Q&A: In Search of “Missing Girls” in TV and Film

Apart from being an actress, film producer and writer, Geena Davis is a leading advocate of equal gender portrayal in the entertainment media.

Big Brother Is Watching Us

We were afraid this would happen. We had been warned by books (George Orwell's "1984") and films (Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report") that with the progress being made in communication technology, we would all end up under surveillance.

Report Gives Graphic Details of Guantanamo Force-Feeding

“Bleeding”, “vomiting”, “a quarter or even a third” of bodyweight lost, “torture”. These are characteristic descriptions from testimony by hunger strikers at the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay of their experience being force-fed at the hands of U.S. officials, published in a report released Thursday.

Climate Change Takes Centre Stage in U.S.-China Talks

The United States and China have agreed on a suite of potentially far-reaching initiatives aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the world’s two largest economies and largest polluters.

No Evidence for Charge Iran Linked to JFK Terror Plot

Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who was prevented by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner from testifying before a U.S. House subcommittee investigating alleged Iranian terrorist networks in the Americas here this week, claimed in a recent report that Tehran was involved in a 2007 plot to blow up fuel tanks at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

Judge Urges Obama to Halt “Degrading” Guantanamo Force-Feeding

A federal judge here has taken the unusual step of formally calling on President Barack Obama to halt the forcible feeding of dozens of hunger-striking detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, warning that the practice appears to contravene international law.

U.S. Has “Largely Failed” to Protect Marine Species

Environmentalists on Monday filed a petition with the U.S. government requesting regulatory safeguards for 81 particularly vulnerable marine wildlife species, from corals to sharks.

Pro-Israel Advocates Push for Continued Aid to Egypt

Two days after a military coup ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Washington appeared deeply divided over how to respond to what most experts believe is a critical moment for future relations between the U.S. and political Islam both in Egypt and throughout the Middle East.

U.S. Navy’s “Green Fleet” Sparks Praise and Cynicism

The United States military, an organisation that consumes 90 percent of the country's federal oil allowance, is trying to become a greener institution.

South American Leaders Demand Apologies from Europe

South American leaders demanded that the governments of France, Italy, Portugal and Spain provide explanations and public apologies to Bolivian President Evo Morales for refusing his presidential jet permission to fly through their airspace on his way home from Moscow.

Spy Contractor Bug in Ecuador Embassy Fails to Stop Wikileaks

Spy equipment from the Surveillance Group Limited, a British private detective agency based in Worcester, England, has been found in the Ecuadorean embassy in London where Julian Assange, editor of Wikileaks, has taken refuge.

Activists Preserve a Part of Syria’s Revolution

For the small town of Kafranbel in Syria, the old saying "a pen is mightier than a sword" still rings true. Every week in Kafranbel, protesters draw posters, write banners and demonstrate against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. States Tighten Voter Restrictions

Advocacy groups here are reacting with frustration as several southern U.S. states have moved to enact stricter voting requirements in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision that rolled back key legislation that had safeguarded minority voters for decades.

Snowden Is No Trifling Matter

The suspicion that Bolivian President Evo Morales’ jet was carrying Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor who has become Washington´s public enemy number one, triggered an unprecedented international incident.

U.S. Court Overturns Key Extractives Transparency Rule

A federal judge here on Tuesday struck down a key new regulatory provision that would require large U.S.-listed extractives companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments, a rule that rights groups had long pushed as a way to cut down on corruption in developing countries.

San Francisco Pride Draws Huge Crowd, Critics

Sporting wedding gowns, tuxedos, leather, beads, bangles, union t-shirts and Free Bradley Manning buttons – and some wearing just about nothing at all – some 1.5 million people poured into downtown San Francisco Sunday to celebrate lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender pride.

Snowden Defies White House, Still Caught in Limbo

Late on Monday night, Sarah Harrison, a Wikileaks activist, hand-delivered 21 letters to Kim Shevchenko, the duty officer at the Russian consulate office in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, on behalf of Edward Snowden, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower.

U.S. Weighing Increase in Herbicide Levels in Food Supply

Environmental safety groups are stepping up efforts to prevent a reportedly dangerous yet widely used herbicide from being sold in the United States, even as the country’s primary environmental regulator is considering increasing the amount of the herbicide allowed in the U.S. food supply.

World Bank to “Cease Providing” Funding for New Coal Projects

The World Bank is set to consider dramatically cutting down its funding for coal-related power projects, according to a draft strategy document leaked this week.

U.S. Grip on Regional Drug Policy Weakening, Experts Suggest

The Western Hemisphere’s approach to countering the use and flow of illegal drugs may soon change radically, as recently published reports by the Organization of American States (OAS) signal a region less willing to be dominated by the United States and anxious to act on a more multilateral basis.

Cultural Engagement Key to Improving U.S.-Iran Relations – Report

Increasing U.S.-Iran cultural exchanges could lay the groundwork for better relations between the two countries, believes a prominent think tank here, despite the prevalence of stereotypical memes of the United States as the "Great Satan" and Iran as part of the "Axis of Evil".