Support Builds for Syrian National Council

What was once a glaring weakness in the seven-month Syrian revolution and uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad is now slowly transforming into one of its strengths with the coalescence of opposition groups into the Syrian National Council (SNC) earlier this month.

INDIA: Kashmiri on Death Row Galvanises Opposition to Death Penalty

"Is Afzal Guru really the person that so many Indians supposedly want dead? Or are they taking out their frustrations on an easy target?" asked Human Rights Watch, referring to the death sentence handed down to the Kashmiri man who was convicted of conspiracy in the 2001 suicide attack on the Indian Parliament.

Human Development from a Cuban Perspective

Excluded from the 2010 Human Development Index, Cuba will issue a report of its own, which will reflect the impact of an economic crisis that has lasted for 20-plus years, and will show social and health indicators typical of the developed world.

DEATH PENALTY: Arab League Asked to Intervene

Campaigners from around the world have called upon the Arab League and on the African Commission on Human and People's Rights to explore the possibility of adopting regional protocols to abolish the death penalty.

U.S.: Backlash Swells Against New “Gilded Age”

The encampment of disenchanted young protesters in New York City's financial district has exposed growing anger around the United States over rising inequality and a stubborn jobs crisis.

Egypt Army Seeks Probe into Cairo Clashes

Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has called for a speedy investigation into Sunday night's deadly clashes in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, that left at least 26 dead and more than 300 injured, mostly Coptic Christians.

LIBERIA: “Security Risk” at Ivory Coast Border Ahead of Elections

As Liberia gears up for Tuesday’s presidential and legislative elections, officials stationed near the border with Ivory Coast have expressed concern that insufficient border security - a problem highlighted by two recent cross-border attacks - could fuel electoral violence.

MIDEAST: Prisoners on Hunger Strike Find New Support

Sitting in the shade of a small lemon tree in the German Colony area of Haifa, eight Palestinian activists are on hunger strike since Saturday in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners who have been striking for nearly two weeks in protest against poor prison conditions and a lack of basic rights.

ISRAEL: Showing Tolerance for Intolerance

"On Saturday, we as a nation atoned for our sins. I as a Jew feel ashamed of myself. I'm asking for forgiveness," declared Ron Hulday, mayor of this mixed city, immediately at the closing of the Day of Atonement.

LIBERIA: Mixed Reviews for Johnson-Sirleaf’s Nobel Peace Prize

As the Norwegian Nobel Committee named Liberian President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf a joint winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, opposition party supporters were flooding the streets of Monrovia to demand that she be voted out of office in the upcoming election.

MIDEAST: Media Throttled From All Sides

As media freedoms throughout the occupied Palestinian territories continue to decline, human rights groups are urging the international community to pressure Israeli and Palestinian security forces to respect and facilitate the ability of journalists to do their work.

PAKISTAN: Divided Over the Death Penalty

"I think Mumtaz Qadri carried out his action in a highly emotional state and should not be given the death penalty," Mufti Muhammad Naeem, founder of Binoria University International, a religious seminary in Karachi tells IPS. Qadri has been sentenced to death on two counts for assassinating Punjab governor Salman Taseer in January this year.

“Pirates” Board Berlin Parliament

It was a political sensation: 8.9 percent of the 1.53 million Berliners who participated in the city-state parliamentary elections on Sep. 18 (overall turnout was 60 percent) voted for the Pirate Party (Piratenpartei).

EGYPT: Islamists and Secularists Draw Closer

Egypt, routinely the cradle for new Arab and Islamic ideologies, is now witnessing the birth of yet another line of thought - Islamic Liberalism. The term is touted now as a panacea for the eight-month impasse that has locked Islamists and their secularist rivals in bitter bickering over how this Arab nation should be governed after the fall of former dictator Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.

SRI LANKA: Struggling Beside the Shining New Road

The sun’s rays bouncing off the A9 highway give it a shining glow. Once known as Sri Lanka’s ‘highway of death’, the road has come a long way from those macabre associations.

U.S.: Republican Frontrunner Touts Neo-Conservative Foreign Policy

In his first major foreign policy address of the 2012 presidential campaign, Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney Friday presented a largely neo-conservative platform similar to that pursued by George W. Bush, although he never mentioned the former president by name.

SPAIN: Streets Paved with Evicted Families

As the number of apartments and houses left empty in Spain due to failure to make mortgage or rental payments climbs, tens of thousands of families, including many immigrants, are living on the streets, in shantytowns, or crowded into seedy boarding houses.

U.S. Move to Block Palestine in UNESCO Likely to Fail

Despite a slim chance of diplomatic victory, the United States is leading a mostly Western attempt to block Palestinian membership in the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Around the Globe, Workers Demand Decent Jobs

The modern English word "economy" is derived from the Greek "oikonomia", meaning "household management".

MEXICO: Efficient Transport Needed for a Cleaner Environment

Policies for higher fuel efficiency in vehicles could contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of transportation, which is responsible for 23 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, according to experts at a meeting in the Mexican capital.

U.S. Congress Blocks Humanitarian, Security Aid to Palestinians

Eager to demonstrate their fidelity to Israel and make good on threats to punish Palestinians for seeking statehood status from the United Nations, U.S. lawmakers are blocking the disbursement of tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian and security assistance for the occupied territories.