AFGHANISTAN: The Pressure Is Now on Central Asian Supply Route

The Northern Distribution Network, the key re-supply route for U.S. and NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan, is set to experience a spike in traffic due to the closure of the Pakistani-Afghan border. But it will take several weeks for the United States and NATO to work out the logistics of rerouting cargo.

CANADA: Alternative School Sparks Fears of Division and Isolation

The Toronto public school board has approved the second 'Africentric' Alternative School despite persistent criticism that the format attracts mainly black students and is equivalent to segregation in a country that prides itself on national unity regardless of ethnic differences.

OP-ED: How About an Israeli Destruction Freeze?

Much was made of what many in the media described as a "confrontation" between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama over the building of illegal Israeli settlements (or colonies) in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

CARIBBEAN: Castro Comes Calling as U.S. Tries to Pull the Plug

Even the rains seemed to have joined forces against Cuban President Raul Castro.

Civil War Looms as Syrian Protests Grow Increasingly Complex

As the Syrian uprising enters its ninth month, it faces some of its most daunting challenges to date, despite the consolidation of near-unanimous international condemnation of the Syrian government.

NEPAL: Giving Up Guns for Motherhood

Sonikumari Jha puts on her green camouflage fatigues, deftly laces up her boots and is ready to step out and announce her decision to embrace a new life. Her four-year-old son, who has been watching the same rote for years, is puzzled by an important omission. "Mama, you have forgotten your gun," he calls out.

Cuba Strengthens Regional Ties

With the recently-created Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Cuba is strengthening its regional reinsertion, while progress towards normal ties with the United States would appear to remain a distant prospect, and the return of the right-wing Popular Party to power in Spain could reopen tensions on that front.

LATIN AMERICA: Human Rights Agenda Has Expanded

Although the public identifies human rights organisations in Latin America with resistance to the dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s, for years now these groups have broadened their concerns to encompass environmental and other issues.

Stepping Towards Nuclear-Free Middle East

Representatives from over 65 organisations and countries convened in Amman, Jordan last week in an effort to lay the groundwork for the United Nations' goal of creating a Middle East without nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

Arab Spring Set to Music

The ability of artists to lyrically articulate the growing rage amongst disgruntled youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has seen the emergence of politicised rap as a hidden weapon during the region's Arab Spring.

False Perceptions Underpin Anti-Migrant Sentiments

The rising tide of anti-migrant sentiment worldwide is caused primarily by the biased, polarised and negative debate on migration, according to a new study released here.

Q&A: ICC Referral Crucial to Ending Violence in Syria

"The violent crackdown against peaceful protesters and civilians in the Syrian Arab Republic has continued... since March of this year. More than 4,000 people have reportedly been killed. Tens of thousands have been arrested."

PERU: Protest Against Mine Continues Despite State of Emergency

Local residents and authorities in the northern Peruvian region of Cajamarca say they will continue to protest the Conga gold mine, despite the state of emergency declared by President Ollanta Humala.

Q&A: South-South Cooperation Complements North-South Cooperation

South-South cooperation can play a key role in boosting the economies of developing countries, but it is not going to replace North-South cooperation, says Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, president of the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly.

SOUTH AMERICA: To Beijing with Love

South America has managed to withstand the knock-on effects of recession in the EU and U.S. thanks to the protection offered by the soaring Asian demand for commodities. But many things could change in the medium term.

BOOKS-US: Deconstructing Thomas Friedman

A new book on the influential New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman sets out to debunk his hawkish, neoliberal views, accusing him of overt racism, factual errors and skewed judgments on issues ranging from the U.S. invasion of Iraq to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

NEPAL: Protests Fail to Stop Climate Loans

Nepal will implement five projects with 110 million dollars sanctioned by the controversial Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), ignoring protestors who say this least developed country merits grants rather than climate loans.

OP-ED: Occupy Foreign Affairs

It's not the topic of George Packer's latest essay that's particularly surprising. Inequality, he writes, is undermining democracy. Progressives have been hammering home this message for years if not decades.

Shale Gas May Be a Mexican Mirage

In spite of mounting scientific evidence about its negative aspects, Mexico is getting ready to intensify exploration for shale gas, natural gas found trapped in shale, a sedimentary rock.

ISRAEL: ‘Don’t be Right, be Clever’

Is his reticence vis-à-vis the Palestinians justified? Has his unsympathetic view of the convulsions gripping the Middle East conquered the world's leaders? Is he right about Iran's nuclear intentions?

CHINA: Enforced Disappearances on the Rise

China is experiencing the worst crackdown since 1989 with a rising number of enforced disappearances of activists, a prominent Chinese dissident now living in exile has stated.