News headlines in February 2014, page 9

COLOMBO, Feb 12 (IPS) - Sri Lanka's war-battered Northern Province had reason to celebrate when the results of a countrywide exam were announced last December. Of the 16,604 students from the province who sat for the exam, 63.8 percent secured the required marks for entry into prestigious national universities.

CAPE TOWN, Feb 12 (IPS) - The South African government's earnest rush to provide water to millions of people post-apartheid may have jeopardised its attempts to provide services to the country in the long run.

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (IPS) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and several key Republican and Democrat senators agree on the need for criminal justice reform, and some are now even seeking to restore voting rights to former felons.

WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (IPS) - If President Barack Obama wants to move more quickly to normalise ties with Cuba, it appears he has gained the political space to do so, according to analyses of a major new bipartisan public-opinion poll released here Tuesday by the Atlantic Council.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 11 (IPS) - When over 50 world leaders meet in the Netherlands next month for a Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), the primary focus will be on a politically-loaded question: how do we prevent non-state actors and terrorists from getting their hands on nuclear weapons or nuclear materials?

WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (IPS) - Thirty-five years ago today, millions of Iranians embraced a religious leader promising freedom from a corrupt monarchy and national independence. Now many want a better standard of living and improved civil rights.

MEXICO CITY, Feb 11 (IPS) - "In the long term, what benefit will regulation of the autodefensas bring us? Do you think I have an aptitude or professional vocation for police work?" asked Juan Carlos Trujillo, a peace activist in the Mexican state of Michoacán.

BANGALORE, Feb 11 (IPS) - It is Wednesday afternoon in Bangalore, known as India's tech city for being the hub of information technology companies. In her small four by four-foot studio, Vaishalli Chandra, channel manager of QRadio which is dedicated to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, is in conversation with Ankit Bhuptani, a 21-year-old gay youth from Mumbai.

BULAWAYO, Feb 11 (IPS) - Matthew Jacobs* has been married for two years but his wife doesn't know that he is also in a relationship with someone else. If his secret were discovered, it could result in him ending up in jail. His crime? Being in a same-sex relationship.

WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (IPS) - Watchdog groups here are warning that a deal has been struck that would see Chinese investors fund a massive, contentious dam on the Congo River, the first phase of a project that could eventually be the largest hydroelectric project in the world.