Equal Chances for Women Critical in ‘Healthy, Productive Society’

In an effort to promote gender equality in workplaces and communities, business leaders, politicians and supporters came together during last week's fifth annual Women's Empowerment Principles Event to explore ways to ensure women are supported in their careers and life choices.

Obama Proposes Major New Renewables Research

President Barack Obama on Friday unveiled a broad new proposal to step up U.S. research into renewable energy technologies, particularly in transportation, which is responsible for around 70 percent of the United States’ oil use.

Peace Laureate Obama Urged to Back Arms Trade Treaty

Eighteen Nobel Peace Prize recipients called Thursday for President Barack Obama to take a leadership role in supporting a “historic” internationally binding agreement that would regulate the global arms trade, including instituting a strict ban on arms sales to states involved in egregious human rights abuses.

Afghanistan Faces “Massive Economic Constriction” after U.S. Withdrawal

Next year’s drawdown of U.S. forces and decline in U.S. aid will leave in its wake an Afghan political system lacking legitimacy and stability, according to interviews with Afghanistan experts, news reports and congressional studies.

U.S. Claims No Indefinite Detention at Guantánamo

In an unusual public testimony, the U.S. government has publicly stated that no “indefinite detention” is taking place among detainees at the military prison in Guantánamo Bay.

U.S. Intelligence Sees Cyber Threats Eclipsing Terrorism

Cyber threats appear to have largely replaced terrorism as posing the greatest risks to U.S. national security, which also confronts major longer-term challenges from the effects of natural resource shortages and climate change, according to the latest in a series of annual threat assessments by the U.S. intelligence community.

U.S. “Rebalancing” to Asia/Pacific Still a Priority

Amidst growing tensions with North Korea and, to a lesser extent, China, the White House Monday insisted that its “re-balancing” toward the Asia/Pacific remained on track and that Washington is fully committed to its allies there, especially Japan and South Korea.

Pressure Grows on Washington to Pass IMF Governance Reforms

More than 130 scholars, former government officials and policymakers are calling on the U.S. Congress to enact pending legislation enabling broad governance reforms within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would strengthen the voice of developing countries within the institution.

Canada Losing Its Seasons

"Canada is not a country, it's winter," Canadians say with pride. But the nation's long, fearsome winters will live only in memory and song for Canadian children born this decade.

Tehran Mulls Almaty II Amid Hopes for More Give and Take

The meeting between Iran and the so-called P5+1 (five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany) that took place in late February in Almaty, Kazakhstan was described as positive and even a "turning point" by Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili.

SOF Troops Still in Wardak as Joint U.S.-Afghan Probe Continues

Two weeks after Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded the withdrawal of all U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) from Wardak province by this date, the issue remains suspended in negotiations between U.S. and Afghan governments.

Intrigue Surrounds U.S. Arrest of Iran-based Bin Laden Son-in-Law

While U.S. politicians Friday debated whether Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden and former Al-Qaeda spokesman, should be tried in New York City, foreign policy analysts were speculating about the circumstances under which he was apprehended by U.S. authorities.

Across U.S., Health Concerns Vie with Fracking Profits

Peter “Pete” Seeger is a 93-year old U.S. folk legend who resides near Wappingers Falls in southern New York. He can be spotted occasionally on the traffic-heavy Route 9, flanked by world peace signs and armed with a banjo.

Kyrgyzstan’s Bacon Glut Smells of Meat Leak at Manas Air Base

If bacon, lobster tail and Chicago-style steaks are your thing, the last few months have been a good time to dine out in Kyrgyzstan’s capital.

Poland Cornered Over Its Secret Prisons

A Polish official investigation into the existence of a secret CIA prison on its territory is being stalled, according to official sources, while pressure on the country to tell the truth mounts.

U.N. Security Council Hits N. Korea with New Sanctions

North Korea, which has survived three rounds of diplomatic and economic sanctions since its first nuclear test in 2006, reacted with predictable fury, threatening to nuke the United States, in retaliation for a Security Council resolution imposing new sanctions against Pyongyang.

U.S. Abstains on Controversial World Bank Mongolia Mine Project

The United States has refused to vote for involvement by the World Bank Group in a massive but controversial mining project in Mongolia.

U.S. Austerity Ripples Outward

Since the 2008 financial crisis, and most recently with the broad federal spending cuts beginning Mar. 1, experts have warned that an austerity-minded political system could bring about dramatic changes in the U.S. foreign aid model.

North Korea Threatens U.S. with Nuclear Attack

North Korea has vowed to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, hours ahead of a U.N. vote on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.

UNRWA Head Warns of Palestinian Crisis in Syria

A top United Nations official is warning that the plight of Palestinian refugees is being neglected amidst the ongoing crisis in Syria.

U.S. Wasted Billions of Dollars on Iraqi Reconstruction

Almost exactly a decade after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Washington’s efforts to help reconstruct the country have fallen far short, according to the final report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) released here Wednesday.