As London simmered under a heavy police lid last night, therewere some areas of the city that had no need for flashing bluelights and riot shields to maintain the ragged sense of calm.

The city of Cienfuegos, known in Cuba as the"Pearl of the South", is unique for its spotless cleanliness, the orderly grid pattern of its streets, its 19th century architecture and its air of"Grande Dame"elegance. Now its past splendours, ravaged by time or left to deteriorate because of economic difficulties, are being restored.

When the old Astor Hotel reopened to great fanfare from the local city fathershere in 2010, it marked more the return of the"Grande Dame of Tianjin"to thecity's growing collection of luxury hotels. It was a travel back to the future. Itmanifested the city leaders' eagerness to embrace and rebrand the colonialheritage as a way of boosting Tianjin's modern identity.

The recent gang-rape of a Buddhist nun and her expulsion from her sect havesparked a debate about the deep-rooted religious traditions and biases thatfoster discrimination and violence, especially against women, in this South Asianstate.

Community organisations say the major infrastructure works for the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil do not reflect the spirit of the social legacy promised by the government and business community, which project 68 billion dollars in economic benefits from the first event alone.

The long boardwalk, balmy sea air and ebb and flow of water under the bridge,but most of all the festive carnival-like atmosphere of people enjoying theKarachi sunset, are images that stand in deep contrast to the violence thismetropolis recently witnessed.

The discovery that treasures lying in the vaults of an ancient temple inThiruvananthapuram may be worth more than 25 billion dollars is raisingquestions regarding the vast wealth owned by religious shrines in thisimpoverished country.

Lady Gaga and Alice Walker don't have much in common. Onedresses in red meat; the other doesn't even eat the stuff. Onewrites lyrics like"I want your ugly, I want your disease, Iwant your everything as long as it's free."The other writes"The Color Purple".

Local women's voices have begun to be heard over a community radio station now broadcasting in Complexo do Alemao, a clump of favelas or shantytowns on the north side of this Brazilian city that were ruled until recently by armed drug gangs.

In a matter of minutes on Mar. 11, 33-year-old Hiroshi Yoshida became awidower and a single father, as the massive tsunami swept over his home inRikuzentakata in northern Japan and took away his wife and younger son.

If films are the voice of society, then Indian Kashmir is mute, with a virtuallynon-existent film industry and the subsequent inability to nurture local talent.

"I want to meet @salvatore300 and @elainediaz2003"was a comment overheard at #TwittHab, the first meeting in Cuba of social network users. After years of being connected only via the web, the internet is now being used to facilitate real-world contact between citizens of this socialist island nation.

Despite the many limitations on access to digital-age technology in Cuba, a taste for computer games is spreading in this country, giving rise to a youthful movement that is beginning to conquer new public spaces.

The film"Impunity"has only just now arrived in Colombia, although the filming was completed a year ago and it was first shown to the public in Geneva in January. But the wait was apparently worth it because the documentary contributes key elements to the heated debate on the so-called"black hand"behind many of the atrocities committed in this South American country.

Fuchsia, green and turquoise yarn shuttles swiftly across the wooden loom Dora Huancahuari has learned to use. Together with other craftswomen, she has started a small weaving business which is helping to rebuild their lives in this remote, poverty-stricken Andean community torn by Peru's history of armed conflict.