News headlines in December 2010, page 8

Pumwani Maternity Hospital, in the impoverished Nairobi neighbourhood of Eastlands, is the site of a trial project using mobile phones to help HIV-positive mothers avoid passing the virus on to their children.

The U.S. Congress banned shark finning in all U.S. waters Tuesday, a victory environmental advocates are hoping sends a message to international regulators.

Juan Antonio Gallegos sells Mexican tortillas in Cuscatlán Park in the capital of El Salvador. Like other street vendors who work in the area, he has one thing on his mind these days: how to resist the imminent eviction that forms part of the city's government's urban renewal plan.

In Thembekie Gwebu’s yard under the roof leaves stands a curious giant green plastic container with a plastic pipe connected to the gutter. She has been asked a number of times by curious visitors and passers-by what the contraption is, and she happily explains.

Just two years ago, Ratha Majhi was at his wits’ end trying to eke out a decent living from his modest vegetable farm.

After her run to the finals of the 2005 'Super Girl' talent contest, Wang Bei, from central China’s Hubei province, lived on the cusp of pop stardom. In November, Wang opted for cosmetic surgery in an effort to improve her chances of success.

Commenting on the state of trans-Atlantic relations in 2008, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter argued that European Union governments are 'not our vassals' but 'occupy an equal position with the U.S.' Documents released over the past month appear to offer a different view.

Belarus is set to remain Europe’s last dictatorship after Alexander Lukashenka was returned to the presidency last weekend in an election result which his critics say was never in doubt.

The United Nations is taking an unrelenting stand on the spreading constitutional crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, where two contenders - one victorious and the other vanquished - are battling it out for the country's presidency.

A referendum on reforms to the new constitution and criminal law is to be held in Ecuador in response to the mounting public security crisis, giving left-wing President Rafael Correa an opportunity to canvass public opinion on these thorny issues.