North America - Publishing Production

U.S. Treasury Claim of Iran-Al-Qaeda “Secret Deal” Is Discredited

The U.S. Treasury Department's claim of a "secret deal" between Iran and Al-Qaeda, which had become a key argument by right-wing activists who support war against Iran, has been discredited by former intelligence officials in the wake of publication of documents from Osama bin Laden's files revealing a high level of antagonism between Al-Qaeda and Iran.

The assessment predicts that water in shared basins will increasingly be used as political leverage. Credit: UN Photo/Ky Chung

Water Conflicts Move Up on U.S. Security Agenda

On Wednesday, the United States intelligence community unveiled a first-ever assessment of global water-security issues.

U.S.: Obama Comes Out For Same-Sex Marriage

U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday declared his support for same-sex marriage, becoming the first sitting president to do so and thrusting the issue into the centre of his campaign for re-election.

A wind farm outside Tianjin. China is the world's leading manufacturer of wind turbines and solar panels. Credit: Mitch Moxley/IPS

China Key to Green Tech Innovation?

With U.S. federal funding sources for renewable energy sources already drying up, coupled with a newfound antipathy towards "green" issues issue here in Washington, some are suggesting that China could offer an important opportunity for the future of renewables in the United States and around the world.

Tom Goldtooth, an activist for social change in Native American communities and is the executive director of Indigenous Environmental Network. Credit: Courtsey of Tom Goldtooth

Q&A: Mother Earth Should Not Be “Owned, Privatised and Exploited”

For centuries, indigenous peoples and their rights, resources and lands have been exploited. Yet long overdue acknowledgment of past exploitation and dedicated efforts by indigenous peoples have done little to end or prevent violations of the present, stated indigenous leaders in the Manaus Declaration of 2011.

OP-ED: Waiting for Copernicus

It's happening in Buenos Aires. It's happening in Paris and in Athens. It's even happening at the World Bank headquarters.

Native Peoples Aim to End Historic and Current Injustices

Leaders of the world's 370 million indigenous people are urging governments not only to replace laws that violate the natives' rights to protect their lands, resources and culture but also to introduce legislation that protects their rights.

View of the Amazon rain forest in San Martín, Peru. An indigenous community there is accusing an oil company of social and environmental damage. Credit: Milagros Salazar/IPS

Indigenous Peruvian Community Locked in Dispute with Oil Company

An indigenous group in the Amazon rain forest took its anti-oil message to Canada in a case rife with accusations of social and environmental damage that highlights the issue of securing consent prior to commencing exploration operations.

Untitled photo, evoking water torture. Credit: Courtesy of Shahidul Alam

Paramilitary Killings in Bangladesh Dragged into the Light

What is a journalist to do when simply providing information is not enough to bring about the desired change? Why, turn to art, of course.

Clearer Targets Urged for U.S. Foreign Aid

Given the likely persistence of political pressure to reduce the yawning federal deficit, the United States – whether under President Barack Obama or his presumed Republican challenger, Mitt Romney – must be more selective in its foreign aid programme, according to a new report released here Tuesday by two influential think tanks.

Phytoplankton is a vital component in the ocean's food chain, and generates at least half of the oxygen we breathe. Credit: NOAA/public domain

Climate Change Threatens Crucial Marine Algae

Without major reductions in the use of fossil fuels, sunlight is to kill an unknown number of ocean phytoplankton, the planet's most important organism, a new study reports this week.

Across the U.S., ethnic minority youth are at the forefront of struggles over immigrant rights and Palestine solidarity. Credit: Courtesy of UNIDOS

U.S.: Ethnic Minority Youth Lead New Wave of Student Activism

In December 1985, The New York Times reported on what was believed to be the first anti-apartheid conference of U.S. high schools discussing divestment from corporations operating in South Africa.

U.S. Should Forge “New Partnership” With Turkey, Report Says

Major changes that have swept both Turkey and its neighbourhood since the Cold War require Washington to forge a "new partnership" with Ankara, according to a new report released Tuesday by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Illegal and Brutal Detainment Lives on in Yemen

"They made me drink my own urine," said one former detainee, Addam Ayedh al-Shayef, describing his experiences in detainment in Yemen. "When I refused to drink it, they electrocuted me. After I came home, I would dream I was still being tortured and I'd wake up screaming."

Next Round of Pacific Trade Pact Talks to Be Lengthy, Secretive

On Tuesday, the latest round of negotiations begins on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), potentially the largest free trade agreement ever signed by the United States.

Small Island States Combining Forces In Preparation for Rio+20

By the time small island developing states (SIDS) arrive at the Rio+20 conference in Brazil in June, they will have worked hard to co-ordinate their message to the rest of the world about the importance of sustainable development for their countries.

Morality Versus Strategy in U.S. Tibet Policy

On Friday, a panel discussion in Washington called on the U.S. government to stop treating the question of Tibetan human and civil rights violations as a moral issue.

S. James Anaya, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people. Credit: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

U.N. Wraps Up Contentious Study of Native American Communities

A United Nations special envoy on Friday called on the U.S. government to step up efforts to address historical injustices that continue to affect the country's indigenous population.

Calls Mount for Stronger U.S. Stance as Bahrain Resists Reform

Citing growing violence and polarisation along sectarian lines, human rights groups and independent experts here are urging Washington to exert more pressure on the government of Bahrain to free political prisoners and launch a serious dialogue with its opposition on major democratic reforms.

Standing Up for the Planet and the Future

What are you doing on Saturday? Peter Nix, a retiree, will be standing on a railway track on Canada's west coast blocking a coal train destined to ship U.S. and Canadian coal to Asia.

New Projects Dispel Myths and Spread the Truth About Vaccines

In northern Pakistan, one in ten children dies before the age of five from diseases such as polio, measles or hepatitis, despite the availability of vaccines. And while health workers feared visiting this region, which includes the mountainous Swat district controlled by the Taliban until 2009, local people also fear the potentially life-saving vaccines.

Next Page »


flo braker