ALGERIA: Civil Society Demands End to State of Emergency

The lifting of the state of emergency that has been in force in Algeria for nearly 20 years has emerged as a rallying point for groups united for democratic change.

MIDEAST: In the Ring, It’s Peaceful Attack

The opening bell resounds through the bomb shelter turned boxing club located in the western part of the city. A Palestinian boxer swiftly jumps from his corner, moves across the ring, trades punches with his Israeli opponent.

VIETNAM: Communist Party Steps on Already Stifled Newspapers

A week after Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party ended its pivotal congress of the country’s political elite, there is little evidence in the state-controlled media of a possible return to the openness that once saw high-profile corruption scandals exposed in print here.

Public Unrest Boils Over in Albania

The Albanian opposition is set to hold another mass rally on Friday, even though three people were killed during an anti-government demonstration last week, allegedly by armed forces of the Ministry of Interior.

U.N. to Step Up Battle Against Somali Piracy in Indian Ocean

A former Indian ambassador once jokingly remarked that one of the biggest misconceptions in the United States is that the Indian Ocean belongs to India.

UN Women Head Unveils Empowerment Agenda

Despite birthing 100 percent of the world's children, growing 70 percent of the world's food and performing 60 percent of the world's labour, women only receive a fraction - a mere 10 percent - of the world's income.

EGYPT: Public Noose Tightens Around Mubarak

Demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt continued for the second day in several Egyptian cities with police cracking down violently, a development that many analysts here say reflects the nervousness of the regime.

Press Freedom Under Threat in Age of Wikileaks

Freedom of the press could be seriously impacted across the world in the wake of the ongoing political revelations brought about by whistle-blowing websites such as Wikileaks, one of foremost constitutional law experts in the U.S. said Tuesday.

MIDEAST: PA Could be Too Late for Two States

The credibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the Arab street has been further weakened by the release of the ‘Palestine Papers’, but ironically the release of the explosive documents by Al Jazeera could bolster support for the Palestinian cause internationally.

EGYPT: Mubarak Faces Historic Challenge

Egyptians have demonstrated in protests rare in size and ferocity against the three-decade rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

AFPAK: Polio Rises With Border Flows

Pakistan became the world’s top polio-endemic country in 2010 and is now the biggest source of the polio virus to countries declared polio-free many years ago. Due to the unrestricted movement of children along the long and porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, both countries have begun to put in place a joint strategy to stem the tide of the ailment.

ENVIRONMENT: Smugglers Axing Kashmir Forests

During the summer of 2010 Kashmir saw one of the worst face-offs between pro-freedom Kashmiri youth and law enforcement agencies. Smugglers used the unrest surrounding these outbreaks to conceal their steady ramping up of the black market timber trade, at times with complicity of authorities.

U.S.: Life Sentence for Embassy Bomber Praised by Rights Groups

In the first successful prosecution of a Guantanamo detainee handled entirely by civilian courts, a federal judge Tuesday sentenced Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani to life in prison without parole for his role in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and injured hundreds of others.

U.S.: Republican “Budget Hawks” Zero in on Foreign Aid

With the U.S. national debt standing at 14 trillion dollars, the Barack Obama administration pledging to tackle the monstrous deficit and a Republican-led House of Representatives pushing for a "Cut-and-Grow" Congress, budget hawks are zeroing in on international affairs spending - from diplomacy to development.

ECUADOR: Seven Foreign Oil Companies to Pull Out

Seven of the 16 foreign oil companies operating in Ecuador have decided to pull out of the country in disagreement with a reformed oil law that turned the firms into providers of services to which the government will pay a fixed tariff for operating the fields.

IRAN: Istanbul Talks Prove to Be a Non-Starter

Prospects for a negotiated solution of the world's nuclear quarrel with Iran are cloudier in the aftermath of talks in Istanbul that ended without even an agreement to meet again.

GUATEMALA: High Staple Food Prices Drive Up Hunger

The rise in prices of corn, beans and other staple foods, driven up by damages to crops caused by extreme weather events, is making it even harder for the poor to afford a basic diet in Guatemala, which has the highest rate of child malnutrition in Latin America.

CUBA: Shock at Deaths and Corruption in Psychiatric Hospital

The trial of staff at the Havana Psychiatric Hospital for the deaths of 26 patients who died of cold and neglect revealed a dark chapter in an institution that was once a shining symbol of Cuba's much lauded health care system, and drew reactions of shock and criticism.

Protests Mark Appointment of New PM in Lebanon

The appointment of Hezbollah-backed March 8 movement candidate Najib Mikati as Lebanon's new prime minister set off violence in Tripoli and Beirut Tuesday, with mobs attacking journalists and setting fires.

Israel’s European Friends Get Active

The pro-Israel lobby is seeking to increase its influence among members of Europe’s parliaments by offering them an expenses-paid trip to the Middle East.

CHINA: Children Cry Out for Protection

A growing number of reports in China’s state media have thrust the issue of child abuse into the national spotlight. Many young parents and teachers today have shifting attitudes about corporal punishment, but incidents of abuse are being reported across the country. Affected children are virtually unprotected under the law.