News headlines in May 2013

WASHINGTON, May 31 (IPS) - Top U.S. companies are now in negotiations to agree on new safety standards for their clothing-producing contractors in Bangladesh, a month after a garment factory's collapse in Dhaka killed more than 1,100 workers.

NEW DELHI, May 31 (IPS) - They chopped down trees and used them to barricade the road, then retreated into the dense forests of the remote Sukma district, located in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, to await their quarry.

WASHINGTON, May 31 (IPS) - Advocacy groups here are stepping up a campaign to pressure President Barack Obama to quickly sign on to a new United Nations treaty aimed at regulating, for the first time, the international small-arms trade.

LISBON, May 31 (IPS) - The heated reaction to the legalisation of same-sex marriage has run counter to the widespread image of France as the cradle of the modern republic and equal rights since the 1789 revolution. In contrast, Portugal with its reputation for prudishness, has shown itself to be much more open and tolerant.

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (IPS) - It's Sarah Schilling's usual manner of greeting when she meets other members of her tribe: "Aanii Sarah Schilling n'diznakaas, which translates to ‘Hello, Sarah is my name' in English," she said.

JAKARTA/NEW YORK, May 31 (IPS) - Standing in front of the two-metre concrete wall, barbed wire and corrugated iron fence that surrounds his mosque, Muhammad Iqbal says he feels like a second-class citizen in his own country.

WASHINGTON, May 31 (IPS) - For Washington, obsessed with matters Iranian, it may be hard to accept a simple fact: Iran's Jun. 14 presidential election is an Iranian event. If we attempt to make it about us, we will find ourselves on the same road that has previously led to multiple failures: Iran-contra; "goodwill begets goodwill"; and a non-existent two-track policy.  

REYKJAVÍK, Iceland, May 31 (IPS) - Soil is becoming endangered.This reality needs to be part of our collective awareness in order to feed nine billion people by 2050, say experts meeting here in Reykjavík.

ATLANTA, Georgia, May 31 (IPS) - The U.S. Congress is on the brink of making billions of dollars in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, which provides direct benefits to individuals and families in poverty.

MEXICO CITY, May 31 (IPS) - The last time Enrique Rangel heard his brother Héctor's voice was on the night of Nov. 10, 2009, when he called and said "they're coming, they already stopped me and asked for money, and I already paid, but they're coming."