News headlines in May 2013, page 14

JOHANNESBURG, May 17 (IPS) - Commentators and business leaders in South Africa believe that the recent announcement of an end to the United Kingdom's aid programme to South Africa may be the start of a new trend to cut back on aid to this country, and possibly to the rest of Africa.

ADDIS ABABA, May 17 (IPS) - Despite comments by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn suggesting the pending withdrawal of his country's troops from Somalia, many experts have voiced doubts that Ethiopia will pull out of Somalia before it is capable of handling its security without assistance.

NAZARETH, Northern Israel, May 17 (IPS) - With a subtle blend of colour and shadow, 20-year-old Sumoud Farraj prepares for a photo shoot. Next month, along with three other young Arab women, she'll appear in a designer miniskirt on the cover of Lilacan Arabic-language women's magazine.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (IPS) - Over the next decade and a half, a major global shift will result in the developing world controlling roughly half of the world's capital, up from less than a third today.

May 16 (IPS) - Many eyes are turning north to the Arctic, some in horror at the rapid decline of a key component of our life support system, others in eager anticipation at the untapped resources beneath the vanishing snow and ice.

KATHMANDU, May 16 (IPS) - With a combined population of over 1.7 billion, which includes some of the world's poorest but also a sizeable middle class with a growing spending capacity, South Asia is a policymaker's nightmare.

TEHRAN, May 16 (IPS) - The last-minute entry of former president and current chair of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani into the presidential polls set for Jun. 14 has inspired vastly different reactions in a conflicted Iran.

MEXICO CITY, May 16 (IPS) - Fed up with oil spills from facilities belonging to Mexico's state oil company Pemex, residents of two communities in the southeastern state of Tabasco are taking the country's largest company to court in a bid for compensation for damage to the environment and agriculture.

BRUSSELS, May 16 (IPS) - International donors pledged yesterday to mobilise 3.25 billion Euros to rebuild Mali, a figure that surpassed all expectations. But experts warn that the country does not have the absorption capacity for so much aid, while others say donors should pressure the Malian government to stop ongoing human rights abuses.

NEW YORK, May 16 (IPS) - Seven in 10 U.S. citizens believe climate change is real and happening now. Yet most have never even contacted a government official about the issue, let alone volunteered with an environmental organisation or taken other action.