POLITICS: Seeking Method in the Madness of Abu Ghraib

âÇ "The American political system has never been as sick as it is today," says Belgian philosopher Lieven De Cauter, in a wide-ranging interview where he discusses his theories about the "state of exception" in the context of the Bush administration's "war on terror".

POLITICS-US: In Tight Race, Big Donors Sagely Bet on Both Horses

âÇ Four of the 10 most lavish contributors to the George Bush and John Kerry presidential campaigns are the same financial services corporations, says a new analysis of campaign fundraising released today.

DEVELOPMENT-U.S.: Food Waste and Hunger Exist Side by Side

''Do you want these? They are so fresh,'' says Catherine, holding up a bunch of grapes she just pulled out from one of the trash bags piled up on the sidewalk. ''Take this, man. It's good too,'' adds her friend Morlan, holding out a loaf of bread.

POLITICS-U.S.: Voters Struggle With Kerry’s Iraq Record

As George W Bush prepares to formally accept the presidential nomination from his Republican Party in New York City while protesters gather outside a midtown arena, it seems that the polarisation of politics in the United States is hitting its zenith.

POLITICS: Iraq War Issue Dominates Massive Anti-Bush Protest

Despite fear of mass arrests and terror alerts issued by the authorities, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets here denouncing the George W. Bush administration's policies and the occupation of Iraq.

DEVELOPMENT: Fewer Conditions, World Bank Promises

The world's largest public lender for development says it is replacing its controversial "adjustment lending," accused of squeezing scarce resources from poor borrowing nations, with a new set of rules more attuned to poverty reduction efforts in developing countries.

POLITICS: War Overtakes Economy as U.S. Voters’ Top Concern

The war in Iraq and other foreign affairs are more important to voters in the coming presidential election than the economy, marking the first time since the Vietnam era that U.S. citizens are putting more weight on foreign policy than domestic concerns, according to a poll released Wednesday.

SCIENCE: US-Backed Researcher Scours Seas for Matter to Create Life

Somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean, a private research vessel owned by controversial genetic scientist J Craig Venter is collecting millions of bacteria from the sea, hoping to find the biological building blocks he can use to create a synthetic life-form that will one day become a new source of energy.

POLITICS-US: ‘Terror’ Election Barring Voters Could Stand – Memo

A recently unearthed government memorandum prepared for the U.S. Congress addresses the power of the administration to postpone elections. But more notably, it reviews actions the executive branch might take that could preclude large numbers of Americans from casting a ballot in the coming presidential vote.

DEVELOPMENT: World Bank’s Private Arm Pledges to Listen

The World Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is opening its doors for talks on its rules and guidelines for lending, a move that could influence billions of dollars in future loans to the private sector annually.

/ARTS WEEKLY/U.S.: Anti-Bush Musicians Hit the Road

In any other election year, having some of the biggest names in U.S. popular music sign up for a tour to defeat the incumbent president might provoke little more than yawns from all but the headline hungry media and the singers' most loyal fans.

POLITICS-U.S.: Planning Protest in a Time of Terror

Recent terrorism alerts in New York City have not slowed plans there to protest the Republican National Convention (RNC) which is set to officially nominate George W Bush on Sep. 2 to run for president in November's U.S. elections.

UNITED STATES: Teens Grow Pessimistic in Post-9/11 World

While nearly one-half of teenagers in the United States believe going to war in Iraq was the right decision, the country's youth grow increasingly pessimistic following the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, according to a poll released Tuesday.

POLITICS-U.S.: Bush’s CIA Pick – ‘Business as Usual’

After endorsing an appeal from the bipartisan 9-11 Commission to drastically overhaul the U.S. intelligence community, President George W Bush on Tuesday nominated as his next director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) the long-time chair of a congressional panel that the commission called complacent in the run-up to the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

CANADA: Ottawa Wants Churches to Turn Away Refugees

Six weeks ago Fred Cappuccino, a 78-year-old retired Unitarian minister, went into sanctuary in his own church to protest Canada's refugee deportation policy.

POLITICS-US: Terror Alert Resounds in Muslim Communities

Sitting on a sofa in the corner of his living room, Robert Hall turns on the television to watch the evening news on a major network station. He tries to focus on the programme, but cannot. He turns to another station and then another. With a remote control in his right hand, he flips channels for a few minutes and then turns off the TV.

MEDIA-U.S.: Won’t Get Fooled Again?

When U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge stood in Washington last Sunday to warn that some of the country's largest banks were being targeted by al-Qaeda terrorists, the mass media splashed the news on front pages and television screens - despite recent well-known intelligence failures in the "war on terrorism."

CANADA: Fired Scientists Spoke Out on Drug Approvals

The decision to fire three Health Canada veterinary scientists working in the government office that tests new drugs used on animals raised for food was made at the highest levels of the Canadian bureaucracy with the co-operation of the food and pharmaceutical industries.

U.S.: Civil Liberties Group Rejects Charity With Anti-Terror Ties

The American Civil Liberties Union has withdrawn from a federal charity drive that would have required it to not employ people whose names appeared on government terrorism watch lists.

/CORRECTED REPEAT*/POLITICS: Oil and Gas in Abundance in Washington

Much scrutiny of the ongoing U.S. presidential race has focussed on the personal fortunes amassed by President George W Bush and his challenger Senator John Kerry. But millions of dollars from other sources are also at play behind the scenes, including from major actors in the U.S. oil and gas industry.

POLITICS: Oil and Gas in Abundance in Washington

Much scrutiny of the ongoing U.S. presidential race has focussed on the personal fortunes amassed by President George W Bush and his challenger Senator John Kerry. But millions of dollars from other sources are also at play behind the scenes, including from major actors in the U.S. oil and gas industry.