U.S. Should Forge “New Partnership” With Turkey, Report Says

Major changes that have swept both Turkey and its neighbourhood since the Cold War require Washington to forge a "new partnership" with Ankara, according to a new report released Tuesday by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Next Round of Pacific Trade Pact Talks to Be Lengthy, Secretive

On Tuesday, the latest round of negotiations begins on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), potentially the largest free trade agreement ever signed by the United States.

Morality Versus Strategy in U.S. Tibet Policy

On Friday, a panel discussion in Washington called on the U.S. government to stop treating the question of Tibetan human and civil rights violations as a moral issue.

U.N. Wraps Up Contentious Study of Native American Communities

A United Nations special envoy on Friday called on the U.S. government to step up efforts to address historical injustices that continue to affect the country's indigenous population.

Calls Mount for Stronger U.S. Stance as Bahrain Resists Reform

Citing growing violence and polarisation along sectarian lines, human rights groups and independent experts here are urging Washington to exert more pressure on the government of Bahrain to free political prisoners and launch a serious dialogue with its opposition on major democratic reforms.

Standing Up for the Planet and the Future

What are you doing on Saturday? Peter Nix, a retiree, will be standing on a railway track on Canada's west coast blocking a coal train destined to ship U.S. and Canadian coal to Asia.

Over-investment Fears Loom in Myanmar

As governments around the world continue to discuss how to ease sanctions in Myanmar, fears are increasing that a sudden massive influx of foreign investment could be detrimental to the delicate ongoing transition.

U.S. Should Double Aid to Curb Violence in Central America: Report

The United States should double aid to Central America and focus it more on programmes designed to strengthen the region's criminal justice institutions to help curb the skyrocketing violence in the region, according to a new report published by an influential foreign policy group.

Small Step Forward in Resolving Okinawa Base Impasse

It's a deal that's been more than 15 years in the making and the unmaking. The United States and Japan have been struggling since the 1990s to transform the U.S. military presence on the island of Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan.

OP-ED: Nobel Laureates and Students Discuss Role of Women in Human Rights

Last week, in a lecture hall at the University of Illinois Chicago, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi took a reality many of us working in human rights know well, and drove it home with a story from her own nation, a land her government says she is no longer allowed to call home.

Epidemic of Premature Births in Rich and Poor Nations Alike

Fifteen million babies, or more than one in 10 infants, are born prematurely each year. Over one million die soon after birth, or survive to face a lifetime of health complications, says a new report by the World Health Organisation and co- sponsors.

U.S. Corporations Sponsor Carbon Scam in Europe**

Major publicly traded U.S. corporations, including Dow Chemical, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Cabot Corporation, have secured multi-million-dollar dubious carbon credits to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, as revealed in this investigative report.

U.S.-Afghan Pact Won’t End War – Or SOF Night Raids

The optics surrounding the Barack Obama administration's "Enduring Strategic Partnership" agreement with Afghanistan and the Memorandums of Understanding accompanying it emphasise transition to Afghan responsibility and an end to U.S. war.

Morocco Still Divided Over Marriage of Minors

The widespread practice of marrying minors continues to be one of the most incendiary legal and political issues in Morocco today, causing open confrontations between hard-line Islamists and moderates throughout the country.

U.S.: Marches and Militancy at Occupy Oakland’s May Day

It was May Day and Oakland was bathed in sunshine. Union workers staged militant actions; immigrants and allies marched for justice with brass bands and drummers; spontaneous street parties erupted.

Filipinos Decry New U.S. Military Agreement

Civil society groups and local politicians are reacting with anger to a new agreement by the United States that would increase its military engagement with the Philippines.

U.S. Workers, Students Reclaim May Day

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets here and around the United States Tuesday calling for an end to what they described as the mounting and corrosive influence of money in politics.

Q&A: Restructuring the Planet’s Food System

Thirty percent of food is wasted globally, while one billion people go hungry and another billion are obese.

U.S. Lifestyle Is Not Up for Negotiation

Just before the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, some of the industrial nations, and specifically the United States, were lambasted for their obscenely high consumption of the world's finite resources, including food, water and energy.

U.S.: Israeli Dissent May Create More Space for Iran Nuclear Deal

The threat of a military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities this year appears to have substantially subsided over the past several weeks as a result of several developments, including the biting criticisms voiced recently by former top national security figures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Ehud Barak.

U.S.: Citizens Reclaim Energy Cooperatives

As the United Nations and countries around the world look at cooperatives as an alternative economic model for the production of energy, rural energy cooperatives have thrived for over eight decades in the U.S., and citizens in some parts of the country are beginning to reclaim them through the democratic process.