News headlines in January 2011

At 2 a.m. on Monday morning, the headquarters of one of Sri Lanka's leading bilingual news sources, Lanka E-News (LEN), was burned down in the predawn darkness.

With new anti-government demonstrations expected in Cairo and other Egyptian cities Tuesday, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama appears to have concluded that the 29- year reign of President Hosni Mubarak is coming to an end.

As Malawi works on its second development blueprint, the Malawi Development and Growth Strategy (MDGS II), the country’s women are hoping health and education will be prioritised and given proper attention in implementation.

There's nothing quite like the enthusiasm that rises from the earth when rains come at last to a drought-stricken region. While heavy rains have caused extensive flooding across Southern Africa, with fears of worse to come, in at least one corner of the region the community is gazing with joy at an overflowing dam.

The African Union Summit drew to a close today in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Among the headline decisions was the continental body's support for Kenya's planned request to defer prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of six suspects in post-election violence that claimed more than 1,200 lives in 2008.

Leonor, a Mexican citizen, took part in a 2006 clinical trial of a drug to treat kidney disease, designed by a transnational pharmaceutical company.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon is under fire again. Inga-Britt Ahlenius - until recently one of the highest-ranking officials at the U.N. - explains to IPS her blistering attacks on Ban’s leadership.

Their tanned skin is weathered by years of sun, and their voices preserve traces of accents from different parts of Spain.

In rural villages in the Amazon district of Datem de Marañón in northern Peru, teachers often have 70 students in their one-room schoolhouses and travel two or three days to get to their jobs, said Emir Masegkai, describing the challenges of providing education in remote areas of this South American country.

Standing in an air-conditioned courtroom on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital, an aging former Khmer Rouge figure accused of genocide offered few words as he asked for his release.