ENVIRONMENT: Canada Backpedals on Kyoto Promises

Canada's top climate scientists are calling for action on climate change after the new government said it will not try to meet its emissions cuts commitments under the international Kyoto Protocol treaty.

TECHNOLOGY-US: Information Highway May Soon Get Tollbooths

In a move long sought by large telecommunications companies, conservative lawmakers in the United States are pushing for new legislation that critics say would undermine the ability of Internet users to freely access any website, from the lowliest weblog to the fanciest corporate home page.

ENVIRONMENT: When Science Inconveniences Bush

The unprecedented efforts of the administration of President George W. Bush to gag and suppress research findings it doesn't like are putting science in the United States at risk, say experts.

POLITICS-US: Six Months to Midterm Elections, Bush’s Popularity at Record Low

Another bad week for U.S. President George W. Bush, who almost exactly three years ago was preparing to don a flight jacket for his triumphal "Mission Accomplished" tour of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to celebrate his conquest of Iraq.

POLITICS-US: Migrant Rights Debate Hits the Streets (Again)

An estimated two million people took to the streets across the United States Monday calling for comprehensive immigration reform that treats immigrants fairly and does not criminalise undocumented workers.

MEDIA-US: And Now the News… Or Is It an Ad?

If you had tuned into New York's WCBS-TV on Feb. 22, you would have gotten some very good news about glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, two dietary supplements the anchors said can help blunt pain from osteoarthritis.

POLITICS-US: Pentagon Eyes the Ultimate High Ground

After 50 years of international cooperation and peace in space, the U.S. military insists that it has no plans to usher in an age of space-based warfare.

ENVIRONMENT-CANADA: Annual Seal Hunt Begins

Despite protests by animal rights activists, including former Beatle Paul McCartney and French film star Bridgette Bardot, the annual seal hunt has begun on the ice floes of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in eastern Canada.

HEALTH-US: “Drug War” Targets Pain Doctors, Patients

Wheelchair-bound multiple sclerosis patient Richard Paey is serving 25 years in a Florida prison for "trafficking" a half gramme of OxyContin, even though the prosecutor concedes that Paey never sold any of his medications. In prison, he now receives more painkilling drugs than he was convicted of having.

POLITICS-US: Battle Royal Brews Over Immigration Reform

So passionate are the views of legislators and advocacy groups representing all points on the political spectrum that Congress-watchers are expressing serious doubts that this year will see any meaningful progress toward comprehensive immigration reform in the United States.

DEATH PENALTY: U.S. Judges Reject Use of Lethal Injection

Despite strong opposition from the ruling Republican Party to those demanding the abolition of the death penalty, many judges in the United States seem increasingly willing to stop scheduled executions - at least temporarily.

POLITICS-US: Flurry of Protectionist Bills Follows Ports Flap

U.S. Congressional leaders are pressing ahead with new legislation that would give the secretary of defence and the U.S. intelligence agencies the right to oversee acquisitions of certain U.S. assets, and the Congress access to confidential business information surrounding such deals.

POLITICS: U.S. Under Fire for Labour Rights Abuses

The United States, a self-styled promoter of human rights and global democracy, has come under heavy fire for "serious violations" of labour rights in its own backyard.

ENVIRONMENT-US: States Calculate Global Warming Pricetag

In a new sign of growing concern about the impact of global warming on the health of the U.S. economy, the insurance commissioners of the 50 U.S. states last week voted unanimously to establish a task force on the possible impact of climate change on the insurance industry and its consumers.

POLITICS-US: Faith Abounds, Just Not in Condoms

On Mar. 9, during remarks at the Second White House National Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in Washington, Pres. George W. Bush recognised the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for its work with faith-based organisations.

POLITICS-US: Old Divides Resurface as Bush Sinks

As U.S. President George W. Bush's standing in public opinion polls plumbs new depths, his fellow Republicans are finding it ever more difficult to maintain their unity on key hot-button issues, such as foreign policy, immigration and civil liberties.

BOOKS-US: Is Organic Boom Healthy for Small Farmers?

Shopping at the Whole Foods supermarket chain in the United States has been called, among other things, inspirational.

CANADA: Gov’t Talks Tough on (Falling) Crime

Law and order has emerged as one area where a shaky minority government led by the right-wing Conservative party in Canada could reach an agreement with the country's three centre- and centre-left opposition parties.

POLITICS: Poll of US Troops in Iraq Underlines Growing Pressure to Withdraw

The findings of an unprecedented poll of U.S. troops in Iraq are certain to add to steadily growing pressures on the administration of President George W. Bush to accelerate Washington's withdrawal from a country that is increasingly seen as being on the verge of civil war.

POLITICS-US: Public Sees Bush as Getting No Respect Abroad

A large majority of the U.S. public believes that Pres. George W. Bush, whose carefully cultivated image of no-nonsense cowboy toughness has been a hallmark of his presidency, has become the Rodney Dangerfield of international politics, according to the latest in a series of annual surveys by the Gallup polling firm.

CORRUPTION-US: At Spy Agencies, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Find illegal activity in the U.S. national security agency you work for. Report it to your superiors. Get rewarded by being demoted or having your security clearance revoked - tantamount to losing your career - while those whose conduct you've reported get promoted.