News headlines in 2013, page 78

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 14 (IPS) - Leading bankers are concerned that the regulatory environment in some southern African states is preventing them from offering a full range of services to individuals and companies across the region.

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (IPS) - With the inauguration of Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, the United States should take a more flexible approach toward Tehran to increase the chances of a successful resolution of the latter's nuclear programme, according to a new report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) released Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (IPS) - Work by the Group of Four (G4) union of Haitian peasant organisations, along with Via Campesina, a South American organisation with which G4 has created a partnership, has been singled out for promoting "good farming practices and advocat for peasant farmers" in Haiti.

MONTEVIDEO, Aug 13 (IPS) - Shortcomings in the educational system in Latin America and the Caribbean fuel inequalities that remain hurdles to access to the labour market and safe sex for a large part of the region's youth.

WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (IPS) - In the aftermath of a recent high-profile U.S. murder trial, several new studies have found that the controversial self-defence law at the heart of the case, known as "Stand Your Ground", is being applied differently depending on defendants' ethnicity.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 13 (IPS) - When the Cold War peaked in the late 1960s and '70s, the United States and the then-Soviet Union were armed with one of the most effective non-lethal weapons in their diplomatic arsenal: a veto in the U.N.'s most powerful body, the Security Council.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 13 (IPS) - Environmental groups have appealed to UNESCO to help stop the reopening of Caminho do Colono, a stretch of highway in southern Brazil that crosses through Iguaçu National Park, declared a World Heritage site by the UN agency in 1986.

KAMPALA?, Aug 13 (IPS) - In his 21 years Brian Gitta has had malaria too many times to count. And over the years, because of the numerous times he has had to have his blood drawn to test for the disease, he has developed a fear of needles. It is little wonder then that he and three of his fellow computer science students worked hard to develop a mobile phone app that detects malaria – without the use of needles.

, Aug 13 (IPS) - What after 2014? That is the question people on Afghanistan's streets are asking as the deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops draws near.

TUNIS, Aug 13 (IPS) - Tunisia was plunged into political strife when opposition leader Mohamed Brahmi was assassinated late last month, triggering widespread pro- and anti-government demonstrations across the country. In the days since his death the North African nation has faced a further series of terrorist attacks that have threatened to destabilise a country seen as a model for post-revolution democracy in the region.