Languages
Friday, June 19, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
U.S.: Clinton Orders Review to Enhance “Smart Power”
In a new initiative designed to reduce the imbalance between "hard" and "soft" power in U.S. policies abroad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has launched a planning process designed to better coordinate U.S. foreign and development policies in pursuit of what Clinton has called "smart power".FINANCE: Remittances to Poor Countries Plunge up to 10 Percent
The amount of money immigrants from poor countries send to their families back home is expected to decline between seven and 10 percent in 2009 compared to 2008 levels, according to a new report released here Monday by the World Bank.US-HONDURAS: Major Partisan Split Over Coup, Zelaya
Although both parties claim undying commitment to democracy and the rule of law in Honduras, Democrats and Republicans here are deeply divided over the Jun. 28 coup d'etat that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and what to do about it.U.S.: Obama Discredits 'Green Light' for Israeli Attack on Iran
Seeking to end speculation about whether his administration had eased its opposition to an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday insisted that Washington's position remained unchanged.HONDURAS: Action Returns to Washington
After Sunday's aborted effort by exiled Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to return home, the week-old international crisis over the restoration of constitutional rule in the Central American country appears set to return to Washington.US-ECUADOR: Chevron Fails in Effort to Lift Trade Benefits
In the latest in a string of setbacks that could cost the U.S. oil giant Chevron billions of dollars in damages, President Barack Obama decided this week to extend trade preferences for Ecuadorean exports for another six months under the 1991 Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA).
US-HONDURAS: Dictatorships and Double Standards Revisited
When the Honduran military deposed President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday, in an incident that stirred memories of Cold War military coups in Latin America, it also seems to have caused at least some foreign policy commentators here to revert to positions reminiscent of the Cold War.US-COLOMBIA: Uribe Presses FTA in First Encounter with Obama
Long-stalled efforts to consummate a free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Colombia may be gaining some momentum, despite persistent questions about Bogota's human rights record.HONDURAS: Obama Declares Coup "Not Legal" Amid Uncertainty
Capping a day of mixed signals, U.S. President Barack Obama said late Monday that he considered Sunday's ouster and exile of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya to be "not legal" and that Washington still considered him the legitimate president of the Central American country.U.S.: House Passes Controversial Climate Legislation
Amid furious lobbying on both sides, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved landmark legislation Friday designed to reduce the nation's greenhouse emissions that contribute to global warming 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.SOMALIA: U.S. Confirms Arms Shipments to Bolster Besieged Gov’t
The U.S. State Department Thursday confirmed that Washington is providing arms and ammunition to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia in a bid to thwart its defeat by a loose coalition of radical Islamist militias which, according to some analysts, are linked to al Qaeda.US-SUDAN: Limited Progress Made to Rescue Peace Accord
The United States Tuesday urged the government of Sudan and former rebels in the south to re-invigorate their 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), as 30 Sudanese political leaders met with 170 observers from 32 countries and international organisations here to discuss the faltering CPA, which expires in 2011.U.S.: Neo-Cons, Republicans Paint Obama as Weak on “Rogues”
In what appears increasingly to be an orchestrated campaign, right-wing Republicans and Israel-centred neo-conservatives are pulling out all the stops in depicting President Barack Obama as "weak" on national security and promoting democracy abroad.KOREAS: Obama Affirms Alliance with South Amid Rising Tensions
Amid rising tensions with North Korea, U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday assured visiting South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak that Washington was firmly committed to their nearly 60-year alliance and their mutual determination not to yield to Pyongyang's demands that it be recognised as a nuclear power.
IRAN: Washington Maintains Cautious Response to Election Crisis
As protests over Friday's disputed election continue to rage in Iran, the U.S. has thus far reacted cautiously, reflecting the high degree of uncertainty in Washington both about how much support to give the demonstrators and about the implications of the escalating crisis for President Barack Obama's hopes of engaging Tehran in serious negotiations.ZIMBABWE: Tsvangirai Gets Obama’s Seal of Approval
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai received U.S. President Barack Obama's seal of approval and a promise of 73 million dollars in education, health, and governance-related assistance after a mid-afternoon meeting at the White House here Friday.U.S.: Museum Attack Seen as Home-Grown Terrorism
Wednesday’s killing of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum by an elderly white supremacist is the latest incident in what many see as a potential new wave of right-wing violence triggered, at least in part, by the election of President Barack Obama and the economic downturn.RIGHTS: Saro-Wiwa Settlement Latest Vindication of 1789 Law
Monday's settlement of a long-pending case by Royal Dutch Shell marks the latest successful use by human rights groups of a 1789 anti-piracy law to gain redress in U.S. courts on behalf of foreign victims of serious abuses committed overseas – in this case, Nigeria.POLITICS: Iranians Keen on Improved Ties with U.S.
More than three out of every four Iranian citizens favour improved relations with the United States, according to a major survey conducted less than one month before this Friday's presidential elections in Iran by a U.S. non-governmental organisation, Terror Free Tomorrow (TFT).
U.S.: Obama Appeals to Muslim World for "New Beginning"
In what was perhaps the most widely anticipated speech delivered by a U.S. president abroad in recent memory, Barack Obama Thursday extended a hand to the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims, receiving repeated applause and a standing ovation from the audience at Cairo University in the Egyptian capital.US-CUBA: Obama Still Moving Cautiously Toward Normalisation
Sunday's announcement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Washington will begin talks with Cuba on bilateral migration issues and resume direct postal service between the two countries suggests the new administration of President Barack Obama intends to proceed cautiously toward normalising ties with the Caribbean nation, according to veteran experts here.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
