Pro-Peace Jewish Lobby Group Urges Obama to Seize Moment

J Street, the Washington-based "Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace" advocacy group, drew a large crowd to its annual conference this year despite criticism over its controversial calls for the Barack Obama administration not to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.

Recruiting Now for New Offensive Against Gaddafi

As the defectors from the Libyan army organize the weapons they have recovered from Muammar Gaddafi's strongholds in the region, thousands of Libyan men are volunteering to join the soldiers in a possible attack on Tripoli to oust Gaddafi from power.

US: Iranian “Terrorist” Group Courts Friends in High Places

For years now, supporters of the Iranian opposition group the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) have lobbied in vain to have the organisation taken off the U.S. State Department's terrorism list.

U.N. Body Suspends Libya from Human Rights Council

The 192-member General Assembly, the highest policy-making body at the United Nations, unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday suspending Libya's membership in the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

Q&A: ‘Doing Good and Doing Good Business Are Not Incompatible’

It is short sighted to dismiss the benefits or potential of engaging the private sector in human rights matters, says Sara Lulo, director of the Avon Global Center for Women and Justice at Cornell Law School.

Q&A: Ordinary Women Have Extraordinary Stories to Tell

Ordinary women's voices are too often ignored when it comes to solving their own problems, admonishes Loga Virahsawmy, Director of the Southern African NGO Gender Links, Mauritius and Francophone Office.

Arab Uprising Bypasses Domestic Slaves

The uprisings sweeping the Arab world have been provoked by long injustice, low income, police brutality, and lack of social security. While the world looks at this, the suffering of up to three million maids across the Arab world remains wrapped in silence.

Turkey Gets the Worst of Two Worlds

Turkey's foreign policy is undergoing an acid test as the political turmoil continues in the Arab World. The fragile situation in Tripoli, in particular, is giving the jitters to government and businesses alike, with billions of dollars of Turkish investment and trade at risk.

Rights Group Urges Probe of Bahraini Crackdown

A leading rights group here condemned actions taken by Bahraini security forces in suppressing peaceful protests in recent weeks, including the deaths of seven Bahraini citizens in the last fortnight, and called for a "transparent and independent investigation into government initiated violence".

LIBYA: West, U.N. Turn Up Heat on Gaddafi

International efforts to strangle Muammar Gaddafi's regime are intensifying, as Western leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, call for the autocrat's immediate departure, while the Pentagon and key allies consider contingency plans for a potential no-fly zone over the North African nation.

ARGENTINA: Trial over Baby Theft Opens at Last

After 35 years of campaigning and legal action by the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, the first trial over the systematic theft of babies of political prisoners during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship began Monday.

Vietnamese Struggle for a Place in Poland

Thuan has had little luck. In his youth he joined the "boat people" fleeing Vietnam to Indonesia. Deported back after six years, carrying the stigma of an anti-communist, he could not find a job.

BRAZIL: Locals Protest ‘Metal Rain’ Pollution from Steelworks

A protestor held out a handful of metal dust, part of the "silvery rain" falling that day in Santa Cruz, a low-income neighbourhood on the west side of this Brazilian city, as proof of the environmental nightmare affecting the area ever since a German steel plant opened there.

Arab Civil Society Calls for No-Fly Zone over Libya

Besieged Libyan leader Muammar el-Gaddafi, who has incurred the wrath of his own people and drawn punitive strictures from the international community, is now under attack by a coalition of over 200 Arab non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including a group of intellectuals from across the Middle East.

Critics Call Secret U.S.-Canada Talks “End Run Around Democracy”

The just-announced Canada-U.S. security perimetre discussions are comprehensive and potentially wide-ranging and could impact Canadian sovereignty. However, the domestic opposition appears to have been caught off-guard.

African Migrants Targeted in Libya

As nations evacuate their citizens from the violence gripping Libya, many African migrant workers are being targeted because they are suspected of being mercenaries hired by Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader.

OP-ED: Democracy Is No Panacea

The Egyptian people have every reason to be proud. They have provided the world with a shining example of how to overthrow a dictator within three weeks with hardly any violence - their message of freedom, unity and solidarity will remain for years in the collective memory of the Middle East and the entire world.

CARIBBEAN: Regional Integration Stalls over Governance

For the first time in years, none of the Caribbean leaders appearing at the Caribbean Community's end-of-summit news conference uttered the words, "We had a very good meeting."

INDIA: Hindus Flock to Temples of Death

Disasters caused by overcrowded pilgrim centres are as old as the religious festivals themselves, but a dramatic increase in stampedes in recent years has caused national concern.

Central Asian Regimes Fear Unrest

As revolutions and popular protests against dictatorships spread across northern Africa and the Middle East, questions are being raised whether they will inspire similar uprisings in Central Asia. Activists say that it is now a question of when, not if, regime change comes in the region.

MIDEAST: Gaza Protesters Prepare for March 15

A look at the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings that succeeded in ousting long- entrenched dictators confirms a universal truth: it is the youth who are leading the way in forcing reform in the Middle East.