Israeli Group Maps Palestinian Removals

Sitting in an airconditioned car along Road 60 in the heart of the occupied West Bank, Ovad Arad explained how he goes about his job: driving unannounced into Palestinian towns and villages, taking photographs, having coffee with families, and leaving almost as quickly as he arrived.

When a Moral Duty to Halt Atrocities Runs into Realpolitik

Against the backdrop of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, a panel of United States government officials and experts called for stronger methods to prevent modern-day genocides and mass atrocities, particularly in the case of Syria.

Syria Bolsters Troops in Battle for Aleppo

Activists say thousands of troops have been sent to Syria's second city, Aleppo, as clashes were reported in the city for the sixth consecutive day.

Record Aid Shortfall Abandons Millions to Their Fate

Global funding for humanitarian aid interventions saw the biggest shortfalls in 10 years in 2011, according to a new report, raising questions about the international community’s ability to meet a 20-percent greater need for 2012 driven by drought and conflict.

A Divided Security Council Leads Syria into U.N. Dead End

Just before the Western-inspired resolution against Syria was vetoed in the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted as saying the United Nations was trying to support a revolutionary movement inside the country - which happens to have strong political, economic and military links to Moscow.

Obama Pressed on Syrian End-Game

With the Bashar Al-Assad regime badly bloodied by last week's assassination of its top security officials and fierce fighting over the weekend in both Damascus and Aleppo, the administration of President Barack Obama is being pressed on the U.S. role in the presumed end-game.

New Satellite Evidence Suggests Sudanese Atrocities

An NGO here unveiled new satellite evidence on Friday that would seem to suggest the torching of a village in southern Sudan by state soldiers.

U.N. Urged to Take Lead in Aiding Cholera-Stricken Haiti

U.S. legislators are appealing to the United Nations to take a greater role in addressing Haiti's cholera outbreak, now in its third year and which has has left thousands dead.

“Famine May Have Ended, But For Us Hunger Has Not”

One-year-old Miriam Jama is a symbol of life in Somalia after the famine. Born just as the United Nations World Food Programme declared famine in this Horn of Africa nation a year ago on Jul. 20, Miriam has known no other life than the one in the Badbaado refugee camp, situated 10 kilometres outside the country’s capital, Mogadishu.

Syria Blast Strikes at Heart of Assad’s Rule

Syria's defence minister and interior minister are among those who were killed after a suicide bomber struck the National Security building in Damascus during a meeting of cabinet ministers and senior security officials, state media reported.

Sudan, South Sudan Resume Talks Amid Doubts for Long-term Success

Ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline, the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan over the weekend engaged in their first direct talks since hostilities spiked in late April.

Russia Says West Using “Blackmail” over Syria

Russia has said it would block moves at the U.N. Security Council to extend a U.N. monitoring mission in Syria if Western powers did not stop resorting to "blackmail" by threatening sanctions against Damascus.

Human Rights Worse After Gaddafi

“The human rights situation in Libya now is far worse than under the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi,” Nasser al-Hawary, researcher with the Libyan Observatory for Human Rights tells IPS.

Voting for Peace in the Distant Desert

On election day long lines of people from Sabha’s impoverished community of Tayuri waited to vote under the harsh Saharan sun. Four hundred miles from the Mediterranean coast, Sabha is tucked into the volatile southwest bordering Algeria, Niger and Chad.

U.N. Increasingly Reliant on Private Security Contractors

The United Nations is increasingly hiring Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) for its missions across the world, raising concerns over the use of firms known for participation in human rights abuses, as well as an overall lack of accountability structures governing these contractors within the U.N. system.

U.S. Commits 10 Million for Mali Refugees as Intervention Talk Builds

President Barack Obama on Thursday authorised the release of 10 million dollars in emergency funding to help with the refugee crisis stemming from continued violence in northern Mali, in response to warnings that international aid efforts were in danger of drying up in coming months.

Mauritania’s Emergency Food Programme Under Fire

The sun is beating down on Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, and Habi Amadou Tidjane Diop is a tired and frustrated woman. Seated on an empty upturned bucket, the mother of nine is waiting in a long queue to buy food.

South Sudan Celebrates a Troubled First Birthday

The streets have been swept clean and lined with flags to mark the first anniversary of South Sudan’s independence. But cosmetic changes in the capital, Juba, mask deep concerns about the future of the world’s newest nation.

South Sudan’s Women Await Independence From Poverty

One year after the formation of South Sudan, the country’s women say that independence has not resulted in the positive political, economic and social changes that they had hoped for.

To Aid Afghans, Not Just Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s international donors will gather on Sunday in Tokyo for a conference at which they are expected to pledge economic aid, and ensure their assistance level will be maintained after withdrawal of ISAF-NATO troops, in 2014. But Afghan people and civil society groups working in the country say much of the aid is being directed the wrong way.

Key Syrian Defection Heartens U.S.

The defection this week of a key general with longstanding ties to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was hailed Friday by officials in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama as an important step towards ending the regime.