, rehearsing a famous scene from the opera La Bohème, by Giacomo Puccini.

CAMBODIA: Trial of Khmer Rouge Leader Starts Healing Process

Om Chantha,69, says she has waited far too long before finally seeing, with her own eyes, Khmer Rouge leader Duch face trial for torture, crimes against humanity and murder.

Q&A: ‘Khmer Rouge Trials Important for All Humanity’

Theary Seng, orphaned by the Khmer Rouge, believes in the invisible bonds that suffering weaves among people. She calls it the "fellowship of suffering".

PAKISTAN: Under Siege by Taliban

Authorities in Pakistan have vowed to deal sternly with Taliban militants who have this month mounted a series of deadly attacks apparently aimed at weakening this country that has close links with neighbouring Afghanistan.

CAMBODIA: Khmer Rouge Trials May Expose US, China

Limits placed on a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in prosecuting surviving leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime may not prevent revelations about international actors linked to Cambodia's dark period.

AUSTRALIA: ‘Chinese Asylum Seekers’ Rights Were Violated’

A yet-to-be released report by Australia’s human rights watchdog into the 2005 treatment of a group of Chinese asylum seekers held at the immigration detention here has concluded that serious breaches of civil and political rights were made by the immigration department.

RIGHTS-CAMBODIA: Khmer Rouge Custodial Torture Exposed

On a recent morning, tourists who visited a former high school in this city, turned into an infamous torture chamber during the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-1970s, were in for a surprise – the presence of a man who lived to tell the tale.

MEDIA-PAKISTAN: Pondering Risks Covering Conflict, Crime, Corruption

The main issue before the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) meeting over the weekend in the central Punjab city of Faisalabad is the threat faced by journalists in this conflict-ridden South Asian country.

LABOUR-US: The Daddy Dilemma

More men are taking advantage of paternity leave or even quitting their jobs entirely to raise small children while their wives go to work, but the social stigma attached to fathers who take on roles traditionally viewed as female has been far slower to diminish.

RIGHTS: U.S. Condemned for Boycott of Racism Conference

Amid calls for Washington to increase its engagement with the international community, U.S.-based rights groups and civil libertarians are denouncing the Barack Obama’s administration’s boycott of a global conference against racism next month.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: New PM Must Overcome Credibility Deficit

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi steps down this month, forced out by powerful factions in the ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) that feared his liberal policies and compromising ways with political opponents who wish to dismantle rule by an entrenched elite.

MIDEAST: To be an Arab, and an Israeli

The cluster of blue-and-white Stars of David - Israel's national flag - had seen better days. In the wake of unseasonably heavy rain, they looked limp, anything but proud - in direct contrast to the mark their bearers hoped to make.

POLITICS-JAPAN: On Trial 60 Years Later

Although it concluded more than 60 years ago, the Tokyo War Crimes Trial is still a live issue today - in Japan as in the world at large.

CULTURE-ETHIOPIA: Old Master Challenges Film-makers to Look Within

Haile Gerima's film "Teza" may only have come to the world's attention when it won Africa’s highest prize in Ouagadougou on Mar. 7, but it has been a sensation in his native Ethiopia since it premiered in Addis Ababa at the start of the year.

HEALTH-PAKISTAN: Spacing Births for Mother and Child

Health experts in Pakistan are now concentrating on getting women from all strata of society to space births.