For Africa Trip, Obama Urged to Prioritise Development

Advocacy groups here are urging U.S. President Barack Obama to focus on more than just economic development during his upcoming trip to Africa.

In Southern U.S., Energy Equity Seen as Path to Sustainability

Advocates of the concept of "energy equity" have begun employing it in the southern United States to create a diverse coalition of citizens who might otherwise approach energy policy issues differently.

U.S. Ordered to Halt Linking Aid to Anti-Prostitution Oath

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a decade-long practise under which the government linked global HIV/AIDS funding to a controversial requirement that organisations explicitly state their opposition to prostitution.

Arab Americans Aim at Preserving New York’s Little Syria

A brick red, six-story tenement house, St. George Melkite Church and a community house in desperate need of repair are nearly all that remain of a once thriving Arab-American community in downtown New York City.

Obama Renews Push For Nuclear Arms Control

Reactions have been mixed to President Barack Obama's call for greater nuclear arms reductions in the United States and Russia, made during his speech in Berlin on Wednesday.

U.S.-Taliban Talks Set to Begin

Nearly 12 years after the United States ousted the Taliban from power, the White House announced Tuesday that the United States will begin formal talks with the militant Islamist group in Qatar later this week as part of Afghanistan's national reconciliation process.

U.S. and Rest of G8 Won’t Follow UK on Corporate Transparency

The United States is being singled out for criticism after the Group of Eight (G8) rich countries failed to adopt a plan pushed by British Prime Minister David Cameron to require the creation of public country-level registries with detailed information on corporate ownership and activity.

Opponents Question Proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade Deal

Controversy is building following the announcement that negotiations will soon begin on a free trade agreement between the United States and European Union, with critics warning that any such agreement could negatively affect a host of regulatory concerns.

Colombia, the United States, and Montesquieu

The United States and Colombia are the leaders in mental anxiety in the Americas. Both have good reasons: Colombia has witnessed the longest lasting violence in any contemporary country: from 1949, with some interruptions, then on again from 1964 with the notorious guerilla group, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

Washington Mulls Surprise Rouhani Victory in Iran Vote

The surprise victory of Hassan Rouhani in Iran's Jun. 14 election has provoked a range of reactions here, ranging from cautious optimism about possible détente between Tehran and Washington to outright rejection of the notion that his presidency will produce any substantive change in policy, foreign or domestic.

U.S. Court Decision to Speed Introduction of Generic Drugs

The Supreme Court pushed back Monday against a longstanding practise in the U.S. pharmaceuticals industry under which large-scale companies pay producers of generic copies to hold off introducing those low-cost drugs into the marketplace.

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Voter Registration Law

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down voter application requirements demanding proof of citizenship, making it much easier for naturalised citizens to register to vote.

Analysts Say Oil Could Help Mend U.S.-Venezuela Relations

A shift in U.S. foreign policy towards Venezuela may be pending as a bilateral rapprochement suddenly appears more possible than it has in years.

How Booz Allen Made the Revolving Door Redundant

Edward Snowden, a low-level employee of Booz Allen Hamilton who blew the whistle on the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), unexpectedly exposed a powerful and seamless segment of the military-industrial complex - the world of contractors that consumes some 70 percent of this country's 52-billion-dollar intelligence budget.

Group Highlights Broken Families in Anti-Deportation Protest

As the debate on immigration reform continues in the Senate and fractured talks persist about the future of 11 million undocumented migrants, one New York-based group took to the streets to ask their senator a question.

Legal Pressure Increases on Unpaid Internships in U.S.

A landmark court decision this week has challenged the controversial existence of unpaid internships, highlighting calls for greater clarity on the legal definition of an internship.

Despite Arms Announcement, U.S. Syria Strategy Remains Unclear

Despite Thursday's announcement that President Barack Obama has decided to provide direct military assistance to Syrian rebels, what precisely the administration has in mind remains unclear.

U.S. Government Looks to Trim Massive Penal Code

A Congressional task force started work Friday to review the massive U.S. federal penal code and cull statutes deemed to be overlapping, ineffective or otherwise unnecessary.

U.S. Moving Toward Controversial New Role in Global Energy Market

Energy specialists say that advancements in fossil fuel extraction technologies have sparked a "revolution" in U.S. energy production, especially given radical recent changes in the global energy market and the U.S. role within it.

Obama to Increase “Scope and Scale” of Aid to Syrian Rebels

With U.S. intelligence agencies' concluding that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against rebel forces, the White House announced Thursday that it will increase "the scope and scale" of assistance it has been providing to the opposition, including direct support to its military arm.

Genes Cannot Be Patented, U.S. Supreme Court Rules

The nine judges of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that naturally occurring DNA, including component parts of that genetic material, cannot be patented.