When Families Fear “Human Services”

It is nearly impossible in this day and age to turn on the news without hearing about systemic racial discrimination in the United States.

Bill Commits U.S. Diplomacy to Ending Abuse of Women

The U.S. Congress is being urged to pass “urgent” legislation that would make issues of violence against women and girls a key focus in all U.S. diplomatic efforts.

Iran Deal Looks Safe from Lawmakers’ Attack for Now

Ten days after the signing in Geneva of a groundbreaking deal on Iran’s nuclear programme, the agreement appears safe from any serious attack by the strongly pro-Israel U.S. Congress, at least for the balance of 2013.

Where Is the Global Economy Heading?

In a passage in Charles Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle, he condemns an egalitarian native people at the tip of South America to remain primitive.

From Tehran to Tokyo, U.S. Geo-Strategic Shifts in Motion

From the Middle East to the East China Sea, the last week’s events have offered a particularly vivid example of the much-heralded shift in foreign policy priorities under the administration of President Barack Obama.

U.S. Seeks to Stem Flood of Political “Dark Money”

The U.S. government has proposed strengthening an obscure tax-status designation that supporters say could significantly impact upon the massive amounts of anonymous money that have come to define U.S. politics over the past two campaign cycles.

LGBT Immigrants Face Rampant Assault in U.S. Jails

Gay and transsexual immigrants who enter the U.S. detention system face high levels of sexual abuse, new research warns, at times leading them to decide to return to their home countries rather than stay to fight a legal battle.

An Embittered Riyadh May Weigh Nuclear Option

Saudi Arabia's unyielding opposition to last week's interim nuclear agreement with Iran has triggered speculation about its own projection of military power in the Middle East.

Mental Illness Plus Police Often Equals Tragedy

Just before midnight on Feb. 12, Kayla Xavier Moore’s roommate dialed 911. Moore, 41, a paranoid schizophrenic, was off her prescription meds and highly agitated. The roommate thought he knew the drill – Moore would be taken to a psychiatric hospital, stabilised with medication and allowed to go home in 72 hours.

U.S. Officials Hint at Reservations on Final Nuclear Deal

The “first step” agreement between Iran and the United States that was sealed in Geneva over the weekend is supposed to lead to the negotiation of a “comprehensive settlement” of the nuclear issue over the next six months, though the latter has gotten little attention.

Iran Deal Gains Traction Despite Netanyahu and Republican Dissent

Despite strenuous objections by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and mostly Republican lawmakers here, the new accord between the Iran and the U.S. and five other major powers on Tehran’s nuclear programme appears to be gaining support here and abroad.

U.S. Unveils Military Strategy for Arctic

The United States is calling for greater cooperation in the Arctic, even as it warns that it will defend its sovereignty in the face of strengthening international interest in newly opening shipping lanes and natural resource extraction opportunities as the region’s ice disappears.

OP-ED: Devil in the Details, Angel in the Big Picture

The devil is in the details. This cliché is already being invoked regarding the deal concluded this past weekend between Iran and the so-called P5+1 – the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, along with the European Union’s High Representative, Baroness Catherine Ashton.

Stakes over Iran Talks on the Rise

As Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers of at least four other major powers prepared to join talks with Iran in Geneva Saturday, the stakes over the eventual success or failure of the negotiations seem very much on the rise here.