SANTIAGO,May 7(IPS)-If control of the media was not so heavilyconcentrated in Latin America, the situation of inequality in theregion would be more actively challenged, says Martín Becerra, anArgentine media specialist who presented his latest researchstudy here in the Chilean capital this week.

SANTIAGO,May 6(IPS)-"I want to film the few untouched naturalresources we have left and show the injustices that have beencommitted against our communities,"Claura Anchio, who tookpart in an innovative free filmmaking course for young MapucheIndians in Chile, told IPS.

ASUNCION,May 6(IPS)-From passion for football, to football as aprofession: many parents in Paraguay are hoping this sport willprovide a career for their sons, who flood into football schoolswith the burden of their dreams -- and their parents'demands -- to become sports idols.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey,May 4(IPS)-Six years after the ruling Justice and DevelopmentParty government declared‘zero tolerance’for torture, thepractice prevails in Turkey, human rights monitors in thecountry’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern region say.

ZARQA, Jordan,May 4(IPS)-Infamous as the hometown of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,the late al-Qaeda leader, Zarqa is dominated by Islamic parties.

MELBOURNE,May 4(IPS)-Sara Aboueid, 15, and Jamillah Noordin, 16, wearuniforms similar to countlessnumbers of footballers around theworld.

GAZA CITY,May 3(IPS)-Football is the world's most popular sport,boasting more than an estimated 2billion fans. And despite itsisolation from the world through Israel's four-year-oldblockade, the Gaza Strip is no exception. When a football matchis on, teaand shisha cafes are packed with people gatheredaround the TV sets.

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka,Apr 21(IPS)-Whenever Sri Lankan rights activist Shereen Xavierattends a meeting related to her work in this war-batterednorthern capital, she makes sure to be dressed in a sari, atraditional gown worn by South Asian women.

PARIS,Apr 19(IPS)-"Please remember that we know where your childgoes to school."

CARACAS,Apr 18(IPS)-Men and women of the Yanomami people paint theirbodies, drawing straight, curved, dotted and parallel lines, arcsand circles, triangles, rectangles, grids, spider's webs orrings, all arranged as if on a checkerboard.

BANGKOK,Apr 18(IPS)-"I know the word; I understand it; I loveit,"street artist Chuwit Kunasawat said,using hispencil-thin brush, dipped in deep red ink, to paint on the rightcheekof an anti-government protester.

KANDIANA, Zambia,Apr 17(IPS)-Josias Akataama spent March watching the moon waneabove, and flood waters rise from below. Only with the sightingof the new moon, would the men, women and children of Kandianiknow when they could leave the water-logged village for higherground.

SANTIAGO,Apr 17(IPS)-Alongside crucial emergency relief efforts,numerous organisations are offering free movies, concerts, plays,comedy performances and other cultural events aimed at liftingthe spirits of people suffering the after-effects of theearthquake and tsunami that struck central and southern Chile onFeb. 27.

MANILA,Apr 16(IPS)-Flip open a typical textbook used in manyPhilippine schools and you will likelyfind images of womenillustrating verbs such as‘cook’or‘clean’, buthardlyappearing anywhere much in economics and history textbooks.

BOGOR, Indonesia,Apr 15(IPS)-The colour green has long been associated withIslam, but if some recentMuslim visitors here could have theirway, it’s a link that could intensify somemore in the future.