US: Clinton Pledges Military Aid to Somalia and Other African Countries

On Aug. 6, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed in Kenya and pledged to provide more military aid and training to the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

POLITICS-US: First Latina Appointed to the Supreme Court

United States Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor - the first Latina Supreme Court nominee and the third woman appointed to the court - won her confirmation vote in the Senate today setting the stage for her swearing in at a White House ceremony as early as tomorrow.

MIDEAST: New Israeli Plan to Warn of Impending Attacks

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is taking new measures to warn Palestinian civilians about impending aerial attacks. This comes in response to questions raised over whether Israel had complied with international laws during its 2006 war in Lebanon and the Gaza offensive earlier this year.

POLITICS: Clinton’s Africa Tour to Stress U.S. Commitments

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left yesterday on a seven-nation trip to Africa that has elicited an appeal from Human Rights Watch for her to put human rights at the top of her agenda. During her eleven-day trip, Clinton will visit Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia, and Cape Verde.

ENERGY: "Nuclear Steals Billions from Other Technologies"

Why is nuclear energy back on the table?

ENVIRONMENT: Lavish US Lobbying Pushes Nuclear Energy

Climate change and the resulting need for low-carbon energy sources is driving the current interest in nuclear energy despite the industry's near universal legacy of staggering cost-overruns, technical difficulties and dependence on enormous government subsidies.

U.S.: Better Balance Between Climate and Military Spending Urged

Despite its conviction that climate change represents a serious threat to national and global security, the administration of President Barack Obama has proposed spending one dollar on addressing the challenge for every nine dollars it intends to spend on the U.S. military, according to a new report by the left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).

U.S.: Obama Restores U.S. Intl Image to Pre-Bush Era

President Barack Obama has restored Washington's image virtually everywhere around the world close to the levels it enjoyed before former President George W. Bush took power in 2001, according to a major new international survey released here Thursday by the Pew Global Attitudes Project (GAP).

POLITICS-US: Obama Wins Big Victory on Defence

In a signal victory for President Barack Obama and Defence Secretary Robert Gates, the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday evening to end production of an advanced fighter jet that many independent military analysts have long considered a wasteful boondoggle.

SUDAN: Ruling on Oil-Rich Border Area Fraught With Tension

The international community, in particular the U.S., has a responsibility to ensure that this week's upcoming legal decision on the boundary of Abyei, an oil-rich and contested region along the disputed north-south border within Sudan, is respected and that the residents of Abyei and the affected surrounding areas are protected from violence, said a strategy paper by the Enough Project released Monday.

U.S.: New, Old Weapons Systems Never Die

In what is shaping up as one of the most consequential battles of his six-month-old presidency, Barack Obama finds himself in the trenches alongside his former Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, fighting hard to end production of an advance fighter jet that much of the defence establishment considers a wasteful boondoggle.

U.S.: Clinton Seeks “Multi-Partner World”, Warns Iran on Time

In her first comprehensive policy address since becoming secretary of state nearly six months ago, Hillary Clinton Wednesday called for a "multi-partner'' - as opposed to a "multi-polar" - world" and defended President Barack Obama's policy of engagement with adversaries, including Iran.

POLITICS-US: Sotomayor Poised Amid Senatorial Jousting

On Tuesday, the first full day of questions from members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee considering the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, was remarkable mainly for the softball questions asked by her Democratic supporters and the snarky, "gotcha" questions posed by her Republican opponents.

U.S.: Clinton Orders Review to Enhance “Smart Power”

In a new initiative designed to reduce the imbalance between "hard" and "soft" power in U.S. policies abroad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has launched a planning process designed to better coordinate U.S. foreign and development policies in pursuit of what Clinton has called "smart power".

POLITICS-US: Smooth Sailing for High Court Nominee

In what many Congress-watchers see as Washington's version of Kabuki Theater, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Monday began its hearings on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Latina associate justice of the Supreme Court and only the third woman ever to be nominated to the nation's highest court.

Q&A: "The Killing of Women Is Like Killing a Bird Today in Afghanistan"

It is easy to understand why epithets such as brave and courageous often accompany the name of Malalai Joya. Slight of stature and serenely demure, the young Afghan woman’s past and present encapsulate the plight of her countrywomen.

U.S.-AFRICA: 'Mutual Partnership and Mutual Respect'

"We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans," U.S. president Barack Obama told Ghana's parliament. And the keys to that future, as outlined in his speech, include democratic elections, accountability, good governance and strong institutions.

RIGHTS-US: Acquittal No Guarantee of Freedom

Lawmakers and human rights advocates are questioning the assertion by the administration of President Barack Obama that Guantanamo terror suspects could be imprisoned indefinitely even if they are found not guilty by a U.S. court.

RIGHTS-US: Muslim Groups Seek Reform of Charity Blacklisting

While President Barack Obama conceded in his speech in Cairo last month that U.S. rules on charitable giving "have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation", civil rights advocates are pressing the president to turn his words into action.

POLITICS: Negative Views of U.S. Persist Despite Faith in Obama

A new survey of global opinion reveals strong negative feelings toward U.S. foreign policy, even as an average of 61 percent of those polled have at least some confidence in President Barack Obama to make sound decisions.

IRAQ: Questions Remain About the U.S. Role

The United States largely complied with a plan, negotiated with Iraq's government last November, to withdraw its troops from the centre of all Iraqi cities by Jun. 30.