News headlines in August 2011, page 21

As London simmered under a heavy police lid last night, there were some areas of the city that had no need for flashing blue lights and riot shields to maintain the ragged sense of calm.

As it gears up for the creation of a major petrochemical complex of regional scope, this Cuban city faces the challenge of ensuring the sustainability of development that could compromise the health of the Bay of Cienfuegos, its main natural resource.

'I accept this apology as a sign of a new time in Colombia, when democratic participation by all political forces will be possible,' leftwing legislator Iván Cepeda said — and a ripple ran through the crowd in the packed gallery in Congress.

The United Nations Human Rights Council should accept responsibility, on behalf of the world forum, for the famine spreading through eastern Africa, and should call for member countries' cooperation to overcome the desperate food crisis there, experts said.

Controversy over its electoral process has dominated headlines on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the months preceding highly anticipated polls, but an international human rights group shifted the world's attention to another, not unrelated problem Wednesday - the country's feeble judicial system.

The beleaguered government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has so far defied the Security Council, ignored appeals by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, rejected pleas from neighbouring Turkey and the Arab world, and summarily dismissed the threats and sanctions by Western powers.

Canada and the United States are now the centre of Bizarro World. This is where leaders promise to reduce carbon emissions but ensure a new, supersized oil pipeline called Keystone XL is built, guaranteeing further expansion of the Alberta tar sands that produce the world's most carbon-laden oil.

In Zambia’s highly patriarchal society Edith Nawakwi, 52, has broken a few records on the political scene over the last two decades. And she broke another one on Sunday by being the only female candidate to file for nomination to run for president in Zambia’s upcoming elections.

The Mawingu camp for internally displaced persons affected by Kenya’s 2007- 2008 post-election violence is a desolate place. Located in the Rift Valley, the camp is a collection of tattered, sagging and forlorn tents.

As London simmered under a heavy police lid last night, there were some areas of the city that had no need for flashing blue lights and riot shields to maintain the ragged sense of calm.