News headlines in August 2013

ANTAKYA, Turkey, Aug 31 (IPS) - As the United States prepares to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles on military targets inside Syria, Syrians are preparing for a new phase of the conflict that has already left more than 100,000 people dead.

WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (IPS) - U.S. President Barack Obama indicated Friday he would soon conduct what he called "very limited" military action against Syria to punish its alleged use of chemical weapons which, according to the White House, killed more than 1,400 people in several Damascus suburbs last week.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 31 (IPS) - If and when the United States launches a military attack on Syria, one of the biggest political losers would be the United Nations.

WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (IPS) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday issued surprise guidance directing its attorneys not to sue states that have moved to de-criminalise the recreational use of marijuana, so long as those states implement strict regulatory regimes.

WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (IPS) - Now that we have heard Secretary of State John Kerry's emotional plea for us to believe the still rather ambiguous intelligence on chemical weapons use in Syria, there are far more substantive answers to be sought from the Obama administration.

BRASILIA, Aug 30 (IPS) - Today's new world of digital communications presents public media outlets with a complex challenge: to conquer loyal and active audiences, with programming that is beholden neither to governments, their main funders, nor to market imperatives.

BOGOTA, Aug 30 (IPS) - A strike declared nearly two weeks ago in Colombia by farmers and joined later by truck drivers, health workers, miners and students spread to include protests in the cities before mushrooming into a general strike Thursday, demanding changes in the government's economic policies.

KAMPALA?, Aug 30 (IPS) - For four years Isaac Godfrey Nabwana made and sold bricks in Kampala's Wakalinga slum. But now, thanks to his labours, he is building what he hopes will become Uganda's answer to Nollywood.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 30 (IPS) - Twenty-year-old Adnan Khan was among eight persons convicted for an attempt on the life of former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The conviction appeared uncertain, just as his whereabouts were before the order by a military court.

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (IPS) - What seemed inevitable just 48 hours ago – an imminent U.S. missile attack on Syrian targets in response to an alleged chemical attack that reportedly killed hundreds of Syrian citizens – stalled Thursday as the justification for military action faced increasing questioning both here and abroad.