News headlines in March 2011, page 7

Phantasms from the 1990s are upon us: no-fly zones; the rhetoric of humanitarian war in Washington, Europe and the U.N.; guarantees that no U.S. ground troops will be deployed; an air war which alone cannot decisively affect earthbound events.

Every day, billions of plastic bags and bottles are discarded, and every day, millions of these become plastic pollution, fouling the oceans and endangering marine life.

The announcement by U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defence Michele Flournoy in Congressional testimony Mar. 15 that the United States would continue to carry out 'counter-terrorism operations' from 'joint bases' in Afghanistan well beyond 2014 signaled that President Barack Obama has given up the negotiating flexibility he would need to be able to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban leadership.

Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi are resisting an advance by Libyan rebels towards the embattled Libyan leader's hometown of Sirte in the fiercest clashes since the start of a sweeping offensive that has brought a string of coastal towns under opposition control.

The only Khmer Rouge figure to be prosecuted by a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal here is arguing that his conviction should be overturned.

'She's crazy' said most of the husbands and other family members of the 34 women who decided to become operators of sugarcane harvesters in the southern Brazilian state of São Paulo, attracted by the opportunity of better pay and encouraged by the growing mechanisation of the industry.

Time is running short for three Filipino workers in China. Ramon Credo, Elizabeth Batain and Sally Villanueva - who were convicted of smuggling heroin in 2008 - are set to be executed by lethal injection Mar. 30.

The month of March, named after the Roman god of war, Mars, appears to be the favourite among war planners in modern times.

'We're calling on all citizens,' said Riovoarilala Rakotondrabe, putting the final touches on a giant poster announcing a massive community clean-up for the coming Sunday.

Turkey's volte-face Thursday evening to make a sizeable military contribution to NATO's intervention in the Libyan crisis, after two weeks of fierce opposition to the Alliance's mingling with Arab affairs, has further blurred Ankara's position in the North African conflict.