VENEZUELA: Petrodollars for Local Film Industry

The film industry in Latin America, plagued by endemic poverty, has found an oasis in Venezuela, where the film institute plans to distribute 3.7 million dollars to 26 filmmakers this year.

RELIGION: Pope Finds Support for Middle East Stand

Pope Benedict XVI has found some support for his call for peace solutions in the Middle East and around the world.

RELIGION-CUBA: Afro-Cuban Brotherhood Vindicated

A recent episode of a Cuban television detective serial portrayed the Abakuá secret society in an unusually favourable light, after more than a century of discrimination and calumnies in Cuba against this sect of African origin.

RIGHTS-IRAN: Bloggers Rebel at New Censorship

In a bid to clamp down even harder on information disseminated through the Internet, Iran's hardliner government has demanded the registration of all websites and weblogs sourced in the country by Mar. 1, drawing objections from many Iranian bloggers who say the move clearly violates free speech.

PAKISTAN: By-election Test for Musharraf’s Afghan Policy

A parliamentary by-election in the Bajaur agency, scheduled for Wednesday, is turning out to be a test for Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s policy in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan and subjected to missile attacks by the United States military for harbouring al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

POLITICS-US: Goode Grief Over Koran Jibe

More than 20 prominent religious leaders have launched an online petition demanding that Rep. Virgil Goode, a Virginia Republican, rethink his opposition to newly-elected Rep. Keith Ellison, a Muslim from Minnesota, taking his unofficial oath of office using the Koran.

BRAZIL: Cell Phones – Democratising Communications

Rapid expansion in the poorer sectors of society, especially among the large number of informal workers, has taken the number of mobile phones in Brazil to over 100 million, equivalent to more than 53 percent of the population.

RUSSIA: Privatisation to Preserve the Past

Russian authorities are considering a proposal for privatisation of monuments so they could be preserved better to attract tourists.

CHILE: Mapuche Indians Want Response to Their Demands

The Mapuches, Chile's largest indigenous group, are tired of the promises of social justice and greater participation in decision-making voiced by the last three centre-left governments. Their leaders thus met with President Michelle Bachelet to propose a new working relationship.

RIGHTS: Saddam Hanging Boosts Case for Int’l Criminal Court

The manner in which former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was hanged has provoked revulsion and criticism in many countries around the world including India, home to 120 million Muslims.

CULTURE-JAPAN: Ringing in the New Year on Cash Registers

Akiko Ozaki, 41, started the new working year by rushing around the capital bowing and greeting, and even downing glasses of sake (rice wine) with clients loyal to her travel company.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Kashmir Resolution in Sight?

A month after President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan proposed a four-point formula to resolve the troubled question of Kashmir jointly with India, exploratory contacts between the two governments have gathered momentum.

COLOMBIA: Open Your Books, Please, Bogota

For the first time, a Latin American city has been named World Book Capital. Bogotá will have this honour in 2007 by courtesy of UNESCO, with the main aim of promoting a dying habit: reading.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Brazil to Join Digital TV World

In a country as addicted to television as Brazil, disputes over digital TV, which is being installed this year, are naturally acerbic. The business is worth an estimated 50 billion dollars, and could bring profound social and cultural changes.

SRI LANKA: Tsunami Recovery Skewed by Sectarian Strife

Mohideen Ajeemal is determined to put the dark days of the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami, which claimed two of his children, behind him.

IRAQ: ‘Illegal’ Execution Enrages Arabs

The execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein carried out at the start of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha has angered Iraqis and others across the Middle East.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Island Populations Thinning Out From Migration

''Hi all; just to let you know that I will be leaving end of this week and migrating to Australia in early February. This is just a small farewell note to you all.''

ECONOMY-FIJI: ‘Sanctions Could Hurt the Wrong People’

With the international community clamping a range of sanctions on Fiji's military regime, there have been warnings that such action could harm the civilian population, or lead to further tension in the South Pacific island nation that saw its fourth coup in less than 20 years on Dec. 5.

ENVIRONMENT-JAPAN: Bear Depredations Trigger Open Season for Hunters

As hundreds of Asiatic black bears leave their dwindling forests in search of food and threaten villagers officials see an answer in increased hunting licenses.

UAE: Flying Start for Women in First Elections

The first ever elections to the Federal National Council (FNC) held earlier this month have been remarkable for the participation of women and for the election of one woman to the influential advisory body.

BOOKS-US: ” Zebra Murders” Recalls a City’s Collective Punishment

It may seem like an unlikely place to look, but those concerned with stopping the spread of terrorism would be advised to check out "The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness and Civil Rights", a new book about a string of murders in 1970s San Francisco written by the city's first black police chief, Earl Sanders, and co-author Bennett Cohen.