News headlines in May 2010, page 20

Abdul Wahid’s wife had been unwell for two years, showing symptoms of a chronic infectious disease such as prolonged coughing, before she finally decided to see a doctor.

The U.S. Senate is moving forward with a 59-billion-dollar spending bill, of which 33.5 billion dollars would be allocated for the war in Afghanistan.

Horacio Ramos is not bothered about paying an extra 50 dollars on his television subscription so that he can watch the entire FIFA World Cup, which kicks off Jun. 11 in South Africa.

The administration of President Barack Obama has reacted sceptically to the nuclear swap accord signed Monday by Iran, Turkey and Brazil, suggesting that Tehran would have to take significant additional steps to satisfy U.S. and Western demands to curb its nuclear programme.

'Governments cannot wait for a social consensus in order to guarantee respect for people's rights,' Mariela Castro, head of Cuba's National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX), told IPS on the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia in Cuba Monday.

Countries closest to the equator will suffer most from climate change, according to Gwynne Dyer, a geopolitical analyst and journalist who predicts catastrophic events over the next few decades if temperatures continue to rise.

As the oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico destroys habitat and livelihoods, the extraction of oil from Canadian oil sands deposits is having a similar impact on fragile ecosystems and communities deep in the North American interior.

The indigenous peoples of the Amazon region of Bolivia have declared themselves in a 'state of emergency' and announced that on May 20 they will begin a 1,000-kilometre march to La Paz to demand that the government defend their territory from being plundered by oil, logging and mining companies.

More than two-thirds of U.S. senators have signed a letter calling on President Barack Obama to develop a plan to join a 17-year-old international treaty banning the production, transfer, and use of anti-personnel land mines.

Suddenly, the Middle East is awash with talk of war this summer. Or, is the talk of war merely meant to keep war at bay?