U.S.: Obama Returns to Greater Middle East Mess

As Barack Obama arrives home from his weeklong tour of East Asia, he confronts a growing list of ever more urgent problems in the Greater Middle East that he inherited from George W. Bush's "global war on terror".

MIDEAST: U.S. Credibility as Peace Broker Eroding by the Day

In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, movement in the standoff between the two sides can be as often backward as it is forward. The past couple of weeks have seen moves from both sides that have garnered the attention of the world, but forward progress remains elusive.

RIGHTS-US: “New” Military Courts Still Lack Basic Safeguards

While conservatives complain about Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other terror suspects from Guantanamo coming to New York for trial, many legal experts and human rights groups are being equally outspoken in their criticism of the "new and improved" military commissions designated to try five other detainees.

JAPAN: Obama Visit Hailed, But Left Crucial Questions Unanswered

Setting foot on the Land of Cherry Blossom over the weekend, U.S. President Barack Obama waxed nostalgic, recalling his first visit to Japan as a young boy, when his mother brought him there.

RIGHTS-US: Decision on 9/11 Trials Sparks Praise, Anger

The U.S. government's decision to bring five high-profile terror suspects to the United States to face trials in a civilian court has drawn reactions ranging from praise to condemnation to confusion.

GENDER: “Truly Exciting If the U.S. Could Ratify CEDAW” – Part 2

CEDAW or the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979.

U.S.-HONDURAS: Washington Stresses Urgency of Unity Govt

In a renewed effort to save a U.S.-sponsored accord to resolve the five-month-old political crisis in Honduras, the U.S. State Department Friday called on both sides to create a government of national unity "without delay" and on the Honduran Congress to "swiftly" consider the restoration of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

RIGHTS: U.S., Somalia Still Opt Out of Children’s Treaty

When the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF) commemorates the 20th anniversary of its landmark international treaty protecting the rights of children next week, there will be two countries skipping the celebrations: the United States and Somalia.

ECONOMY-US: “Green” Jobs Should Be Black and Brown Too

The Barack Obama administration's drive to promote a "green" economy is not working in the interest of poor people in the United States, especially those who belong to minority communities, according to a new study by a leading think tank.

U.S.: Increasingly Isolated in Key Regions

More than a year after his election, President Barack Obama appears to be dashing hopes both in the Arab world and in Latin America that he would bring major changes in U.S. policy toward their respective regions.

U.S.: Obama to Meet Asian Leaders as China’s Shadow Lengthens

U.S. President Barack Obama's attendance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum leaders' meeting in Singapore next week will chart a new direction for U.S. participation in Asian multilateral diplomacy and call attention to the new administration's policy of engagement with the reclusive military-led government in Burma.

POLITICS-US: The Healthcare Sausage Factory

Watching healthcare reform legislation pass through the U.S. Congress is like watching sausage get made. It is a gory and lumbering process of alliances and amendments, procedure and pandering.

POLITICS: Corruption in Afghanistan Cuts Both Ways

Unfortunately for both Afghans and Americans, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Barack Obama, his counterpart in Washington, missed a chance to reset the critical relationship between their two countries and move the dialogue in an honest direction.

POLITICS: Big Breakthroughs May Elude Obama’s Asia Trip

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Tokyo Thursday for the first stop of his four-nation trip to Asia, but an ongoing disagreement over realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, new roadblocks to a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, and continuing tussles over climate change, trade and currency issues with China have led the White House to downplay goals for the northeast Asian legs of the trip.

RIGHTS-US: Obama’s Terrorism Courts Still “Fatally Flawed”

Human rights advocates and legal scholars are voicing sharp criticism of President Barack Obama's revisions to the George W. Bush administration's Military Commissions Act of 2006, characterising them as unnecessary and saying the new law will lead to further delays and create a system of "second-class justice".

POLITICS: U.S. Seeks to Limit Warlords in Karzai Cabinet

The Barack Obama administration is talking tough to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the need for decisive action on corruption and governance reform, but its main objective is to prevent particularly corrupt and incompetent warlords from getting plum ministries as rewards for helping clinch his fraudulent reelection, IPS has learned.

US-SYRIA: Diplomatic Thaw Just Penetrating the Surface

Four months ago, the Barack Obama administration announced that it would appoint an ambassador to Syria, ending a four-year freeze on diplomatic relations between the two countries.

POLITICS-US: No Sunset for Sweeping Patriot Act Powers?

The USA Patriot Act, rushed into law by a panicky U.S. Congress in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, gave the government broad surveillance powers to spy on innocent citizens. But it also stipulated that three of its more controversial provisions should expire next month unless reapproved by lawmakers.

RIGHTS-US: Another Legal Setback for Arar Torture Case

A federal appeals court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought against a former U.S. attorney general by a Canadian citizen who sought damages for being unlawfully detained by U.S. authorities in New York and then secretly shipped to Syria, where he was imprisoned for a year and claims he was tortured.

U.S.: Obama’s Outreach to Muslim World Teetering

U.S. President Barack Obama's extraordinary efforts since his first days in office to reassure Muslims in the Greater Middle East about U.S. intentions in the region have suffered a series of setbacks that threaten to reverse whatever gains he has made over the past 10 months in restoring Washington's badly battered image and influence there.

RIGHTS-US: Govt Lawyers Seek to Quash Rendition Lawsuit

The long road to the proverbial day in court just got longer for five men who claim they were "disappeared" and tortured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.