US/PAKISTAN: Mystery Behind Aafia Siddiqi’s ‘Arrest’ Deepens

‘’For you it’s just another story. If you want the truth go to Ghazni where you will get more than I can ever tell you about my sister," said a distraught Fouzia Siddiqi, speaking with IPS, in a voice breaking with helpless desperation.

CHILE: Exhibit to Celebrate Indigenous Art

More than 100 artists from Chile’s nine indigenous groups will take part in the second biennial exhibition of indigenous art in the capital Oct. 17-Nov. 2, which hopes to draw at least 30,000 visitors.

MALAYSIA: Crackdown on Civil Rights, Media Feared

A series of tough measures in recent weeks has raised fears of a major crackdown against tolerance and dissent as rival political forces battle for state power in a society made fragile by economic uncertainties and decades of autocratic rule.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Lose a Voice

In the death of poet Mahmoud Darwish, Palestine has lost a voice.

CULTURE-CHINA: Love a Peking Duck

Is the Peking duck winning the contest? The jury is out on which Chinese specialty is going to be crowned as the Beijing Olympics’ most favorite local product.

Q&A: Hezbollah’s Triumph Is Blowback for Israeli Policy

Since the Israel-Lebanon 34-day war two years ago, and particularly after the Doha accord in May which restored Hezbollah to the Lebanese government and essentially gave it the veto power it demanded, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been the most popular figure anywhere in the Arab world.

CULTURE-CAMBODIA: Pre-War Khmer Music Making a Comeback

Grainy black and white newsreel footage of B-52 bombing raids and fierce fighting are the images most frequently associated with Cambodia in the sixties and early seventies - not rock and roll, hot pants and wild dancing.

PHILIPPINES: Hungry for Rice, Unwilling to Invest

When the price of rice nearly doubled to about 90 US cents per kilo, two months ago, Liza Valino put cheaper substitutes like bananas and sweet potatoes on the table to feed her family of ten. But no one was satisfied.

SOUTH AMERICA: Architecture Students Visit 50 Cities in 40 Days

A group of advanced architecture students and graduates from Argentina will tour more than 50 cities in their own country, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay to discover common characteristics in the architectural heritage of the Mercosur (Southern Common Market) countries.

MALAYSIA: Proposal to Liberalise Campuses Weak – Students

For nearly four decades undergraduates in this country were banned from owning loud hailers - a powerful symbol of dissent in the 1970s.

POLITICS-CHINA: Tough Policy in Xinjiang Backfires

China’s success in eliminating clusters of Muslim insurgencies in the western province of Xinjiang may have pushed an alleged separatist movement across the border into Pakistan and Afghanistan, exposing it to greater influences by jihadist groups in those countries.

POLITICS-INDIA: Exploiting Terrorism

In the aftermath of the spate of serial bomb blasts that rocked Ahmedabad in western India and the southern city of Bangalore, late July, prominent civil rights activists, advocates and experts have criticised the government, for political interference in and misuse of the country’s counter-terrorism laws.

BRAZIL: Spreading the Cultural Tentacles of Inclusion

"Negro F" tells how the Manos Grafite (roughly, "Graphite Hands") group started. In 1996, he and his friend Alex were walking along a street in the outskirts of the capital of the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, when they were struck by the colours and forms painted on the walls.

UKRAINE: Russian Language Toned Down

Russian speakers in Ukraine say the lack of state recognition for the biggest linguistic minority in Europe amounts to discrimination, but opponents argue that recognition will endanger the development of Ukrainian language.

MEDIA: Olympics Draw Harvest of Online Protests

Say goodbye to the usual slogan-shouting and banner-carrying protest actions, because one does not even have to be anywhere near China to push a mix of causes - from Tibet and Burma to Darfur. Online creativity is the name of the game.

CHINA: Olympics Leave Hong Kongers Cold

While the whole world tuned in on the spectacular Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing, there was little excitement in this former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.

CHINA: All the World's Stage

All the world is a stage and for a few mesmerising hours on Friday night that stage was China’s. Doubts over China as Olympic host faded away, at least temporarily, as the organisers delivered a fitting tribute to the mystery and sophistication of Chinese civilisation.

SPORTS-CUBA: Going for Gold – Once Again

Cuba’s prestige among the global sports élite for the past three decades testifies to the effectiveness of a mass, free physical education system which the government has supported through the ups and downs of the national economy.

BURMA/CHINA: Avoid ‘Blood Jade’ Olympic Souvenirs – Activists

They make attractive mementos for the thousands of visitors to Beijing for the Summer Olympics. But souvenirs and jewellery made out of prized jade from Burma are ridden with a history of abuse and blood, say activists from the military-ruled country.

CHINA: Olympic Glory Seen As More Than Sports

One hundred years ago Chinese athletes had neither money nor government support to compete in the Olympics. An invitation by the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, to Qing dynasty rulers to send a national team of athletes went unanswered.

SPORTS-ARGENTINA: More Money Would Help, But That’s Not Enough

Financial support for Argentine athletes has traditionally been meagre, but it has increased ahead of the Beijing Olympic games. However, several experts warn that more money alone is not enough to give a real boost to sports.