News headlines in February 2013, page 10

MBABANE, Feb 18 (IPS) - As the Swazi government struggles to guarantee a no-cost nationwide primary school system, it finds itself sparring against school principals over the question if it is a lack of funds or an abundance of corruption that is standing in the way of its success. 

NEW YORK, Feb 18 (IPS) - The "Spirit of America" is one of 10 ferries that carry passengers from Manhattan to Staten Island. Its keel – which lies on the bottom of the boat and carves through the waters of New York Harbour– was built with steel from the collapsed Twin Towers.  

NEW DELHI, Feb 18 (IPS) - After one of the six males under trial for the rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old woman was deemed an adolescent and therefore entitled to leniency, juvenile rights activists have found themselves pitted against irate members of the public demanding death sentences for all the perpetrators.

BASEL, Feb 18 (IPS) - The Swiss government has presented a draft law regulating the private military industry but critics argue the law is toothless.

GAZA CITY, Feb 18 (IPS) - "We wanted to do something to bring focus to the plight of Palestinian political prisoners, of which there are around 5,000 in Israeli jails, including hunger strikers, children, women," says Mohannad Barakat, 30, one of seven Palestinians who have made a Palestinian version of the Gangnam style.

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (IPS) - When European Union foreign ministers discuss a proposal to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov will present his government's case for linking two suspects in the Jul. 18, 2012 bombing of an Israeli tourist bus to Hezbollah.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 17 (IPS) - Indigenous youthfrom some of the world's oldest living cultures are stepping forward to steer their communities past the threat of disappearance and into an age of coexistence with an increasingly globalised world.

CAIRO, Feb 17 (IPS) - Since the second anniversary of the uprising that ended the Mubarak regime, Egypt has witnessed a spate of political violence. Egypt's opposition led by the high-profile National Salvation Front (NSF) blames President Mohamed Morsi for the bloodshed, but many blame the NSF and its leaders.

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 16 (IPS) - In spite of repeated violations of house arrest by people convicted of crimes against humanity during Argentina's dictatorship, some activists remain in favour of this lenient alternative to prison, but they want better oversight by the courts.

UXBRIDGE, Canada, Feb 16 (IPS) - The largest climate rally in U.S. history is expected Sunday in Washington DC with the aim of pressuring President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.