CULTURE-NIGERIA: Dance Draws Young Into Museum

On any weekday evening in the heart of Kano's Old City, the sounds of a koroso dance troupe can be heard from within the maroon walls of the Gidan Makama Museum.

HEALTH-MALAYSIA: Divided Over HIV Testing

A raging debate over mandatory HIV screening has exposed fear and ignorance within government, despite years of awareness campaigns to eradicate prejudice against people living with the virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

THAILAND: Taking Lese-Majeste Laws Seriously

Until late August, Harry Niccolaides was just one of thousands of foreigners working in Thailand as English teachers. But now the 41-year-old Australian national is behind bars, charged with violating this kingdom’s draconian lese majeste laws.

MEXICO: Gays Defend Their Right to Be Catholic

Social activists and members of "unusual couples," as the Catholic Church calls gay, lesbian and transsexual unions, are discussing possible actions to be taken on Jan. 13-18, 2009 when Mexico hosts the Sixth World Meeting of Families organised by the Vatican.

CHILE: Finding a Place for Memory

Chile’s socialist President Michelle Bachelet recently laid the foundation stone for the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, thus coming one step closer to carrying out one of the projects she has put a priority on, which has however given rise to criticism and reservations from both ends of the political spectrum.

RELIGION: Liberal and Conservative Anglicans Fall Out – and Apart?

On the brink of a split in the global Anglican Communion that no one is eager to enlarge on, the Province of the Southern Cone of South America has become a temporary refuge for conservative bishops from the United States who refuse to countenance the liberal positions taken by the Church in their country.

RIGHTS-PHILIPPINES: Stalled Talks With Muslim Rebels Hard on Civilians

With the government insisting that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in conflict-ridden Mindanao disarm prior to resumption of peace talks - and the rebels refusing to do so - prospects for quick resettlement of some 300,000 internally displaced people (IDP) seem bleak.

INDIA: China Swamps Handloom Silk Industry

Legend has it that India’s famed handloom silk industry began around 300 A.D. after a Chinese princess smuggled out the eggs of the silkworm moth and the seeds of the mulberry tree in her headdress.

SRI LANKA: Women Pray for Sons, Husbands Caught in Civil War

As the Sri Lankan army pushes deeper into Tamil rebel-held territory hundreds women can only pray that their sons and husbands, believed held captive by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), are spared.

MEDIA-VIETNAM: Blogging Boom Faces Gov't Blockages

As Internet usage grows in communist Vietnam, fostering a vibrant community of bloggers, the government is looking at ways to regulate blogs, particularly those that tend to be political rather than personal.

BOLIVIA: Aymara Traders Mix Tradition and Modern-Day Savvy

Quietly and inconspicuously, Aymara indigenous traders are combining pre-Columbian traditions and modern-day survival skills to find unique ways of creating wealth and sustenance beyond the confines of textbook economic theory.

SRI LANKA: Terror, Recession Put Tourism in the Doldrums

With the sun glistening on waves that gently lap its clean sandy beaches and coral reefs, Hikkaduwa is the perfect tourist paradise. But there is one thing missing -tourists.

BRAZIL: Transformation Through Art and Music

They call it an orchestra, but this atypical all-percussion group is far from featuring the range of musicians found in a conventional ensemble. Which does not mean that the music they make is not rich and varied, as the young amateur musicians produce an amazing array of sounds.

SPECIAL SERIES: Iran's Regional Power Rooted in Shi'a Ties

As Barack Obama's national security team assesses the challenge of Iran's role in the Middle East, it confronts a paradox: Iran is seen as having ambitions of regional hegemony, but it lacks the military power normally associated with such a role.

ENVIRONMENT-AUSTRALIA: Anti-Whalers Take Campaign to Japan

As Japan’s whaling fleet sails south for the annual hunting season, Greenpeace and the Australian government are concentrating their anti-whaling actions on diplomacy and public opinion in Japan.

ARGENTINA: Bringing Films and Filmmaking to Indigenous Communities

With the assistance of experts from Bolivia, indigenous communities in the northeastern Argentine province of Chaco are learning how to make films, as a means of helping the rest of the world understand their way of life and the problems they face.

Q&A: ''The One Goal is to End Homelessness''

The week-long Homeless World Cup football competition came to a dramatic climax here on Dec.7, with Afghanistan and Zambia, respectively, winning the men’s and women’s competitions in what was the sixth edition of the annual tournament. But while the competition provides players with the opportunity to represent their country and gives spectators a chance to appreciate some exhilarating street soccer, the Homeless World Cup’s president and co-founder, Mel Young, told IPS that ending homelessness is the real goal.

BOOKS: An Outside Insider Probes the Iranian Psyche

While in New York this fall for the U.N. General Assembly, conservative Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad admitted to National Public Radio that he watches Western television: "Of course, I'm like the rest of the people. People like movies and shows."

RELIGION-VENEZUELA: Santeria Scams?

In a ritual that includes sacrificing goats or fowl, a "babalawo" priest of the Yoruba religion in Venezuela can "mount a saint" (attract blessings from forces of nature) on an initiate willing to pay up to 10,000 dollars, and sometimes even more.

ABKHAZIA: Troubled Region Prepares for Winter Olympics

The nomination of the Russian city Sochi to host the 2014 Winter Olympics is already affecting the sensitive geopolitical balance in the region.

CULTURE-CUBA: Rock n’ Roll Fanzine Fights Prejudice

For eight years, Michel and Alexander Sánchez have been publishing Scriptorium, a fanzine (fan magazine) dedicated to rock music produced within Cuba and abroad, in a society that resists accepting this genre and its fans as part of the national culture.