POLITICS: U.N. Loses Face Over Hurried Vote on Spain Bombing

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan stopped short of criticising the Spanish government Tuesday for misleading the Security Council into believing that last week's train bombings in Madrid were the handiwork of ETA separatists..

BRAZIL: Route to Security Council Runs Through Haiti – Analysts

Sending Brazilian troops to take part in the U.N. stabilisation force in Haiti will pose military and political risks, but that is a price that must be paid by Brasilia if it aspires to a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, said analysts interviewed by IPS.

POLITICS: Bush Terror War Suffers Body Blow in Spain

It was just last week, on the eve of the bloodiest act of terrorism in Europe's modern history, that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet warned that the U.S. administration's optimistic rhetoric on winning the ''war on terrorism'' was premature.

POLITICS-U.S.: True Reactionaries

As U.S. troops prepared to invade Iraq one year ago, the foreign-policy elite's issue of the day was whether the United States had become so dominant that it could and should be compared to the British Empire of a century ago, and accept its responsibilities accordingly.

IRAQ: CIA Chief Clueless on Neo-Con Intelligence Channel

Was Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet really the last person in Washington to find out that both the president and vice president were being fed phoney or ''sexed up'' intelligence about pre-war Iraq by a Pentagon office staffed by ideologically driven neo-conservatives?

IRAQ-U.S.: ‘Stay the Course’ but Give U.N. Larger Role – Panel

Almost one year after U.S. forces invaded Iraq, a bipartisan panel of 20 influential foreign-policy experts is calling on both Republicans and Democrats to "stay the course" but to also ask the United Nations to play a "leading role" in the transition to Iraqi sovereignty and beyond.

POLITICS-U.S.: Religious, Science Groups Urge End to Nukes

An international group of religious and scientific leaders Monday appealed to the United States and all other nuclear states to pledge never to use nuclear weapons and to re-affirm their commitments to achieving total nuclear disarmament.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY: Unions Launch New Campaign

A leading trade union network is launching a new initiative to defend the rights of women workers.

U.S.-IRAN: Ad Hoc Detente to Continue Despite Conservative Sweep

Despite the sweeping victory of staunchly anti-U.S. conservatives in Iran's elections last month, analysts here believe the tentative detente between the two countries that began late last year will continue at least through the November U.S. elections.

HUMAN RIGHTS: U.S. Blocks Protocol for ‘Neglected’ Rights

Economic, social and cultural rights are the pariahs of international human rights legislation and will continue to be relegated to the second order, mostly due to U.S. obstructionism, say activists.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY: ‘War on Terror’ Brings No Relief

It was about five in the morning when Nahla al-Arian woke to thunderous pounding on her front door.

HAITI: U.S. Soldiers’ Boots Follow Footprints From the Past

For the fourth time in the past 100 years, U.S. army boots are marching on Haitian soil.

HAITI: Democrats Grill Bush Officials Over Aristide Departure

The Bush administration's role in facilitating the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide came under sharp and sustained attack by opposition Democrats in Congress on Wednesday.

TRADE: U.S. Sets First Piece of Mideast Trade ‘Mosaic’ in Morocco

Building on a spree of "free" trade deals across the world, the United States has announced an agreement with Morocco that it says could be used as a model for the proposed U.S.-Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA).

HAITI: Did U.S. Push or Pull Aristide from Power?

As rebel leader Guy Philippe declared himself Haiti's "military chief" Tuesday, speculation continued to fly over the U.S. role in deposed president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's flight from power Sunday.

/CORRECTED REPEAT*/HAITI-U.S.: Will Malign Neglect Lead to New Nation-Building?

After three years of malign neglect toward the Americas' first black republic, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush now finds itself confronting a nation-building challenge in Haiti of staggering proportions.

HAITI-U.S.: Will Malign Neglect Lead to New Nation-Building?

After three years of malign neglect toward the Americas' first black republic, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush now finds itself confronting a nation-building challenge in Haiti of staggering proportions.

POLITICS: Washington Drops Bomb on Landmine Ban

Groups that have fought for the elimination of anti-personnel landmines worldwide lashed out Friday at the U.S. decision to not sign the global Landmine Ban Treaty. They warned that Washington's snub could embolden nations already employing or considering use of the weapons.

POLITICS-U.N.: U.S. Pushes Plan to Go After Suspected WMDs

The United States is pressing the U.N. Security Council to endorse a draft resolution that would allow the use of force against "entities and individuals" suspected of trying to develop, possess or transfer weapons of mass destruction (WMD), diplomats and observers here say.

ECONOMY: WTO Chief Reassures U.S. on Benefits of Free Trade

The chief of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) defended the body's role in the global economy Thursday, and argued for free trade in the United States, a country witnessing an unprecedented debate over the "export" of U.S. jobs overseas.

POLITICS: U.N. Demands a Halt to Spying

U.N. premises are inviolable - and any country defying that sanctity is guilty of an illegal act, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Thursday, responding to assertions that intelligence officers spied on Secretary-General Kofi Annan.