News headlines in 2009, page 83

With most U.S. cities facing a severe shortage of affordable housing, more and more are beginning to turn to so-called inclusionary zoning (IZ).

For the last three weeks, 30-year-old Ghulam Nabi has lain in a Kabul hospital bed, suffering. His face is etched with hopelessness, loneliness and despair over the life he once had and has now lost forever.

India and China’s memorandum of understanding signed last week in this capital may have only had 'a symbolic value,' but it nevertheless showed that two of the world’s major players were serious about finding an alternative path to dealing with climate change while trying to attain sustainable development, said a top United Nations official.

A future global climate change treaty must limit the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million (ppm), and not 450 ppm, the currently proposed level, Samuel Fankhauser told a meeting of pro-environment legislators from the eight most industrialised countries and emerging economies here. But they felt the goal was not feasible.

Déjà vu on one of the world's most volatile religious sites, a site deeply revered by both Muslims and Jews.

Caribbean media groups have drawn a line in the sand, warning regional governments that they will face strenuous opposition to proposed legislation requiring media workers to obtain a license to practice their profession in the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom) grouping.

Amid growing speculation and partisan bickering over what President Barack Obama will do about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, an influential Democratic senator Monday warned against deploying tens of thousands more U.S. troops there.

There is a consensus that industrialised nations are mainly responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. It should be equally clear that such responsibility should have political consequences. But it isn't.

Young Chilean designers are turning their creative energy to recycling, natural fibres and working with disadvantaged groups as they produce clothing and accessories - but it is an effort that is not free of tensions.

Switzerland's is witnessing a xenophobic campaign by the political right-wing ahead of a vote next month on the banning of Islamic minarets.