News headlines in August 2012, page 27

KARACHI, Aug 03 (IPS) - Pakistan faces increased international pressure to extend the stay of Afghan refugees as it seeks to push them back to war-torn Afghanistan.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 03 (IPS) - After five months of intense shuttle diplomacy aimed at resolving the growing 17-month old political crisis in Syria, a visibly frustrated Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan called it quits.

SAN SALVADOR, Aug 02 (IPS) - Civil society organisations are asking the World Bank to reject the Salvadoran government's proposal to join a programme for reducing greenhouse gas emissions linked to deforestation, on the argument that it will actually harm the environment.

SANTIAGO, Aug 02 (IPS) - "I know that my male colleagues earn more than I do and work the same amount or even less. And my employers keep me in a non-managerial post, even though I do tasks at that level,” said Pamela, a Chilean professional who holds a doctorate in economics.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 02 (IPS) - The Montreal Protocol, a climate treaty that gathers all U.N. member countries behind the goal of protecting the ozone layer, may not be the "most successful international agreement" anymore, as former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan used to put it.

TASHKENT, Aug 02 (IPS) - The recent travails in Uzbekistan of Russian cellphone giant MTS – hit by employee arrests and a three-month suspension – highlight the perils for foreigners of doing business in Central Asia’s most populous country.

DAKAR, Aug 02 (IPS) - A record number of women were sworn in as legislators as Senegal's new parliament was inaugurated on Monday. Sixty-four women now have seats in this West African country's 150-member National Assembly, thanks to a law on gender parity.

SAN SALVADOR, Aug 02 (IPS) - Civil society organisations are asking the World Bank to reject the Salvadoran government’s proposal to join a programme for reducing greenhouse gas emissions linked to deforestation, on the argument that it will actually harm the environment.

TASHKENT, Aug 02 (IPS) - (EurasiaNet) - The recent travails in Uzbekistan of Russian cellphone giant MTS – hit by employee arrests and a three-month suspension – highlight the perils for foreigners of doing business in Central Asia’s most populous country.

GAZA CITY, Aug 02 (IPS) - When the lights go out, Gazans look for generators to switch on. And, they find people to talk to. With so many power cuts over so long now, people are giving themselves the somewhat dubious comfort that human relations may have improved as a result of these power cuts.