News headlines in May 2011, page 14

The killing of Osama Bin Laden on May 2 in a covert operation by the United States has prompted strident calls by many in Pakistan to see it as a lesson for the country to stand on its feet, say no to foreign aid and shrug off the title 'hired gun of the U.S.'

Gadam sorghum was introduced to semi-arid regions of eastern Kenya as a way for farmers to improve their food security and earn some income from marginal land. The hardy, high-yielding sorghum variety has not only thrived in harsh conditions, it has won a place in hearts - and plates - of local farmers.

The unilateral U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden created a spike in mutual recriminations between U.S. and Pakistani politicians, but their fundamental conflict of interest over Afghanistan was already driving the two countries toward serious confrontation.

Inaction marked the Extraordinary Summit of Southern African Development Community heads of state in Windhoek this weekend, despite an agenda covering Zimbabwe elections, political deadlock in Madagascar, the suspension of the regional court and allegations of corruption within SADC itself.

It was far from home for an eight-year old, about 400 km from the eastern city of Lahore, to be exact. But Abbottabad was home. My father lived there; he was born there, in that house which my grandfather built.

Nations must pay more than lip service to the idea of indigenous rights if they hope to seriously address problems like species loss and climate loss, say delegates at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a U.N. body created to safeguard the rights of the world's 370 million indigenous people.

Fresh from a midnight arrival from Intuit's headquarters in California's Silicon Valley, Jean-Christophe Bas has just participated in the launch of a campaign to promote global inclusion, under the auspices of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations (AOC) and the U.N. Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and in advance of the World Day for Cultural Diversity on May 21.

Liberal and secular Egyptians at the core of mass protests that toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak are scrambling to form a unified political front ahead of critical parliamentary elections in which they will face the better-organised Islamists.

Survivors of the twin suicide attacks on Shabqadar Fort in Charsadda town in north-west Pakistan said they were eager to take on their assignments as new members of the Frontier Constabulary (FC), even as some are still recuperating from wounds inflicted by the attacks.

Thailand faces a new phenomenon on the road leading to the Jul. 3 polls: an informal union between a strong opposition political party and a formidable street protest movement that may reshape this year’s political campaign.