United Nations : Global FDI flows rose by 17% last year (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows rose by 17 per cent to $1.5 trillion in 2011, surpassing their pre-crisis levels, according to the latest estimates by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

United Nations : Senior management heads roll at world body (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon continues his search for a new team of senior managers for his second five-year term in office which began January 1, two more heads have rolled at the world body.

United States : Probe of border attack hardened Pakistani suspicions (PRIV)
(IPS, Washington)
The Pakistani military leadership's response to the US report on its helicopter attack on two Pakistani border posts November 26 assailed the credibility of the investigation by Air Force Brig. Gen. Steven Clark and expressed doubt that the attack could have been "accidental".

El Salvador : Gangs may be scapegoat for soaring murder rate (PRIV)
(IPS, San Salvador)
El Salvador is one of the most violent countries in the world, with one of the highest murder rates. But the authorities cannot agree on whether or not most of the killings should be laid at the door of the youth gangs known as "maras".

Lebanon : Could a new civil law unify a divided society? (PRIV)
(IPS, Beirut)
Odette Klysinska, a Catholic French native, sits in her living room in an affluent neighbourhood in Beirut, clutching her will in one hand, shocked to learn that it is no longer legally valid in the country she now calls home.

Africa : Miracle tree is like a supermarket (PRIV)
(IPS, Cape Town)
When a food crisis hits the continent, African countries tend to look to the international donor community to mobilise aid. But a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree with extremely nutritious leaves could help poor, arid nations to fight food insecurity and malnutrition on their own.