News headlines in April 2013, page 15

HAVANA, Apr 11 (IPS) - The life histories of Cuban women in prison for murdering their violent husbands or boyfriends show the need for reforms of the criminal code to take account of gender reasons as mitigating factors in sentencing.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 11 (IPS) - When the 193-member General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a long outstanding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) last week, there was a lingering question left unanswered: how long will it take to reach the 50 ratifications necessary for the treaty to be legally binding?

HAVANA, Apr 11 (IPS) - Botanist Ramona Oviedo has spent decades combing the countryside in Cuba to study and curb the spread of invasive plant species, a serious problem that has been aggravated by climate change.

RANCAGUA, Chile, Apr 11 (IPS) - Women are playing an increasingly important role in Chile's mining industry, where little more than a decade ago they were not even allowed in the mines because of prejudice and superstitions.

MEXICO CITY, Apr 11 (IPS) - Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones, have earned a bad reputation due to their controversial use by the United States in its "war on terrorism", yet they have almost unlimited potential as tools for scientific research.

BRUSSELS, Apr 11 (IPS) - As European Commission leaders made calls for EU countries to raise their spending on development aid for the world's poor, groups working in underdeveloped states warned that without more effective aid policies and networks, extra financing may be wasted.

DERIK, Syria, Apr 11 (IPS) - At seven o'clock in the morning on Mar. 1, Kurdish militias took over the only operational oil refinery in Syria, located about 800 kilometres northwest of Damascus.

DAKAR, Apr 11 (IPS) - Malian widow Mariama Sow, 30, and her three children are trying to find some semblance of normalcy in their lives in Dakar, Senegal, since they left the historic city of Timbuktu in northern Mali last June to escape the Islamist occupation.

NAIROBI, Apr 11 (IPS) - Like many Kenyans, Eunice Kemboi arrived at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi on Tuesday Apr. 9 to witness the transition of power as Uhuru Kenyatta, an International Criminal Court suspect, was sworn in as the country's new president.

MONTEVIDEO, Apr 11 (IPS) - Activists in Uruguay hope the passage of the "Equal Marriage Law" Wednesday will help bring about recognition that society is heterogeneous.