News headlines in February 2013, page 16

WASHINGTON, Feb 08 (IPS) - Campaigners are seizing on a new internal audit of financial-market lending by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank arm that engages in private sector investment, pointing to unusually stark criticism of the institution's commitment to due diligence.

MEXICO CITY, Feb 08 (IPS) - "We will not stop fighting until there is justice for our children," says Araceli Rodríguez, the mother of a young federal police agent in Mexico who disappeared along with seven other people in the western state of Michoacán on Nov. 16, 2009.

WASHINGTON, Feb 08 (IPS) - Every U.S. president since Harry Truman has sought to disentangle the United States from the Middle East, and all have been sucked back into the region and its problems.

MEXICO CITY, Feb 08 (IPS) - In a megacity like the Mexican capital, plagued by air pollution and traffic jams, carsharing and carpooling initiatives offer obvious advantages in addition to the economic benefits enjoyed by users.

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 08 (IPS) - Two corruption scandals - one homegrown and the other originating in Spain – are again highlighting the connections in Argentina between irregular investments, the misuse of environmental remediation projects for private gain, and plans that contribute to the degradation of natural resources.

ABIDJAN, Feb 08 (IPS) - The extradition of high-level allies of former Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo from Ghana back to their home country, including a most recent one on Feb. 5, has brought renewed scrutiny to the Ivorian judiciary, which critics say is implementing a form of one-sided victor's justice since the 2010 to 2011 post-election conflict.

WASHINGTON, Feb 08 (IPS) - Despite an agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) to resume long-delayed talks about Tehran's nuclear programme in Kazakhstan at the end of this month, few observers here believe that any breakthrough is in the offing.

WASHINGTON, Feb 08 (IPS) - Environmentalists here are warning that the United States is not on track to meet a target of a 17-percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, despite President Barack Obama's stated commitment.

WASHINGTON, Feb 08 (IPS) - A months-old national campaign to convince U.S. colleges, universities and city governments to withdraw investments from the world's largest oil and gas companies has seen some notable initial successes.

WASHINGTON, Feb 07 (IPS) - The world is in transition from an era of food abundance to one of scarcity. Over the last decade, world grain reserves have fallen by one third. World food prices have more than doubled, triggering a worldwide land rush and ushering in a new geopolitics of food.