News headlines in June 2010, page 13

Once again, parents in military-ruled Burma are counting the cost of a primary education for their children in public schools. It is an annual ritual that comes with the beginning of a new school year, which coincides with the onset of the monsoon rains in June.

A meeting called for 2012 on a Middle East free of nuclear weapons is likely to run into difficulties, says Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Buddhist association Soka Gokkai International (SGI).

The votes of six Caribbean countries could help decide whether or not the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will ease the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling and allow hunting in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary around Antarctica.

As thousands of people from around the world prepare to converge in Detroit, where expectations are high for the Jun. 22-26 U.S. Social Forum, activists and auto workers hope the meet will be an opportunity to chart a sustainable future for an industry that provides 1.7 million U.S. jobs.

Although the financial, climate, energy and food crises continue to create new challenges, Colombian biologist Margarita Astrálaga believes that now could be the time for Latin America 'to advance towards a more equitable and sustainable development.'

A proud mother, Nonhlanhla Mabuza cuddles her one-day-old baby boy, at the circumcision clinic of Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital. A day after delivering her second son, Thabiso Dlamini, the 20-year-old mother is not only beaming because she has just successfully delivered her tiny little tot — her bundle of joy has just undergone male circumcision.

European Union subsidies earmarked for reducing air travel's contribution to climate change may help develop deadlier warplanes than those already found in the world's arsenals, Brussels officials have admitted.

Human rights groups in Peru are complaining about drastic setbacks in the attempt to hold members of the security forces responsible for crimes against humanity committed during the country's counterinsurgency war.

For Chan Theary, a remote, mountainous stretch of land in western Cambodia encapsulates the uphill struggle this South-east Asian nation faces in reducing the alarming number of women who die during pregnancy.

He describes himself as centre-right, but several of his policies have been classified as 'progressive'. As he completes his first 100 days in office, telegenic Chilean President Sebastián Piñera is surprising both allies and opponents, while social organisations are keeping a careful watch.