News headlines in January 2011, page 15

Human rights groups are urging Haitian authorities to seize the opportunity of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier's surprise return to the country Sunday to prosecute him for the atrocities committed during his 15-year reign.

'I'm really scared for my four kids, who take the bus to school,' said an anguished Alma Valenzuela after a youth gang attacked a passenger bus in the Guatemalan capital, killing nine people, including three children.

Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26-year old Tunisian whose act of self-immolation led to an unprecedented popular revolution in Tunisia, is quickly turning into a symbol for disgruntled Arab youths angry at their autocratic rulers and poor economic conditions - a development that Arab leaders in the region are clearly taking note of.

Mohammed Bouazizi, the 26-year old Tunisian whose act of self-immolation led to an unprecedented popular revolution in Tunisia, is quickly turning into a symbol for disgruntled Arab youths angry at their autocratic rulers and poor economic conditions - a development that Arab leaders in the region are clearly taking note of.

Indigenous children under five in Peru's highlands regions still bear the brunt of chronic malnutrition, even though local authorities in those areas received millions of dollars worth of taxes between 2006 and 2010 from the mining companies operating there.

'Break my heart but don’t come near my bread,' goes an old Arabic proverb. Failure to observe it has often come at a high political price.

While floods and droughts are often highlighted in the media for devastating the world’s rice production, a lesser-known culprit has been able to scurry away without being fingered for causing damage - rats.

Weather experts warned Sri Lankan to be prepared for extreme weather changes with hardly any notice following devastating floods here that have affected over one million people.

Defusing the North Korean crisis can be achieved with a bolder military alliance, say Japan, South Korea and the United States. But peace proponents beg to differ, arguing that inclusion and engagement with the Stalinist state and its ally China is the only way to build trust and lay the foundation for stability at long last in East Asia.

Many Malian farmers are boycotting cotton this year, instead planting cereals. Cotton isn't edible, but observers say that the shift could weaken food security.