News headlines in 2009, page 45

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is once again under fire from opposition political parties and some civil society organisations, which accuse it of bias in favour of the ruling party during elections.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is once again under fire from opposition political parties and some civil society organisations, which accuse it of bias in favour of the ruling party during elections.

Marking the 10th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Nov. 25, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a Network of Men Leaders to battle violence against women and girls here Tuesday.

Several people are gathered outside a window, staring wide-eyed at a scene within. They watch as a man brutally beats a woman, pounding her face with his fists, kicking her. No one says anything, until an onlooker screams agonisingly: 'stop'.

More than two years after their refugee camp was destroyed in a war between the Lebanese army and the Islamist militant group Fatah al-Islam, Nahr al-Bared refugees Wednesday witnessed the start of the camp’s reconstruction. Their relief is mixed with scepticism, however.

Two movies with doomsday scenarios highlight this year's pre-holiday releases - '2012', a special effects spectacular, is based on the Mayan calendar, whose end date - not to be confused with the end of the world, most scholars agree - is Dec. 21, 2012.

When a psychotic senior superintendent of police and several subordinates sprayed three young criminal suspects with machine-gun and rifle fire for several minutes, killing all of them, early one morning in 2001, citizens in the small South American nation thought that the local police force had sunk to a new low.

As climate scientists defend their work from sceptics in the aftermath of researchers' emails being stolen over the weekend, a new report hopes to provide an update on science's latest climate-related findings.

'To use a soccer metaphor, which Brazilian politicians like so much, the Kyoto Protocol was the 10-minute warm-up before the real game begins,' said scientist Carlos Nobre in reference to global climate change treaties.

While much of the world is busy chatting with friends or posting photos via Facebook, Internet users in Vietnam are worried that government restrictions on access to this popular social networking site could soon evolve into a total blackout, assuming it isn’t so yet.