News headlines in April 2009, page 29

Drink driving, inadequate use of safety gear and lack of proper infrastructure combine to make for very hazardous roads in Vietnam, where motorbike accidents continue to be a major killer.

The world’s mass consumption of cell phones, laptops and other electronics fuels widespread sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a new study released Wednesday by the non-profit Enough Project that echoes what many human rights activists and humanitarian workers have been saying for years.

Appointed two months ago by the Director of National Intelligence Adm. Dennis Blair to chair the National Intelligence Council (NIC), the body charged with producing analyses on key issues on behalf of all 16 agencies of the U.S. intelligence community, ret. Amb. Charles 'Chas' Freeman withdrew his name in mid-March after a sustained campaign against the appointment by right-wing leaders of the so-called 'Israel Lobby' concerned about his past criticism of Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbours, and particularly its treatment of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

When U.S. troops and Apache helicopters joined Iraqi forces in putting down an uprising by Sunni 'Sons of Iraq' militiamen in central Baghdad last weekend, it was a preview of the kind of combat the U.S. military is likely to see increasingly over the next three years unless a policy decision is made in Washington to avoid it.

Two years ago, Eufrosina Cruz was kept from running for mayor of her home village by the 'traditions and customs' of her indigenous community in southern Mexico, just because she is a woman.

There is on the face of it a fairness in the language hanging over the G20 summit that is quite seductive. 'A global crisis requires a global solution,' everyone who matters seems to be saying, at least towards the richer end of the G20 spectrum. Such talk is getting louder by the day as heads of state and government head for a meeting in London Thursday to address the global economic crisis.

Latin American leaders have underscored the importance of economic and political ties with the Arab world in a summit meeting with their Arab counterparts in Qatar. Tuesday's meeting, the second Arab-Latin American summit, in Doha, the Qatari capital, followed the conclusion of the Arab League conference in the city.

Veteran Filipino actress Boots Anson-Roa lived in a family of smokers. Used to the smell of smoke since she was little, she tried taking some puffs, learned how to smoke to portray movie roles, and then later developed the habit. But she stopped because fans disliked seeing her smoking in public.

Tax relief for lower income groups in Namibia should not conceal that the 2009/10 budget falls short in addressing structural problems in the economy, civil society organisations have charged.

Unlike the peaceful assembly elections in conflict-hit Indian Kashmir in 2008, this month’s federal polls here are expected to witness bloodshed given recent signs of worrisome changes in the security situation in the region.