POLITICS-US: As J Street Turns One, Signs of a Shift

It seems safe to say that the first year of existence for J Street, the self-described "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobbying organisation, was more eventful than anticipated.

ECONOMY-US: Foreclosing on God

The red brick St. Andrews Anglican Church in wealthy Easton, Maryland, was known for its open door. It hosted family movie nights, and weekend spaghetti dinners. Most people had no idea anything was amiss, until the bank took the key, and the church building was foreclosed and sold at auction.

TURKEY: Obama Offers Islam a Handshake

On his first visit to a Muslim country this week, U.S. President Barack Obama proposed "a new chapter" in U.S. engagement with the Islamic world. He drew much praise, while some remain skeptical.

TURKEY: Poll Win a Setback for AKP

Turkey's ruling party won the local elections last week, but the reduced majority comes as indicator that its popularity may be in decline.

POLITICS: Al-Maliki Draws U.S. Troops into Crackdown on Sunnis

When U.S. troops and Apache helicopters joined Iraqi forces in putting down an uprising by Sunni "Sons of Iraq" militiamen in central Baghdad last weekend, it was a preview of the kind of combat the U.S. military is likely to see increasingly over the next three years unless a policy decision is made in Washington to avoid it.

PAKISTAN: Another Terror Attack For TV Cameras

The brazen armed attack on a police academy near Lahore on Monday underlines the danger that the Pakistani state faces from militancy linked to the ‘war on terror', but with historic roots in the earlier Afghan war of liberation from Soviet occupation, or ‘jihad' against ‘God-less communists'.

MUSIC-ITALY: Nurturing Opera

Fabrizio tells a young woman, Eriko, that it is very cold outside, while logs crackle in the fireplace and the sun sets behind the mountains, adorned with last night's snowfall. It is all true, but they are acting, rehearsing a famous scene from the opera La Bohème, by Giacomo Puccini.

PAKISTAN: Under Siege by Taliban

Authorities in Pakistan have vowed to deal sternly with Taliban militants who have this month mounted a series of deadly attacks apparently aimed at weakening this country that has close links with neighbouring Afghanistan.

POLITICS-US: Obama Bailout Plan Not the Right’s Cup of Tea

In December of 1773, colonists in Boston - then a town in the British colony of Massachusetts - protested against the British government after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain.

COLOMBIA: Growing International Support for Peace

The Nasa indigenous people who live in southwestern Colombia risked their very lives when they took it upon themselves to blow up munitions and weapons they discovered on their lands.

AFRICA: Pope on Condoms – Out in the Cold

Political leaders, activists, scientists and even Catholic bishops all joined in the chorus of criticism against the stance taken by Pope Benedict with respect to the use of condoms to curb the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

RIGHTS-BURMA: Junta Lets UN Continue Helping Muslim Rohingyas

For now, the United Nations’ refugee agency has been given breathing room to operate in a western corner of military-ruled Burma, where humanitarian programmes offer some comfort to the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

Q&A: U.S.-Iran Detente Unsettles Persian Gulf States

Dr. Kazem Jalali, an influential conservative member of Iran’s parliament, the Majlis, and rapporteur of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, sees possibilities for a thaw with Washington, but believes that many Arab states in the Gulf "see their interests in keeping the current state of continual conflict among the west, the U.S., and the Islamic Republic of Iran."

NEW ZEALAND: Asian Muslims Tell Their Own Stories

A new book and accompanying exhibit provide rare insight into the lives of Asian Muslims, who have become an intrinsic part of New Zealand's diverse community since the first Muslim Chinese gold miners landed on its distant shores 130 years ago.

BRAZIL: Child Rape Case Revives Debate on Abortion

The case of a nine-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather has revived the debate in Brazil on sexual violence, the need to reform the abortion law, and the shortcomings of the health system when it comes to dealing with the few cases in which abortion is legal.

ENVIRONMENT-INDIA: Kerala Has Elephantine Problems

Among attractions for visitors to southern Kerala state is the way elephants are seen closely integrated into the religious lives of the people.

U.S.: Islamist Govts Not the Enemy, Say Mideast Experts

Scores of Middle East and democracy experts released an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday asking him to focus more of his foreign policy efforts at making reforms in the region, including boosting human rights.

U.S.: Muslim Women Try to Shatter the “Glass Minaret”

It's Ramadan, and Sara Elghobashy and a group of her women friends, having broken their fast, are looking for a mosque where they can hear the recitation of Koran.

Q&A: Gitmo Uighurs Highlight a Complex Ethnic Problem

Although United States President Barack Obama was quick to order the closure of the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay soon after assuming office, the question of what to do with the roughly 175 current inmates who are unlikely to be prosecuted by the U.S. remains.

RIGHTS-US: Profiling Still Plagues Muslim Communities

On the heels of a recent poll that found that American Muslims experience emotional turbulence due to the stereotypes and suspicion of Islam since the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, two major Muslim-American organisations issued scathing indictments of the tactics of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Women Defy Militancy, Patriarchy

The challenges and contradictions facing Pakistani women were never so apparent as now. While striding ahead in a country that gave the world its first female, Muslim prime minister, they also face the threat of terrorism which claimed her as a victim.