RIGHTS: U.S. Concerned Over Curbs on NGOs, Press, Internet

Releasing its annual report on the state of human rights around the world, the U.S. State Department Thursday said it was increasingly concerned about curbs imposed by foreign governments on civil society groups, the press, and Internet use.

SOMALIA: U.S. Should Accept Islamist Authority, Report Says

The United States should accept an "Islamist authority" in Somalia as part of a "constructive disengagement" strategy for the war-torn country, according to a new report released here by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on Wednesday.

HAITI: U.S. Acts Quickly on Debt Relief Ahead of Preval Visit

With U.S. President Barack Obama preparing to host Haitian President Rene Preval at the White House Wednesday, Congress is moving quickly to show support for far-reaching debt relief and additional aid for the earthquake-stricken Caribbean nation.

U.S.: ACLU Ad Challenges Military Commissions

Civil libertarians hit back hard Sunday at reports indicating that the Barack Obama administration is about to cave in to pressure from Congress and local groups in New York City and is not only considering transferring the cases of suspected terrorists to another federal court, but even moving them to the military commission system.

POLITICS: Fiction of Marja as City Was U.S. Information War

For weeks, the U.S. public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against what it was told was a "city of 80,000 people" as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban in that part of Helmand. That idea was a central element in the overall impression built up in February that Marja was a major strategic objective, more important than other district centres in Helmand.

US-TURKEY: Armenian Genocide Vote Threatens Ties at Key Moment

Thursday's vote by a Congressional committee condemning the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as "genocide" is almost certain to complicate U.S. ties with Turkey, a long-time strategic ally and increasingly influential player in the Middle East and central and southwest Asia.

RIGHTS-US: Senate Debates Indefinite Detentions

Civil liberties advocates and U.S. constitutional law scholars lost no time in condemning proposed legislation introduced in the Senate Thursday that would hand the government the power to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects without charge and to conduct trials through military commissions only.

INDONESIA: U.S. Seeks to Resume Training of Controversial Military Unit

The administration of President Barack Obama hopes to resume U.S. training of an elite Indonesian military unit whose members have been convicted of gross human rights abuses in East Timor and elsewhere in the sprawling archipelago.

POLITICS: U.S. Still Noncommittal on Landmine Treaty

As the 11th anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty entering into effect came and went Monday, the United States remained one of only 37 countries to have yet to sign on to the agreement.

U.S.: Healthcare Should Include Abortion Access, Women Say

Last fall, the push to reform healthcare in the United States was all but hijacked by one of the country's most passionate recurring cultural debates.

US-MEXICO: Escalating Drug Violence Rooted in Northern Demand

As the war over health care continues in Washington and a war of a bloodier nature heats up in Ciudád Juárez and elsewhere in Mexico, top U.S. and Mexican officials are hoping to reduce both pressures on the health system and the ongoing bloodshed.

US-MIDEAST: Unraveling the Knottiest Issues in Stalled Peace Talks

The United States needs to take on a more aggressive presence in peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to a major report published earlier this month by the James Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

AFGHANISTAN: Marja Offensive Aimed to Shape U.S. Opinion on War

Senior military officials decided to launch the current U.S.-British military campaign to seize Marja in large part to influence domestic U.S. opinion on the war in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported Monday.

U.S.: Obama Urged to Aggressively Pursue Rights Agenda

Following a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and a summit last week, human rights activists from a range of countries released a plan of action Monday according to which the United States can lead the way in safeguarding human rights.

US-CHINA: Dalai Lama Visit Adds to List of Grievances

U.S. President Barack Obama met with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, Thursday in the White House, raising objections from China and adding to existing U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan arms sales, internet censorship and hacking, tariffs on Chinese tyres and calls for Beijing to readjust its currency.

SYRIA: U.S. Starts Normalisation Process in Earnest

After months of delay, the administration of President Barack Obama is taking major steps engage the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of a broader regional strategy designed in major part to isolate Iran, escalate the fight against al Qaeda and other radical Sunni groups, and encourage peace talks with Israel.

POLITICS: Cluster Bomb Ban to Become Law – Without U.S.

Just over a year after it was opened for signature, an international treaty banning cluster bombs received the final two ratifications it needed to become international law Tuesday.

U.S.: Nuke Plants Back in Vogue, as Climate Bill Stalls

After decades of debate, the United States is poised to build its first new nuclear reactors since the early 1970s.

POLITICS: U.S. Steps Up Sanctions Diplomacy Against Iran

Faced with an increasingly impatient Congress and a defiant government in Tehran, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is currently stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East as it seeks to prepare the ground for tougher sanctions on Iran.

US-YEMEN: Clinton Hails Ceasefire, But Aid Concerns Remain

The ceasefire announced late last week between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels in the northern part of the country is being greeted here as an important initial step toward stabilising the Arab world's poorest country and reversing advances by al Qaeda's affiliate there.

U.S.: Telecom Lobby Tests Pledge of Transparency

Despite President Barack Obama's pledge in his State of the Union address last month to "require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or Congress," the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) says the Obama administration has been "fighting hard to stop the release of the names of these representatives."