Despite Right-Wing Opposition, Hagel Looks Set for Confirmation

Despite an appeal Thursday by 15 right-wing Republican senators for President Barack Obama to withdraw the nomination of Chuck Hagel as his next defence secretary, the former Republican senator from Nebraska appears virtually certain to be confirmed as Pentagon chief by the full Senate next week.

Major Audit Urges Devolution of U.S. AIDS Programme

A major audit of the United States’ flagship global anti-HIV/AIDS programme, prepared for the U.S. Congress, notes “remarkable progress” over the past decade. However, it is also warning of insufficient monitoring and urging a stepped-up process of handing over greater control to partner countries.

In Conservatives’ Canada, It’s Not Easy Being Green

Canada's police and security agencies think citizens concerned about the environment are threats to national security, and some are under surveillance, documents reveal.

Israel Not Pushing Obama to Arm Syrian Rebels

A lack of Israeli pressure for the U.S. to intervene and Israel’s ability to go after sensitive targets in Syria on its own are factors in the Barack Obama administration’s reluctance to get more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war.

Saudi Arabia Seen Unlikely to Seek Nukes If Iran Gets One

Challenging what has become conventional wisdom here, a new report released here Tuesday by an influential think tank argues that Iran’s neighbours - Saudi Arabia in particular - are unlikely to pursue nuclear weapons if Iran obtains one.

U.S. Urged to Delink Foreign Military, State-building Actions

Development workers and aid strategists are urging the U.S. government to adopt a comprehensive strategy for addressing root problems in “fragile states”, warning that an outdated focus on military intervention is draining resources and exacerbating security problems.

Erratic Weather Looms Above while Injustice Boils Below

The “Spirit of America” is one of 10 ferries that carry passengers from Manhattan to Staten Island. Its keel – which lies on the bottom of the boat and carves through the waters of New York Harbour– was built with steel from the collapsed Twin Towers.  

Climate Rally Draws “Line in the Sand” on Canadian Pipeline

The largest climate rally in U.S. history is expected Sunday in Washington DC with the aim of pressuring President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List

For the first time, a U.S. government auditor has added climate change to a list of issues that pose the greatest financial risk to the government and country. It is also warning that Washington is markedly unprepared to deal with the scope of the problem.

Q&A: Venerable Sierra Club Gets Radical on Tar Sands

The term “civil disobedience” takes its roots from an 1849 essay by U.S. poet, philosopher and environmentalist, Henry David Thoreau, originally entitled “Resistance to Civil Government”.

Obama Pushes Universal Preschool Coverage for U.S.

Following on a surprise announcement supporting a universal preschool guarantee during his annual State of the Union address earlier this week, President Barack Obama spent much of Thursday pushing a suite of new policy initiatives aimed at vastly increasing access to high-quality education and development programmes for a child’s first few years of life.

Obama Administration Reveals Deep Divisions on Syria Policy

Though President Barack Obama has been reticent to involve his administration too deeply in the Syrian uprising, revelations over the past week have shown near-unanimous agreement among the president’s top national security advisors for greater military intervention.

U.S. Urged to Lean Harder on Bahrain’s Ruling Family

On the eve of the second anniversary of the uprising in Bahrain, the administration of President Barack Obama is being urged to press the royal family to make genuine compromises with the predominantly Shi’a opposition.

Energy, Economy Key in Major Obama Address

In a major annual address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama offered further details on a broad and ambitious range of policy priorities, taking advantage of perhaps his single most significant opportunity to guide the public conversation on his second-term agenda.

North Korean Test Puts More Pressure on Obama

Tuesday’s nuclear test by North Korea poses major new questions about the sustainability of President Barack Obama’s first-term policy of “strategic patience” in dealing with Pyongyang.

Advocates Lay Groundwork for New Arms Trade Talks

With a new round of negotiations for an international treaty regulating the international trade of small-scale weapons slated for next month, advocates here have stepped up a campaign to clarify what exactly the treaty is trying to accomplish – and to eliminate some opposition to the treaty from within the U.S. Congress that, they say, is based on misinformation.

OP-ED: Obama and Bahrain: How to Save Al-Khalifa Rule

Despite the start of a government-inspired dialogue with the opposition Sunday, the Bahraini government continues to jail dissidents, arrest demonstrators, and use a rigged judicial system to convict them.

U.S. Environment Agency Releases First Climate Adaptation Plan

For the first time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has publicly released a draft plan on how the department’s programmes will adapt to global warming, in a move that could lay additional groundwork for important new emissions rulemaking the agency may announce in coming months.

Retooling New York for Apocalyptic Storms

During World War II, a German U-boat made its way into New York Harbour. It fired two torpedoes at a British tanker, splitting the hull in three places and igniting it in flames. The captain and 35 members of his crew burned to death.

OP-ED: Succeed or Fail? What Obama Must Do in the Middle East

Every U.S. president since Harry Truman has sought to disentangle the United States from the Middle East, and all have been sucked back into the region and its problems.

Few Hopes for Iran Breakthrough

Despite an agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) to resume long-delayed talks about Tehran’s nuclear programme in Kazakhstan at the end of this month, few observers here believe that any breakthrough is in the offing.