PERU: Intercultural University Scores Poorly on Equality

Peru’s only intercultural university was established in the country’s Amazon jungle region to provide higher education for indigenous people, thanks to a concerted struggle by native leaders. Yet only 40 percent of the students are actually from indigenous communities, while the majority are "mestizos" (people of mixed-race) from urban areas.

SPAIN: Alliance of Civilisations Gets Off to an Auspicious Start

The First Forum of the Alliance of Civilisations sponsored by Turkey and Spain concluded in Madrid with concrete commitments, including generous funding, and the announcement that the second forum will be held in Turkey in 2009.

DEATH PENALTY: Beijing Sentence Shakes Malaysia’s Own Policy

Malaysia's unshakable stand on the death penalty appears to be wavering as a country unites in sympathy and outrage over the plight of a young Malay woman sentenced to death in China for allegedly acting as a drug courier.

MIDEAST: Christian Zionists Feel “Betrayed” by Bush’s Road Map

President George W. Bush returned home from his trip to the Middle East optimistic about the possibility of a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January of next year.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Hearing Exposes Mahathir, His Corrupt Times

A public hearing into corruption in the higher judiciary is giving Malaysians a rare peep into the way top judges were appointed, demoted or promoted during the tenure of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

HEALTH-SRI LANKA: Buddhist Monks Battle Tobacco, Alcohol Lobbies

Sri Lanka’s Buddhist monks see their fight against tobacco and alcohol abuse as more urgent than the war that the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse is prosecuting against Tamil separatist rebels.

ECONOMY-SRI LANKA: ‘Norwegian Truce Provided Window of Prosperity’

While the Norway-brokered ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil separatist militants finally failed, last week, it did provide a six-year window of prosperity to this island nation torn by a festering ethnic conflict.

CHALLENGES 2007-2008: Internal Problems Worry Iranians More

While Iranians have legitimate worries that their country may suffer a military attack by the United States or become a victim of more sanctions for its nuclear policies, analysts say that the real dangers in 2008 are internally generated ones.

HEALTH-ASIA: Religious Leaders Tackle HIV, AIDS

The Korean superstar RAIN was roped in by the Christian relief group World Vision last year to help promote awareness of HIV and AIDS, especially among the youth. Over in Fiji, people living with HIV can get internship opportunities at the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the Pacific.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Rampant Crime Turns Main Election Issue

As election fever grips the country, with polls widely expected mid-March, the country's seemingly unstoppable escalation in violent crime is turning into the main plank of the opposition's campaign.

POLITICS-US: Muslim American Voters Left Out in the Cold

In an electoral campaign system tactically dominated by "niche politics", major candidates for their party's presidential nominations are running as fast as they can from one potentially influential constituency.

MIDEAST: Bush Sent Home Empty-Handed

It is not often that a president of the United States tours the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with a long wish-list. And less so when the ‘world’s most powerful leader’ returns home with just a few symbolic gains.

ARTS-MALI: Festival Fosters Cultural Exchange in the Desert

A polar bear is in the middle of the Sahara desert. It is not a mirage.

THAILAND: Muslim Insurgency Headache For New Gov’t

The twin attacks mounted by suspected insurgents in Thailand’s restive southern provinces this week offer a stark warning to the country’s next government of the unresolved conflict that it will soon inherit.

POLITICS-IRAN: Enforcing Islamic Dress Code May Cost Votes

When the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad uncharacteristically denounced the country’s police force for strictly enforcing Islamic dress code (hijab) it was attributed to fears of losing popularity ahead of parliamentary elections in March.

BRAZIL: Land Shortage Provokes Murders of Indigenous People

At least 76 indigenous people were murdered in Brazil in 2007, 58 percent more than in 2006. The killings increased the most in the west-central state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where the Guaraní people are confined to territories too small for them to maintain their traditional way of life.

DEATH PENALTY-IRAN: Top Campaigner Harassed, Hangings Increase

Emaddedin Baghi, Iran’s leading anti-death penalty campaigner, is back behind bars in the country’s notorious Evin prison after intense harassment leading to his hospitalisation and concern that he may have suffered a heart attack.

CHINA: Beijingers Under Siege as Olympics Tempo Rises

For a city in the middle of zealous Olympics preparations a public debate over its future, set off by an academic’s call to shift the national capital out of congested and parched Beijing, has been baffling.

MEXICO: Teotihuacan Sun Pyramid in for a Muon Scan

Who ruled the pre-Columbian city of Teotihuacan, in Mexico? Where are their bodies buried, what ethnic group did they belong to, and what kind of political system did they develop? A project to delve into these mysteries is under way, and may start producing answers next year.

CULTURE: Indian Cinema – Fewer Bump and Grind Routines

The voluptuous heroine playing a coy hide-and-seek game of love around a tree in Indian cinema has produced derisive scoffs from Western audiences and sophisticated film buffs at home and abroad.

MEDIA-THAILAND: Interference Mars Community Radio

Pride evident in his voice, Weerapol Charoenthum expressed his satisfaction with ‘Maung Loei’, a community radio station run by the youth of the north-eastern Thai province of Loei.