POLITICS: Obama and Netanyahu Still Tussling over Priorities

As world leaders prepare to gather here for the all-star "general debate" at the U.N. General Assembly on Sep. 23, two of them - U.S. Pres. Barack Obama and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu - are still tussling over whether to prioritise their anti-Iran campaign or the push for a Palestinian-Israeli peace.

POLITICS-AFGHANISTAN: Battle for Balkh

Events currently unfolding in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh may be a preview for the future.

HEALTH-US: State’s ‘Model’ Reforms May Be Anything But

As all factions of the U.S. Congress continue a bruising debate about how to change the U.S. health system, one state, Massachusetts, seems to point the way clear, but activists say the Massachusetts plan is already troubled and doomed by skyrocketing costs.

U.S.: Obama Scraps Missile Defence in Czech Republic, Poland

In a move with potentially major strategic implications, U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday he is scrapping plans by the George W. Bush administration to deploy long-range-missile defence systems in Poland and the Czech Republic.

GRENADA: Coup Leader Calls on U.S. to “Come Clean” on Bishop

For nearly three decades, Grenadians have wondered what happened to the body of their first left-wing prime minister, Maurice Bishop.

TRADE: "Tyre War" Strains U.S.-China Relations

U.S. President Barack Obama's decision last week to impose tariffs on Chinese tyre imports has sparked a war of words with Beijing, which could lead to retaliatory tariffs and a possible World Trade Organisation (WTO) investigation into U.S. use of emergency tariffs against one of its biggest trading partner.

US-AFGHANISTAN: Obama Confronts Democratic Scepticism

Growing scepticism among key Democratic lawmakers about the U.S. commitment to the war in Afghanistan is certain to pose one of the most difficult political challenges faced by President Barack Obama in his first year in office.

SRI LANKA: Tea Workers’ Demand for Higher Wages Hits a Snag

Tea lovers around the globe may soon have to pay more for every cup of their favorite beverage. That is, assuming tea plantation workers in one of the world’s major tea-producing countries get their demand for a significant increase in their daily wages.

US-AFGHANISTAN: “New” Bagram Rules More of the Same?

Human rights activists and legal experts reacted swiftly Monday to disclosures that the U.S. government is planning to introduce new measures it claims would give inmates at Afghanistan's notorious Bagram prison more opportunities to challenge their detention.

ECONOMY-US: Obama Presses Reforms Ahead of G20 Meet

U.S. President Barack Obama called Monday for stricter regulation in the financial industries and warned firms that are considering large bonuses for their executives to remember the debt they owe to taxpayers and the federal government for bailing them out last year.

US-IRAN: War Drums Begin Beating in Washington

As nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West continue to move slowly, U.S. President Barack Obama is coming under growing pressure from what appears to be a concerted lobbying and media campaign urging him to act more aggressively to stop Iran's nuclear programme.

POLITICS-US: Obama Struggles to Regain Early Momentum

The United States Congress returns to work Tuesday after a turbulent summer recess that has raised doubts over President Barack Obama's ability to face down domestic opposition from Republicans and enforce party cohesion on issues ranging from healthcare reform to troop commitments in the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

RIGHTS-US: Rendition Victim Still Seeking Justice

Thwarted by U.S. courts, a German citizen who claims he was "rendered" by the U.S. and secretly detained and tortured for four months is taking his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

RIGHTS-US: Cleared for Release, But…

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that inmates at Guantanamo Bay have a right to go to federal court to challenge their detention, detainees have filed more than 150 such lawsuits.

US-ISRAEL: New Settlements Plan Heightens Tensions

The White House reprimanded the Israeli government Friday over reports that Israel plans to build hundreds of new housing units in West Bank settlements, the latest in a series of showdowns between Washington and Jerusalem over settlement construction.

POLITICS-US: Gates Sells Afghan Strategy Amid Growing Unease

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) remained tight-lipped about the contents of a confidential report on the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan in a wide-ranging Pentagon briefing on Thursday.

US-HONDURAS: State Dept Condemns "Coup d'Etat", Curtails Aid

Frustrated by the continued intransigence of the Honduran regime that ousted President Manuel Zelaya, the U.S. State Department followed through Wednesday on threats to cut off aid to Honduras.

TRADE: Will Obama Steer New Course in Delhi and Pittsburgh?

A "mini-ministerial" meeting has been convened by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Delhi to help member countries draft a roadmap to conclude the troubled Doha round and set the stage for the G20 later this month and the WTO ministerial in Geneva in November.

US-HONDURAS: Zelaya Urges Tougher Stance Toward Coupmakers

Speaking at the Elliot School of International Affairs, the ousted president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, encouraged the Barack Obama administration to take a harder line against the de facto government that was set up after the military forced him from the country in June.

MIDEAST: Can Final Peace Deal Overcome Settlements Roadblock?

The Barack Obama administration - perhaps the president himself - will reportedly be launching a new round of authoritative Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations sometime during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session, which is scheduled to start in New York on Sep. 15.

POLITICS-US: Afghan Elections Reveal Growing Doubts About War*

Washington continues to wait on results from last week's elections in Afghanistan, but few analysts here expect the outcome to provide much of a boost to the U.S.-backed campaign against the Taliban, regardless of who wins.