Overspeeding China Must Slow Down

Rosy figures tempt China to postpone much-needed reform, says a renowned Chinese economist. "Much growth is non-productive, with enormous speculation widening the gap between rich and poor."

Lebanon Pressured to Improve Palestinians’ Lot

Abu Yussif doesn't want to talk about his work any more. "It's not going to help and nothing will change anyway," he says. The tall, white-haired Palestinian has just returned from work and relaxes in his little garden in the refugee camp Bourj ash-Shamali near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: “Sanctions Are Hurting the Right People”

The word "sanctions" was among the first five words mentioned to the new European Union (EU) ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell Ariccia when he first arrived and met with government officials in Zimbabwe a few months ago.

Obama Scrambles to Save Arms, Foreign Policy Agenda

Two weeks after U.S. voters gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives and a sharply reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate, President Barack Obama is scrambling to save his foreign policy agenda.

AGRICULTURE: U.S. and EU Subsidies Still Out of Bounds

The United States’ policy to double agricultural exports shows that its government "has learnt nothing" from the last food crisis, a problem reflected in the dramatic increase in that country’s trade-distorting farm subsidies between 2007 and 2008.

ECONOMY: East Timor Extends a Hand to Troubled Portugal

With the announcement that his country is ready to buy Portuguese debt, the president of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, set a precedent in international economic relations that was universally praised in political and financial circles in this southern European country.

Britain to Settle Rendition, Torture Case for Millions

The British government will reportedly pay millions in compensation to seven British nationals who were unlawfully "rendered" to U.S.-run prisons and tortured with the cooperation of British intelligence.

KYRGYZSTAN: Fast Melting Glaciers Threaten Biodiversity

Kyrgyzstan's glaciers are receding at what scientists say is an alarming rate, fuelled by global warming. And while experts warn of a subsequent catastrophe for energy and water security for Kyrgyzstan and neighbour states downstream reliant on its water flows, devastation to local ecosystems and the effects on plant and wildlife could be just as severe.

China has New Wind in its Sails

The poppy argument between Chinese and UK politicians this week may not have escalated into a serious problem to derail British Prime Minister David Cameron's first official visit to Beijing but it was symbolic of how 150 years after the Opium wars the two powers are still talking across each other.

U.S.: Looming Partisan Shift Adds Urgency to Nuke Treaty

When U.S. President Barack Obama capped a flurry of activity on nuclear non-proliferation this spring by welcoming the largest gathering of world leaders ever in Washington for a Nuclear Security Summit, many experts hoped to see cascading effects that would lead to even further elimination of nuclear weapons.

DEATH PENALTY: Execution for Drug Offences Challenged

Two Georgian women are facing the death sentence in Malaysia in a case that human rights campaigners say has highlighted worries over the continued imposition of capital punishment for drugs offences.

BALKANS: Rape Victims Fight a Mostly Losing Battle

It takes little to bring out the scars that many women who were raped in Bosnia still carry. Rumours, later shown to be unfounded, that Angelina Jolie would star in a film to be shot in Sarajevo on the war-time love between a Serb man and a Bosniak Muslim girl he raped, had women's groups lodging strong protests.

KOSOVO: Dragging Corruption Into the Net

Kosovo youths looking to address issues treated as taboo by mainstream media are taking increasingly to online activism. The new platform is being used particularly to fight high-level corruption.

ENVIRONMENT-ECUADOR: Plenty of Promises but Little Cash for Leaving Oil Untapped

The Spanish government is "analysing mechanisms to contribute" one million euros (1.3 million dollars) to the Yasuni-ITT initiative, one of the few definite contributions received by Ecuador for a scheme to leave oil reserves untouched in a highly biodiverse area of the Amazon jungle.

MIDEAST: Prisoner Speaks Out From Israeli Jail

Samer Hamdan*, a 26-year-old Palestinian prisoner, recalls being beaten until he bled. Seeing other prisoners covered in blood and screaming is the norm in the Israeli prison, he says.

Cataloguing Biodiversity Presents a Challenge

An international agreement reached in the Japanese city of Nagoya constitutes a great step forward towards protecting biodiversity from decimation, but also represents an enormous legislative and administrative task, environment experts say.

Fresh Warnings Against EU Bio-Fuels Policy

Massive increase in carbon emissions will worsen climate change if the European Union does not urgently revise its energy policy, experts warn.

China Closes In Around its Rare Earth

The western world sees China erecting trade walls. But China sees a throwback to an era of plundering and forceful western politics that followed the Opium wars of the 19th century and precipitated the collapse of the Chinese empire.

GREECE: Chinese Turn Up, At the Right Time

The clichés of the China man in Greece are quickly unraveling. The cheap clothing trader and the small Chinese restaurant owner are still there. Chinese masseuses are still trawling the beaches in search for customers. This familiar crowd, though, is increasingly overtaken by throngs of picture-snapping and cash-dolling Chinese tourists.

BRITAIN: Not Executing, Just Enabling

European Union officials are reluctant to tighten up rules covering the trade in products designed for torture or the death penalty, despite suggestions that a British company has been exporting lethal injection drugs used in executions.

EUROPE: Drones may Track Migrants

The notice appeared quietly on the website of Frontex, Europe's agency to fight undocumented migration. It called for expressions of interest in demonstrating "Small UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and Fixed systems for Land border surveillance" at its workshop.