Jailed Reporters at 14-Year High, CPJ Says

The number of reporters in detention around the world has reached the highest level in 14 years, with China and Iran claiming top spots as jailhouses for journalists, according to the annual "Attacks on the Press" report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Tuesday.

US-SUDAN: Priorities Shift to Mounting Violence in Darfur

As peace negotiations over Sudan's Darfur region come to a close in Doha, Qatar and a number of issues related to last month's referendum remain unresolved, several Washington-based advocacy groups have warned against the pitfalls of losing focus on a comprehensive peace agreement for Darfur.

US: Prisoners Have No Choice But to Drink Arsenic-Laced Water

When Kern Valley State Prison opened in 2005, the 379 million dollar facility in Central California was hailed as "state of the art". But within weeks of opening, a major problem was discovered: its water was poisoned - containing roughly twice the federally permitted level of arsenic, a known carcinogen.

Rape in the Ranks, the U.S. Army’s Dirty Secret

In his commencement address to cadets at West Point Military Academy last year, U.S. President Barack Obama proclaimed, "In the 21st century our women in uniform play an indispensable role in our national defence. Time and again they have proven themselves to be role models, not only for our daughters but also for our sons."

EGYPT: Labour Anger Does Not End With Mubarak

Before his ouster on Friday, toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had made one of the biggest mistakes of his reign; not learning from the lessons of hundreds of small labour and professional strikes that littered the country since 2005. These were the actual precursors to the Jan. 25 Revolution that end his 30-year autocratic rule.

Q&A: “Art Can Transform Small Aspects of Society”

For the first time, Cuba's National Fine Arts Prize was awarded to a member of the country's "80s generation": René Francisco Rodríguez, whose work crops up in the most unexpected places in urban communities, and who finds it hard to relinquish the "utilitarian character of art."

YEMEN: Protest Goes Out With the Candles

Many are baffled that Yemen’s anti-government protests have so far failed to deliver revolutionary regime change. But a complex context here demands a different kind of political dialogue with power.

Efforts to Demobilise Uganda’s LRA Not Enough, Says Report

The rebel group that terrorised Ugandan civilians for more than two decades, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), could continue to haunt the people of Central Africa if the Ugandan government fails to properly support demobilisation efforts, according to a new report released Monday.

LATIN AMERICA: Fast Ageing Population Brings New Challenges

Although Latin America still has an image of a young region, the base of the population pyramid is shrinking fast as a result of declining birth rates while the top section is expanding due to the growing numbers of elderly -- a phenomenon that poses enormous demographic challenges.

United Nations, an Organisation on Life-Support?

While a mass uprising was toppling a dictatorship in Egypt and tens of thousands were marching for radical change at the World Social Forum in Dakar, a high-level group of ambassadors and experts came together at the United Nations late last week to discuss the future of global governance.

ECUADOR: “Universal Citizenship” Clashes with Reality

"Good morning. I've come to see a friend," says a young man in a brown cap carrying a small plastic bag of apples. The receptionist opens the iron-barred door and lets him in to the aged, third-rate hotel in Quito's historic centre, rented in its entirety by the Ecuadorian state to house undocumented immigrants.

HAITI: Resettlement Plan Excludes Almost 200,000 Families

One year and one month after Haiti's horrendous earthquake, the world's eyes are focused elsewhere.

Deferring to Petraeus, NIE Failed to Register Taliban Growth

Despite evidence that the Taliban insurgency had grown significantly in 2010, the U.S. intelligence community failed to revise its estimate for Taliban forces as part of a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Afghanistan in December.

Q&A: Tunis and Cairo Reveal a New Popular Militancy

More than 200 years ago, one of the United States' founding presidents, Thomas Jefferson, famously remarked: "Every generation needs a new revolution." Today, his words are more relevant than ever, as young people across the world mark 2011 as a year of change.

ITALY: It’s a Lot Worse Than Sex Parties

The demonstration by an estimated million women across Italy Sunday points to a continuing denial of fair opportunities for women at work.

Nepal Uneasy Under Uncertain Leadership

Nepal’s fourth communist and newest Prime Minister has taken his oath of office, but his government is off to a shaky start after revelations he entered into a secret deal to share power with a key political ally and to turn Nepal into a socialist state.

MIDEAST: How Israel Misses Mubarak

As Israel's public television aired live pictures of crowds of elated Egyptians celebrating the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak, the anchor suddenly had a telling twist of tongue.

UGANDA: Kato Murder Re-ignites Gay Rights Debate

For the government of Uganda, the timing of David Kato's death couldn't have been more unfortunate. Kato was killed on Jan. 26, a national holiday to commemorate the ascent to power of the ruling National Resistance Movement party.

BURMA: China Stands Behind New President

China is throwing its weight behind Burma’s predicted political transformation from military rule to a supposed civilian government, deepening its strong economic ties with the resource-rich Southeast Asian nation some have described as Beijing’s "client state".

EGYPT: Joy Erupts, Now for Change

The reaction across Egypt was explosive. The anger that had been simmering for decades and boiled over during 18 consecutive days of protests, was transformed by a single uttered sentence into pure jubilation.

EGYPT-U.S.: The Brotherhood Bogeyman

While the many and far-reaching implications of Friday's transfer of power to what is apparently a military junta in Egypt have yet to be absorbed here, the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in any transition to a more democratic regime is certain to figure high on the political agenda.