Western Sahara Talks Drag on Amid Deadly Clashes

Disappointed with the outcome of the most recent informal talks with Morocco, the pro-independence leaders of Western Sahara are calling for the U.N. to take action against what they describe as Rabat's "unprovoked military aggression" against their people.

Burma’s Junta Switches from Fatigues to Plain Clothes

On May 30, 2003, the Depayin Massacre in Burma (Myanmar) left at least 70 people dead. A failed attempt to assassinate opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the attack was carried out by the pro-junta political militia, the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA).

CUBA: Socialist System Charts Economic Future

Cuba will develop its socialist economy relying on integration with friendly countries, accepting foreign capital as a complement to national investment, using its human capital efficiently and increasing high added value production, according to draft guidelines to be discussed by society at large.

U.S.: Few Big Fish Land in Immigration Dragnet

Putting local police on the "front lines" of immigration enforcement is distracting federal agencies from their objectives by turning over people with no criminal history, or those who have committed minor or non-violent crimes, and setting them on a course toward unnecessary deportation.

Behind Drone Issue in Yemen, a Struggle to Control Covert Ops

The drone war that has been anticipated in Yemen for the last few months has been delayed by the failure of U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) to generate usable intelligence on al Qaeda there.

COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: Rights Case May Be Spanner in Works of Restoration of Ties

A decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate Ecuador's complaint against Colombia for the killing of an Ecuadorean citizen in a 2008 cross-border bombing raid came just as the two countries appear to be on the verge of restoring diplomatic relations.

INDIA: India Edges Closer to Permanent UN Seat

A permanent seat in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is no longer a pie in the sky for India with U.S. President Barack Obama formally endorsing the candidature of this Asian giant with 1.2 billion people.

MIDEAST: In Jerusalem, East Is Nobody’s

The Palestinian Prime Minister ventured into Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem bypassing Israeli security authorities who tried to stop him. The city's Israeli mayor, who also wanted to venture into the eastern of part of 'his' city, was unable to because of objections from those same Israeli authorities.

LAOS: For Cluster Bomb Survivors, War Far From Over

Eighteen-year-old Phongsavath Manithong rubbed his eyes with the back of his arms as he described how his life changed forever.

Obama Lawyers Defend “Kill Lists”

Lawyers for the Barack Obama administration told a federal judge Monday that the U.S. government has authority to kill U.S. citizens whom the executive branch has unilaterally determined pose a threat to national security.

G20: Heading Towards the End of Globalisation?

A "grave recession" in the world economy may lie ahead, with a profusion of new barriers to trade and capital flows, if the Group of 20 major economies (G20) fail to come up with solutions to the present crisis.

Muslim Americans Foil Terror Threats

A new report on violent extremists in the United States finds that terrorism plots by non-Muslims greatly outnumber those attempted by Muslims, and that Muslim-American communities helped foil close to a third of al Qaeda-related terror plots threatening the country since Sep. 11, 2001.

CUBA: Families Face Tense Wait for Dissidents’ Release

The families of the last 13 Cuban dissidents set to be released from prison are experiencing "tension, but we have not lost hope that they might be freed at any moment.

Multi-Billion-Dollar Arms Deals Could Haunt U.S.

When the Shah of Iran, a strongly pro-U.S. ally, was ousted from power after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the stridently anti-U.S. regime of Ayatollah Khomeini that captured power also inherited a military bonanza: billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art weapons provided by the United States.

POLITICS-BURMA: Few Surprises in First Poll in 20 Years

"People were busy watching Al-Jazeera and DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) TV, but not about the vote," a Buddhist monk here remarked at the end of election day on Nov. 7, the first general poll to be held in this military-ruled country in 20 years.

DEATH PENALTY: Sudan Still Sentencing Minors to Death

Four minors are among nine people who have been sentenced to death for a carjacking in Khour Baskawit in South Darfur. The case has raised fresh concerns over protection for children's rights in Sudan.

US-IRAN: Netanyahu Pounds War Drums

Less than a week after Republicans made major gains in the U.S. midterm elections, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called on President Barack Obama to "create a credible threat of military action" against Iran.

BOOKS-US: Dissecting the Perpetual War Machine

Andrew J. Bacevich emerged in the first decade of the century as this country's most widely read and widely respected critic of U.S. militarism and empire.

Canada’s Parliament Buckles under Weight of Mining Industry

The corporate clout of the mining industry trumped political ideology in Canada when members of all political parties helped to narrowly defeat a bill late last month that would have imposed standards on Canadian mining companies operating in developing countries.

ARGENTINA: Worker-run Companies Quietly Surviving

After the late 2001 financial and political meltdown in Argentina, thousands of companies were abandoned by their owners in a sea of debt. But some of them were taken over and reopened by their employees. Today, as the economy continues to grow, these worker-run factories are still going strong.

INDONESIA: Minority Religions Pray For End to Discrimination

Clutching bibles and song leaflets, members of a Protestant church flocked into a one-storey building here, situated next to a new shopping mall on one of the busiest streets in this municipality in Indonesia’s West Java province.