News headlines in 2009, page 347

An indiscreet whisper following a hastily scribbled note around the Israeli cabinet table exposed the deepening political stand-off in the wake of last week's inconclusive elections.

The presence of East Asian human trafficking victims in places as far-removed as Southern Africa and Central and South America confirm the ease with which modern merchants of slavery exploit international air travel.

Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist Hina Jilani is a member of the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and Human Rights, convened by the International Commission of Jurists (www.icj.org) to investigate counter-terrorism practices and human rights standards.

Three human rights groups have released documents that they say reveal close cooperation between the U.S. Defence Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in rendering terrorism suspects to secret prisons, creating 'ghost prisoners' by concealing their identities from the Red Cross, and delaying their release to counter negative publicity about their treatment at Guántanamo Bay.

Hillary Clinton's maiden voyage overseas as secretary of state is designed above all to reassure Washington's key East Asian allies and China of the U.S.'s enduring interests in the region and commitment to its stability, according to regional experts here.

After a decade in office, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez goes to the country on Sunday in another attempt to change the constitution so that he can stand for reelection 'for at least another 10 years'.

Six years ago, authorities in the northern Nigerian state of Kano suspended polio vaccination campaigns for thirteen months. It was a major setback for eradication of the disease, which has since regained a foothold in Africa's most populous nation and re-infected several other countries that were considered polio-free.

A developing national arts scene requires a developing national arts center, with luck one that is owned and operated by artists themselves. In Swaziland, the growth of indigenous talent has been complemented by the flowering of a venue popular with performers, audiences and critics.

Inside the confines of a modest 275-square-metre office space in this southern California city, the human imagination is running wild.

His first days as prime minister of Zimbabwe's government of national unity have, as expected, thrown down several challenges to Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change.