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Thursday, June 18, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
U.S. Group Urges “More Credible” Military Threat Against Iran
The administration of President Barack Obama should take steps to make threats of a possible U.S. or Israeli attack against Iran more credible, according to the fourth in a series of studies released here Wednesday by a 13-man "bipartisan" task force dominated by Iran hawks.Rights Groups Denounce Duvalier Ruling, U.S. Urges Appeal
International and local human rights groups Tuesday strongly denounced the ruling by an investigating judge in Haiti that former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier should not face charges for massive human rights abuses committed during his 15-year reign, from 1971 to 1986.US-BAHRAIN: Rights Groups Oppose Smaller Arms Transfer
The decision by the administration of President Barack Obama to approve limited transfers of military equipment to Bahrain is coming under renewed fire by human rights and pro-democracy groups here.U.S.: Growing Elite Opposition to Military Option Against Iran
Like the imminent prospect of one's hanging, to paraphrase the 18th century British essayist Dr. (Samuel) Johnson, the suddenly looming possibility of war can concentrate the mind wonderfully.U.S. Condemns Boko Haram Attacks
The U.S. State Department Tuesday "strongly" condemned recent lethal attacks carried out by the Islamist group Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, but also warned against an excessive reaction by the government's security forces.U.S.: Obama Rejects Giant Keystone Pipeline Scheme
In a decision fraught with political risk, U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday rejected the permit for the proposed giant Keystone XL pipeline project, insisting that his administration needed more time to determine whether it served the national interest.In Signal to Israel and Iran, Obama Delays War Exercise
The postponement of a massive joint U.S.-Israeli military exercise appears to be the culmination of a series of events that has impelled the Barack Obama administration to put more distance between the United States and aggressive Israeli policies toward Iran.U.S.: Burma Release, Ceasefire Hailed by Obama, Rights Groups
The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama Friday hailed the release by the Burmese government of hundreds of political prisoners, suggesting that it went far toward satisfying Washington's conditions for fully normalising ties between the two countries.US-CHINA: Leading Think Tank Urges Naval Build-Up in South China Sea
While much of the world's attention has been focused on U.S.- Iranian tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, a key think tank is urging Washington to devote more focus and resources on another key hub for international commerce several thousand kilometres to the east.Less Counter-Insurgency, More Asia in New U.S. Strategy
Capping a major eight-month review, President Barack Obama unveiled a new defence strategy here Thursday that places more emphasis on U.S. military capabilities in Asia and the Pacific and much less on counter-insurgency and nation-building operations in poorer and conflict-plagued countries.U.S.: Anti-Neo-Con Candidate Getting Serious Look
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who 24 years ago performed dismally as the standard-bearer of the Libertarian Party, has begun making waves in the 2012 presidential campaign, to the extreme discomfort of neo-conservatives and aggressive nationalists who dominate the foreign policy rosters of most of his Republican rivals.U.S.: “Arab Spring” Dominated TV Foreign News in 2011
The so-called "Arab Spring" led U.S. network television evening news coverage during 2011, comprising a total of about 10 percent of all the news coverage provided by the three major commercial networks during 2011, according to the latest annual review by the authoritative Tyndall Report.U.S.: Foreign Aid Spared Drastic Cuts for 2012
Despite the budget cutting and anti-U.N. frenzy that seized Republican lawmakers over the past year, U.S. foreign aid and support for multilateral institutions emerged in somewhat better shape than many observers had expected.
U.S.: Iraq Intervention Ends with Scarcely a Whimper
When the United States formally ended its eight-and-a-half year military adventure in Iraq on Thursday with a flag-lowering ceremony presided over by Defence Secretary Leon Panetta Baghdad, hardly anyone here seemed to notice, let alone mark the occasion in a special manner.RIGHTS: West Turns Blind Eye to Torture in Uzbekistan
Despite its formal adoption of due-process reforms in 2008, the government of Uzbekistan under President Islam Karimov continues to practice torture routinely, and the situation may be worsening, according to a major new report released here and in Berlin Tuesday.
U.S.: New Republican Front-runner Roils Mideast Waters
Newt Gingrich has a well-documented reputation for bomb throwing, but his latest assertions about Palestinians threaten to blow at least two decades of U.S. Middle East diplomacy to pieces.BURMA: Realpolitik and Rights Compete for Clinton’s Attention
Hillary Clinton's historic trip this week to Burma – the first by a U.S. secretary of state since 1955 – will likely mix geo- strategic realpolitik with Washington's more idealistic interest in promoting economic and political reforms in a country that it has tried to ostracise for most of the past two decades.Washington Frets Over Pakistan Response to Soldiers’ Deaths
As the Pentagon scrambled Monday to satisfy Pakistani demands for a full accounting of Saturday's lethal air attack on two border posts, official Washington expressed hope that Islamabad's retaliation will be limited in both time and scope.US-BAHRAIN: Obama Praises Report as Groups Urge Arms Delay
The administration of President Barack Obama has praised a damning report issued Wednesday in Manama on Bahrain's crackdown on the democracy movement earlier this year, as human rights groups called on Washington to further delay delivery of a pending 53-million-dollar arms package to the kingdom.MIDEAST: Erdogan Most Popular Leader By Far Among Arabs
Despite repeated expressions of support by President Barack Obama for democratic change during the "Arab Spring", the United States remains widely distrusted in the region, according to a major new survey of public opinion in five Arab countries released here Monday.US-IRAN: Key Senator Pushes “Nuclear Option” Against Central Bank
Amid simmering tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear programme, a key pro-Israel U.S. senator has tabled legislation that would effectively ban international financial companies that do business with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) from participating in the U.S. economy.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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