News headlines in January 2012, page 13

In a decision fraught with political risk, U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday rejected the permit for the proposed giant Keystone XL pipeline project, insisting that his administration needed more time to determine whether it served the national interest.

A former senior adviser on the Middle East to the last four U.S. presidents says that 'the negatives far outweigh the positives' of war with Iran and the United States should augment Israel's nuclear weapons delivery systems to dissuade it from attacking the Islamic Republic.

Japan plans to boost civilian nuclear exports even as it tries to appease its population angered at radiation leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, crippled by an earthquake and tsunami on Mar. 11, last year.

The image of United Nations peacekeeping operations has become seriously tarnished in recent years, say some independent experts who monitor the U.N. missions around the world.

Tinashe Zuze’s story is a typical one of Zimbabwe’s professionals who have shunned formal employment. Instead of working for someone else, Zuze left his job as a bank teller and entered into the world of 'wheeling and dealing' in illegal foreign currency.

The government of the Uruguayan capital plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the solid waste produced by its 1.3 million inhabitants, through a project set to enter into operation in March. The carbon credits generated will be purchased by the World Bank.

The number one rule young journalists are taught when starting radio broadcasting is simple: No dead air. Cough into the microphone if you must, but don't allow silence to creep in.

In the run-up to the first National Conference of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), the insistence of government sources that the meeting will concentrate on internal party matters seems to imply that social issues are to be excluded from the agenda.

The release of 651 prisoners, a process which started this month, is being seen as a victory for activists and families who have had to contend with Burma’s notorious prison system.

Europe’s apparent failure to forge broad agreement on introducing a financial transactions tax marks the latest setback for organisations counting on a similar worldwide fee to fund development aid in austere times.