News headlines in February 2012, page 21

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues have generally been ignored in the Philippines, or worse, negatively portrayed to spice up mainstream media programmes.

If Spain's Supreme Court convicts judge Baltasar Garzón in what is known as the Historic Memory case, he will appeal the verdict before the European Court of Human Rights, where all the indications are that his appeal may receive a sympathetic hearing.

Indigenous communities in Peru have a long list of comments and objections to the proposed regulations for the law governing prior consultation on initiatives affecting their territories.

The threat of terrorism carried out by Muslim Americans appears to have been exaggerated by U.S. officials in recent years, according to a new study on domestic terrorism released Wednesday.

Helen Clarke, the former prime minister of New Zealand, recalled a situation a few years ago when within the less affluent suburbs of her country, youth gang violence had become a serious problem.

When the world's rising population hit the historic seven billion milestone last October, the United Nations predicted that population growth will continue to increase, reaching an estimated 9.3 billion by the year 2050.

Fifty years ago when Sierra Leone gained independence after 150 years of colonial rule, with it came a feeling of optimism that along with a newfound control of its governance, the country would profit from its ample endowment of natural resources, like timber, fish, minerals and oil. Instead, in the last 50 years, the country has had 13 military coups and an 11-year civil war that left the economy in ruins and the country heavily reliant on foreign donor funding.

Sibongile Dube knows the devastation heavy rain can leave in its wake. A villager in the lowveld area of Mberengwa in Zimbabwe’s Midlands province, Dube’s home is one of many that were washed away by flash floods last year.

The Syrian military is reportedly moving deeper into residential areas in the city of Homs, a day after the Russian foreign minister said President Bashar al-Assad was 'fully committed' to ending the bloodshed.

On 16 January, French minister of interior ordered the arrest of Swiss-based Dr. Mourad Dhina, a physicist at CERN and the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute and executive director of Alkarama ("dignity"), a Swiss foundation working on human rights in the Arab world. Though he is a totally nonviolent campaigner for human rights and democracy, Dhina was arrested at the request of the Algerian authorities, who are seeking his extradition for prosecution on charges that he belonged to an armed terrorist group in Switzerland in the 1990s, writes Johan Galtung, Rector of the TRANSCEND Peace University and co-author with Paul Scott of "Democracy - Peace - Development".