News headlines in February 2012, page 13

On the eve of the Feb. 27 Human Rights Council Session in Geneva, during which human rights advocates had hoped the issue of alleged wartime abuses in Sri Lanka would finally be put to rest, the Sri Lankan government announced its appointment of a five-member court of inquiry to investigate laws of war violations during the first five months of 2009.

With the Feb. 27 session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) looming on the horizon, human rights watchdogs are making yet another push to get Sri Lanka onto the agenda — and once and for all settle the issue of alleged wartime abuses that the government continues to deny.

'Imagine you have dual nationality, say Haiti and the United States. You go to apply for a visa at a foreign embassy in Washington, but are told that you can't use your U.S. passport unless you renounce your Haitian nationality. If you don't, you must apply and travel using your Haitian passport.'

The search for oil in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters, launched by the Spanish firm Repsol, has triggered speculation about future prospects for Cuba and the possibility of this country one day making the transition from importer to exporter of crude.

A high profile trial for trafficking of women is giving the public a clearer picture of how sex trafficking rings operate in Argentina, with victims who are even forced, eventually, to become victimisers.

For the first time in its history, Serbia has bought back a company sold to a foreign investor almost ten years ago, for the symbolic price of a single dollar. But while the purchase has stirred a sense of national pride, it is hardly a success story for the Balkan economy; rather, it has exposed the failure of a decade-long effort to privatise the national economy.

The Spanish government has decided to reform the country’s Immigrant Detention Centres (CIEs) in response to a wave of criticism of the way they are run, following the death of two migrants. But the announcement has not toned down the campaign for closure of what many regard as prisons.

When Hu Jintao took over as the leader of China in 2002, U.S. companies welcomed his accession as a 'good sign for American business'.' Political analysts described Hu as a member of the fourth generation of Communist party leadership who might very well turn out to be a 'closet liberal'.

Over 100,000 people in Mozambique are still recovering from losing their homes and crops, and from being cut off from schools and shops after a tropical storm and cyclone hit the southern African country in January. But the worst may not be over as another dangerous cyclone is expected to make landfall Friday evening as emergency stocks run low.

No road leads to Motuo County. There is no post office or newspaper. But, for the 10,000 residents of one of the planet’s remotest corners, a local radio station serves as the vital link to the outside world.