News headlines in 2013, page 68

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 27 (IPS) - A new system of exclusive lanes for bus rapid transit appears to be benefiting public transport passengers and bus drivers in the most congested part of the centre of the Argentine capital.

ARUSHA, Tanzania, Aug 27 (IPS) - The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania, is due to conclude its business at the end of 2014 following several deferrals. A United Nations Security Council Resolution set up the tribunal in 1994.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 27 (IPS) - One year after the government officially struck down laws obstructing free press in Myanmar, a parliamentary bill could allow previous censorship practices to re-surge.

JERUSALEM, Aug 27 (IPS) - The end of the world's most enduring conflict was always regarded as the essential linchpin of Mideast security. As direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians resume following a three-year hiatus, it seems too late for peace between them - if the declared goal of a peace deal within nine months is achieved - to end the violence unleashed by the ‘Arab springs'.

VARANASI, India, Aug 27 (IPS) - Namuna Gautam was among millions of Indian women who celebrated Rakshabandhan this year, but one thing set her apart. It was the first time the 80-year-old took part in the festival, in which sisters pray for the long life, health and happiness of their brothers.

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (IPS) - While some kind of U.S. military action against Syria in the coming days appears increasingly inevitable, the debate over both the why and how of such an attack has grown white hot here.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 (IPS) - The U.S. National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance and telephone data collection programme has come under heavy fire for violating privacy laws, even as the U.N.'s new telephone network appears vulnerable to hackers and eavesdroppers.

MONTEVIDEO, Aug 26 (IPS) - A bill that would regulate large-scale mining operations is making its way through Uruguay's two houses of parliament, despite a lack of political consensus and vocal opposition from environmental organisations and other sectors of civil society.

WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (IPS) - President Obama got it right. He was picked by U.S. voters to put the nation's interests first – not those of any ally, any member of Congress, or the media, even if they clamour for him to "do something" yet do not take responsibility for the consequences if things go wrong, as they have for some time in the Middle East.