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Friday, June 19, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
US/IRAQ: McCain Knee-Capped by Al-Maliki
This weekend's surprise endorsement by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Sen. Barack Obama's call for U.S. combat forces to leave Iraq by mid-2010 marks a serious setback to Sen. John McCain, who has tried hard to depict his Democratic rival as "naïve" on foreign policy, especially with respect to Iraq.HEALTH: Activists Hail US Senate Approval of Major AIDS Bill
AIDS and global health activists are hailing Wednesday's approval by the U.S. Senate of an unprecedented five-year, 48-billion-dollar bill to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis overseas, particularly in Africa.POLITICS-US: Realists Rack Up Another Win
In the seemingly never-ending internal battle between hawks and realists in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush for control of foreign policy, the realists appear to have chalked up another win over their once-dominant foes.POLITICS-US: Obama Takes Offensive in Foreign Policy Speech
Setting the stage for his upcoming trips to Europe, the Middle East, and Afghanistan, Sen. Barack Obama Wednesday strongly denounced the Iraq War and re-affirmed his intention to withdraw U.S. combat troops from there by mid-2010 if he is elected president in November.US/AFGHANISTAN: Deadly Assault Could Alter Campaign Dynamics
If nothing else, the deaths Sunday of nine U.S. soldiers at a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan close to the Pakistan border are likely to bring home to the U.S. electorate what top national security officials have been saying for much of the past year - that the central front in Washington's "global war on terrorism" has moved eastwards about 1,800 kms from Iraq.DEVELOPMENT: China Poised to Surpass U.S. Economy by 2035
China's booming economy is on course not only to surpass that of the United States by 2035, but to double its size by 2050, according to a new study released here this week by an influential former World Bank economist who also headed the China desk at the U.S. Treasury.US/IRAN: Despite Fireworks, War Clouds Recede
While Wednesday's test-firing by Iran of nine medium- and long-range missiles was strongly denounced by Israel and the United States, there appears to be a growing consensus here that the chances for war, at least between now and the U.S. elections in November, have actually receded in recent days./UPDATE*/POLITICS-US: Afghanistan Moves Back into the Limelight
Six and a half years after the ouster of the Taliban, U.S. media attention is returning to Afghanistan where more U.S. and NATO troops were killed in June than in any previous month.POLITICS: Does Iran Have Bush Over a Barrel?
If U.S. President George W. Bush wants to boost Republican chances of holding on to the White House and keeping Democratic gains in Congress to a minimum in the November elections, he might consider taking an attack on Iran before the end of his administration "off the table".POLITICS-US: Even the Rare Bush Success Leaves a Sour Taste
While, in his dreams, U.S. President George W. Bush might have seen a "Mission Accomplished" banner unfurled as the cooling tower at North Korea's plutonium-producing plant was blown up, Friday's internationally televised fireworks at Yongbyon offered merely a glimmer of possible success in a foreign policy legacy that seems to be getting darker by the day.RIGHTS-US: Anti-Torture Campaign Wins Influential Backers
On the eve of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a bipartisan group of some 200 religious leaders and former top U.S. national security and military officers launched a campaign for a presidential order to outlaw torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of all detainees.CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. Intelligence Cites Litany of Dangers
While the United States is relatively well placed to cope with the likely consequences of global warming over the next 20 years, many developing countries, especially in Africa, South, Central and East Asia, and Central America, could suffer serious problems, particularly related to water scarcity and migration, according to testimony here Wednesday by a top U.S. intelligence officer.POLITICS: Weak States Got Weaker in 2007
Weak states already close to collapse at the end of 2006 moved closer to the brink last year, even before the latest explosion of food and fuel prices that are certain to feed instability in vulnerable countries, according to the latest edition of the annual "Failed States Index" released here Monday by Foreign Policy magazine.
POPULATION: Iraq Still a Major Source of Refugees in 2007
Despite a marked reduction in violence due in part to more aggressive U.S. counter-insurgency efforts in 2007, Iraq was the biggest source of the world's newest refugees for the third year in a row, according to the latest annual report of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) released here Thursday.HEALTH: AIDS Activists Urge Major Funding Push for G8
AIDS and global health activists are calling on the U.S. Senate leadership to urgently approve a record five-year, 50-billion-dollar bill to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis primarily in Africa so that President George W. Bush can take it with him when he meets with other western leaders at next month's Group of Eight (G8) summit in Japan.POLITICS: Bush Inspires Least Confidence as World Leader
While historians here debate whether George W. Bush has been the worst president in U.S. history, a global consensus that he inspires the least confidence of all the world's major leaders appears to have emerged.POLITICS-US: Global Image Buoyed by Prospect of Change
After a virtually relentless fall during the seven-year reign of President George W. Bush, Washington's image abroad rebounded modestly in 2007, according to the latest edition of the annual Pew Global Attitudes Project survey of 24 countries released here Thursday.US/PAKISTAN: Soldiers’ Killings Likely to Raise Tensions
The killings Tuesday night by U.S. warplanes of 11 Pakistani paramilitary soldiers at or near a checkpoint along the Afghan border is virtually certain to add to growing tensions between Washington and Islamabad at a critical moment in relations between both countries.ENVIRONMENT-US: As Climate Bill Dies, Greens Express Hope
While Republicans succeeded Friday in effectively killing major bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate to cut greenhouse emissions that contribute to global warming, environmental groups expressed hope that the three days of debate on the measure have set the stage for success next year after the November elections.POLITICS-US: Senate Finds Pre-War Bush Claims Exaggerated, False
Claims by U.S. President George W. Bush and other top administration officials before the 2003 invasion of Iraq regarding Baghdad's ties to al Qaeda and its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes were generally not supported by the evidence that the U.S. intelligence community had at the time, according to a major new report by the Senate Intelligence Committee released Thursday.
POLITICS: U.S. Urged to Push Israel Harder on Gaza Students
While seven Palestinian Fulbright scholars now appear more likely to get their chance to study in the United States, hundreds of other university students who have received invitations to study abroad remain trapped at home by Israeli security restrictions, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and two national academic associations.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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