USAID Vows Inclusion in Fight Against Extreme Poverty

The United States' main foreign aid funder, USAID, released a mission statement Wednesday that includes new focus on ending extreme poverty while also promising to be more inclusive in incorporating civil society and other input in its decision-making.

U.S. Sanctions Closing Doors to Iranian Students

Even as the United States and European Union begin to lift some sanctions on Iran, U.S. law continues to prohibit some businesses that provide non-controversial services, such as online education, from operating in Iran and other countries.

Human Trafficking Survivors Urge U.S. to Take Action

Advocacy groups and some legislators are calling on the U.S. government to mandate an increase in corporate supply chain transparency, with the aim of cutting down on the estimated 14,000 to 17,000 people trafficked into the United States each year and the tens of millions enslaved globally.

U.S. Tightens Development Safeguards

Development activists and rights watchdogs are applauding a surprise strengthening of environmental and human rights policies governing U.S. development funding and overseas financial assistance.

More Women Weigh Risks and Rewards of At-Home Birthing

It was a long and hard 10 hours of labour.

U.S. “Dismantling” Rhetoric Ignores Iran’s Nuclear Proposals

Iran’s pushback against statements by Secretary of State John Kerry and the White House that Tehran must “dismantle” some of its nuclear programme, and the resulting political uproar over it, indicates that tough U.S. rhetoric may be adding new obstacles to the search for a comprehensive nuclear agreement.

Big Gap Surfaces in Davos

As self-appointed global leaders gather at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discuss ‘The Reshaping of the World’, a stone's throw away non-governmental organisations named this year's winners for their dreaded Public Eye Awards.

Top Israel Lobby Group Loses Battle on Iran, But War Not Over

Eight years ago, Stephen Rosen, then a top official at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and well-known around Washington for his aggressiveness, hawkish views, and political smarts, was asked by Jeffrey Goldberg of the New Yorker magazine whether some recent negative publicity had harmed the lobby group’s legendary clout in Washington.

Voluntary Fracking Certification Kicks Off in U.S.

A controversial new certification process that could cover a significant portion of the U.S. oil-and-gas “fracking” industry began accepting applications on Tuesday, indicating the formal start of an initiative that has the backing of some key industry players and some environmentalists – but by no means all of either.

Obama Curbs Spying on Foreign Nationals Overseas

In a highly anticipated speech on Friday, President Barack Obama introduced a series of reforms that will place new limits and safeguards on U.S. intelligence gathering, including additional protections for foreign nationals overseas. 

Pacific Trade Deal “Backtracking” on Environment Safeguards

An accord that would be the largest trade agreement ever negotiated appears to be rolling back environmental safeguards that have been a key part of U.S.-led trade deals for much of the past decade.

The Legacy of Canada’s First PM Much Darker to First Nations

Many of the challenges faced by the Conservative government in its relations with Canada's aboriginal peoples may come to a head at the 200th birthday events for Sir John A. Macdonald, the country's first prime minister, set for Jan. 11, 2015.

Obama, Nobel Laureates Urge Rise in U.S. Minimum Wage

Seventy-five economists, including seven Nobel Prize laureates, sent an open letter to President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, urging them to raise the federal minimum wage.

Big Coal Undercuts Landmark U.S. Overseas Investment Policy

Environmentalists and some lawmakers are decrying a surprise move by conservative members of Congress to roll back landmark “clean energy” policies guiding U.S. investments in overseas power projects.

Major Parts of World Ignored by U.S. TV News in 2013

If people outside the United States are looking for answers why Americans often seem so clueless about the world outside their borders, they could start with what the three major U.S. television networks offered their viewers in the way of news during 2013.

Gates Conceals Real Story of “Gaming” Obama on Afghan War

Criticism in the memoirs of former secretary of defence Robert M. Gates of President Barack Obama’s lack of commitment to the Afghan War strategy of his administration has generated a Washington debate about whether Obama was sufficiently supportive of the war.

U.S. Moves to End “School-to-Prison Pipeline”

The U.S. government has released landmark new guidelines aimed at tackling overreliance on punitive disciplinary measures within the national school system, with students being expelled or even referred to law enforcement for minor infractions.

Hospitality, Agriculture Firms Vulnerable to Human Trafficking

Shareholders are calling on 15 U.S.-based multinational corporations to ensure that their global supply chains are not facilitating human rights abuses, particularly labour and sex trafficking.

Coal Trains Run into Stiff Resistance in U.S.

Citizens and activists in the U.S. Pacific Northwest are fighting three different proposed coal terminals, including one in Oregon and two in Washington.

Iran Sanctions Bill Big Test of Israel Lobby Power

This week’s introduction by a bipartisan group of 26 senators of a new sanctions bill against Iran could result in the biggest test of the political clout of the Israel lobby here in decades.

Syrious Paralysis on Pennsylvania Avenue

Three months after averting a military strike against Syria with a last-minute deal to deprive it of its chemical weapons arsenal, U.S. policy toward the world's most violent conflict appears increasingly at sea.