Unexpected Nomination by Obama for World Bank Chief

In a surprise to many development and finance experts here on Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Jim Yong Kim, a relatively unknown but highly regarded international health specialist to become the next president of the World Bank.

Protests in Southern Chile Spread to Other Remote Regions

Protests in the southern Chilean city of Puerto Aysén over the region’s isolation and high local prices of fuel and food have spread to other isolated regions of the country.

Rights Groups Slam Renewed U.S. Military Aid to Egypt

The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that military aid to Egypt will resume, citing a national security waiver that was included in the most resent appropriations legislation on foreign assistance.

Mali Junta Courts Civil Society

A majority of political representatives have so far maintained their distance from the leaders of a coup that toppled the government earlier this week, but several religious and political personalities have already shown a willingness to work with the new regime.

U.S. Urged to Leverage Security Cooperation with Bahrain

As government crackdowns continue, Bahrain is attracting more international visitors than just those coming in preparation for next month's Forumla One Grand Prix.

Locals Don’t Want Cell Phone Towers Next to See-saws in El Salvador

"You see? That's where they were going to put the antenna," says Alicia Suncín, pointing to a spot in the middle of a park in the Salvadoran capital where a private company was planning to erect a cell phone tower, 10 metres away from swings and see-saws where children play.

U.S. Occupy Activists Hit With Stay-Away Orders

A dozen or so people in the Wednesday night crowd of around 150 at the amphitheatre in the public plaza at Oakland City Hall covered their faces with masks or bandanas.

Asia Is Up in Arms

The geopolitical centre of gravity, as measured in arms spending and transfers, has shifted to Asia.

DRC Elections – U.N. Condemns Rights Violations

A report by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office has slammed the government and security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, condemning electoral violence linked to the Nov. 30 elections which led to at least 33 deaths in the capital, Kinshasa.

Tourism Woes Replace Terrorism in Kashmir

As separatist militancy peters out in Kashmir, the valley is beset by armies of tourists who bring in the dollars but devastate the fragile ecology of ‘Asia’s Switzerland’.

French Muslims Fear Stigmatisation After Killings

"The murderer is gone, and now it’s us who will have to live with the consequences." That’s how a Muslim shopkeeper summed up for IPS the death and legacy of the man suspected of murdering seven people in three separate attacks in France.

Opinions Divided Over Chevron Trial in Brazil

Opinions are divided in Brazil over the prosecution of U.S. oil giant Chevron for two oil spills. While some argue that the legal action is an over-reaction triggered by nationalism, others say it is necessary to show that Brazil is serious about protecting the environment.

Bahrainis Demand More Than Cosmetic Reforms

Months after an independent commission presented damning evidence of the Bahraini government's crackdown on pro- democracy demonstrators, thousands press on with a reinvigorated protest movement for genuine reform.

Mali Mutiny ‘Topples’ President Toure

Renegade Malian soldiers say they have ended the rule of President Amadou Toumani Toure after seizing control of the presidential palace and the state television station in the West African nation.

Sri Lanka Unfazed by U.N. Rights Resolution

As the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted in, Thursday, a resolution asking Colombo to act on recommendations made by its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), Buddhist prayers reverberated through the Sri Lankan capital.

Calais Draws More Refugees, And Trouble

It’s more than two years since French police demolished the migrant squatter camp in Calais known as the Jungle in September 2009. At the time the widely-publicised demolition was hailed by the French and British authorities as a major blow to the smugglers or passeurs who facilitated illegal immigration across the Channel.

Activists in Mexico Want to Be Heard by the Pope

Spiralling violence, demands for justice voiced by victims of child sexual abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic priests, and ordination of women priests are issues that, in the view of experts and activists, Pope Benedict XVI will not be able to evade in his visit to Mexico.

Anti-Discrimination Bill Fast-Tracked After Brutal Gay Bashing

"We shouldn't have to live in fear. We're citizens and voters of Chile, we have jobs, and yet we live in daily fear of being attacked," said 33-year-old Carla Oviedo, a victim of discrimination on the grounds of her sexual orientation.

Karzai’s Team Clashes over Relations With U.S.

The increasing influence of a conservative circle within President Hamid Karzai's palace has impeded progress in signing a crucial strategic agreement with the U.S. to chart the relationship beyond 2014, officials and analysts have said.

Red Tape Mutes Community Radio in India

Security concerns appear to have stymied the growth of community radio (CR) in India, a vast and diverse country of 1.2 billion people, the bulk of them living in remote, rural areas.

Palestinian Children Learn the Brazilian Way

Standing under a canopy just inside Jerusalem’s Old City walls, a group of 20 Palestinian children are banging drums, clapping their hands and singing in Portuguese. This is capoeira, the traditional Afro-Brazilian sport that mixes dance, music and martial arts, and it is sweeping through the West Bank and East Jerusalem.