News headlines in December 2010

The United Nations has warned the beleaguered president of Cote d’Ivoire and his military leaders that they may well go the way of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir: face charges of war crimes and genocide before the international criminal court.

Poverty remains one of the problems of Bangladesh, but it has made, and continues to make, key progress when it comes to preventing deaths among its children.

As Western countries were busy celebrating Christmas and dealing with air traffic holiday delays because of snow blizzards, the tranquil North African country of Tunisia was going through events that would have been thought unthinkable just three weeks ago - public unrest that saw thousands demonstrate against the regime of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

As Brazil looks ahead to hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, the country is struggling to line up the technical workers necessary for these projects, officials say.

Authorities in China are lauding a sweeping crackdown on prostitution across the country in recent months. But the sex trade continues to thrive in this booming nation, while services and support for women working in the industry remain inadequate, experts say.

As military-ruled Burma prepares to unveil its new political cast, an enduring link between the junta and the country’s notorious drug lords is poised to come under the spotlight.

With the string of announcements in South America of recognition of a Palestinian state this month, the region's integration process showed a new interest in and capacity to reach common positions in the realm of foreign policy.

Santo Domingo de Guzmán was the New World’s first colonial city, the Spanish Empire’s capital, the Catholic Church’s Rome in the West Indies, and Francis Drake’s most coveted prize.

2010 will go down in history as the year when the first batch of pupils to benefit from the government’s introduction of free primary education sat for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).

A new law that will allow Guatemalan courts to seize goods and assets obtained through illegal activities, including drug trafficking and corruption, is being hailed as the new hope in fighting organised crime.