RIGHTS-US: Calls for Torture Inquiry Aren’t Going Away

A coalition of 19 human rights, faith-based and justice organisations is calling on President Barack Obama to investigate torture they charge was sanctioned by the administration of former President George W. Bush.

POLITICS-US: Momentum Builds for Tougher Hate Crimes Law

The leaders of several of the United States' largest civil rights and faith groups urged the passage of a bill to strengthen protection from hate crimes Tuesday.

Q&A: Islamophobia Alive and Well in the U.S.

In an Apr. 6 address to the Turkish Parliament on the final day of his European trip, President Barack Obama praised Muslim Americans for "enriching the United States".

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Church Pushes Draconian Abortion Law

A truck full of female police officers, dressed in black riot protection gear, pulled up in front of the General Assembly building here to confront and control the crowd of women who had gathered on Tuesday to protest a "right to life" amendment to the Dominican constitution.

RIGHTS-US: Border Policies Need Overhaul, Group Says

Getting into the United States – even for citizens, let alone immigrants and other visitors – is a notoriously difficult process. But a new report says that the questioning, detention, and oft-extended searches are going too far, especially when they are trampling on the basic rights of citizens returning home.

RIGHTS-US: No Warm Welcome for Muslim American Travelers

A Muslim legal advocacy group Tuesday charged that federal agents routinely target Muslim American travelers - or simply those perceived to be Muslim - for "deeply intrusive, personal questions and searches about their politics, faith, finances, charitable giving and associations with lawful organisations, all without any evidence or even suspicion of wrongdoing."

PARAGUAY: Second Paternity Scandal Hits President

Analysts in Paraguay expected Monday’s media coverage to focus on an announced shakeup in the cabinet. But reports that President Fernando Lugo fathered a second child while he was still a Roman Catholic bishop hijacked the news agenda and tarnished celebrations of the first anniversary of his historic victory at the polls.

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.