Lawmakers, “Experts” Spin Tales of Iranian Terror in Latin America

Through its ties with Venezuela and other nations in Latin America, Iran is building an anti-U.S. alliance in the Western Hemisphere that poses a direct, imminent threat to the United States, an influential U.S. lawmaker said Thursday.

Early End to U.S. Combat Role in Afghanistan Draws Cheers, Jeers, Confusion

U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta's surprise announcement Wednesday that U.S. troops will phase out their combat role in Afghanistan by mid-2013 is drawing mixed reactions, as well as a fair bit of confusion, from both critics and supporters of the 11-year-old war here.

Once a Food Chain, Now a Corporate Supply Chain – Part 2

While Indian retailers are losing sleep over the possible entrance of multinationals like Walmart into the dense South Asian consumer market, very little thought has been given to the Indian small farmer, who stands to lose even more at the hands of the world's biggest commercial food retailer.

Dempsey Told Israelis U.S. Won’t Join Their War on Iran

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told Israeli leaders Jan. 20 that the United States would not participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel without prior agreement from Washington, according to accounts from well-placed senior military officers.

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.

“Kitchen Nightmares” Alleged at World’s Largest Restaurant Group

An organisation of restaurant workers is suing Darden Restaurants, the largest full-service restaurant group in the world, in U.S. federal court, alleging widespread racial discrimination and illegal labour practices.

Pakistan Denies “Intimate” Taliban Links

Pakistan has rejected as "frivolous" a leaked NATO report which claims that the country's security services are helping the Taliban, and suggesting that the group believes it is poised to regain power.

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.

U.S.: Building Communities Around Sustainable Food

With more and more communities in the U.S. South turning to cooperatives as a way to produce and consume food in a sustainable manner, several cooperatives are hoping to expand on what they view as more than just a "shopping experience" but a way of life.

Indian Retailers on Edge as 800-Pound Gorillas Come Knocking – Part 1

Home to over 44 million small retailers, many of them family- owned, neighbourhood stores no bigger than 200 square feet, India is a land renowned for its various "wallas" – small traders who produce, hawk, repair or deliver just about anything you could want at any hour of the day or night.

Occupy DC Protesters Stay Put Amid Eviction Threats

Two days after some 400 people were arrested during a protest organised by Occupy Oakland on the U.S. west coast, members of Occupy DC say they have no plans to leave despite the threat of police action.

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.: Plan for Popular Presidential Vote Quietly Advances

Unlike many of the younger democracies around the world, the United States still does not elect its president by popular vote. Indeed, a majority of U.S. citizens elected Al Gore to be president in 2000, but because the U.S. elects its presidents by way of a convoluted system called the electoral college, George W. Bush was declared the winner that year instead.

U.S.: Forced Marriages Still an Ugly Secret

Two years ago, 40-year-old Vidya Sri decided to leave the devastating marriage her parents had forced her into nearly two decades ago. Alone for the first time, she began an earnest quest for support groups, women's organisations or service providers who might help her in the healing process.

AFGHANISTAN: 38 Attacks a Day Take Their Toll

A red flare lights up the moonless night at a remote military outpost in southern Kandahar, a signal to land for the incoming helicopter. Bordering Pakistan, this desolate strip of desert is deadly, especially during peak ‘fighting season’ every summer between NATO-ISAF military forces and the Taliban.

U.S. Probe of Border Attack Hardened Pakistani Suspicions

The Pakistani military leadership's response to the U.S. report on its helicopter attack on two Pakistani border posts Nov. 26 assailed the credibility of the investigation by Air Force Brig. Gen. Steven Clark and expressed doubt that the attack could have been "accidental".

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.

Shale Gas a Bridge to More Global Warming

Hundreds of thousands of shale gas wells are being "fracked" in the United States and Canada, allowing large amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, to escape into the atmosphere, new studies have shown.

U.S.: “Money Isn’t Speech, Corporations Aren’t People”

In most mainstream media the words "corruption" and "election fraud" accompany images of makeshift polling stations manned by armed guards in Burma or burning tires beside tattered ballot boxes in South Sudan – the insidiousness of stolen elections and a crumbling democracy is very seldom associated with the United States.

U.S.: A Credit Union to Bail Out People, Not Big Banks

Occupy activists from Wall Street to San Francisco's financial district have dramatised their anger with big financial institutions by blocking JP Morgan Chase Bank doorways, dancing atop Wells Fargo counters, pitching a tent in a Bank of America lobby, hanging banners across Citibank windows, and accompanying the actions with the now-familiar chant "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out."