Ship of State Needs More Women at the Helm

Less than 10 percent of the world's political leaders are female, according to United Nations figures, but many of them were present Monday at U.N. headquarters in New York, where they reiterated calls for increased participation for women as critical to both economic development and democracy.

Q&A: “After 50 Years, the Embargo on Cuba Has Failed”

Cuba is urging the U.N. General Assembly to again condemn the U.S. embargo during its 66th session this week, in an annual ritual that has been a political and moral victory for the socialist nation but with little real impact.

ROMANIA: Fixing the Economy, Not Lives

The economic crisis has led Romanian authorities to take some of the toughest austerity measures in Central and Eastern Europe. While no big opposition movement emerged as a result, a special kind of protest has taken place: some have committed suicide to get their messages across.

MEXICO: Peace Movement Meets Zapatistas

The Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity, headed by Mexican writer Javier Sicilia, travelled through southeastern Mexico and reached the heart of the territory controlled by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), bringing a message of solidarity.

Q&A: “Things Are Bound to Change in China”

Before 1999, she was best known as the richest woman in China. Her business empire included a trading firm, real estate investments and a department store, putting her among the top 10 wealthiest individuals in the Asian nation.

Street Clashes Resume in Yemeni Capital

At least 21 people have been killed and over 100 injured in fresh clashes on the streets of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, a day after 26 anti-government protesters were shot dead and hundreds wounded by troops and gunmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

PAKISTAN: Flood Relief by Caste, Creed

With just the clothes on their backs, Moora Sanafdhano, 68, and his family of nine waded through waist-deep flood waters swirling through their village of Allah Ditto Leghari, saving themselves in the nick of time.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Prepare for Settler Attacks Over UN Vote

Amidst reports that the Israeli military is arming and training Israeli settlers in advance of the Palestinian Authority’s bid to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this week, Palestinian activists in the West Bank have organised emergency response teams to document settler attacks and prevent more from taking place.

NORTH KOREA: Women Wear Pants, Revive Markets

North Korea's communist government frowns upon women wearing pants, seeing it as a mark of ‘rotten bourgeois lifestyles.' Yet, wives, literally wearing pants, are selling goods in the local markets to supplement their husbands' meagre pay packets.

MIDEAST: Europe Divided Over Palestinian State

Divisions that have surfaced within the European Union over recognition of the Palestinian Authority as an independent and sovereign state are unlikely to be resolved ahead of a crucial vote in the United Nations next week.

SUDAN: New Conflict Displaces Thousands

The Sudanese government says that a majority of the tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting in the country’s Blue Nile state have started returning to the area. This is despite reports by local and international aid agencies that say people are still fleeing the region.

U.S.: Changing Key Law Could Mean “License to Bribe”

Changes to a key anti-bribery law that applies to international commerce, proposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, could have disastrous consequences, hurting multinational firms, human rights, and the U.S.'s place of respect as an early adopter of the legislation, opponents to the changes argued here Friday.

RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Arrests in Judge’s Murder “Good News” – But Not Enough

The arrest of the alleged killers of Brazilian judge Patrícia Acioli, known for her work against organised crime, is seen by analysts and legislators as a step in the right direction in the fight against corruption and impunity.

U.S.: Republicans Call for Major Cuts to U.N.

As leaders from around the globe begin gathering in New York City for the annual opening of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), Republican lawmakers in Washington are calling for a major overhaul of the world body that would almost certainly result in huge cuts to its budget and operations.

MEXICO: Peace Caravan Tells Migrants “You Are Not Alone”

Lucía and her family left their village in Guatemala village at 8:00 am to join the Peace Caravan, but they had to wait for six hours at the Rodolfo Robles bridge between Ciudad Tecún Umán, in Guatemala, and Ciudad Hidalgo, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

U.N. Security Council Fiddles While Syria Burns

"Syria is on fire," says one exasperated U.N. diplomat, "while the Security Council fiddles."

SOUTH AFRICA: “Secrecy Bill” Step Backwards for Africa

Critics call it "the Secrecy Bill". And it comes at a time when several African countries are adopting promising new legislation on access to information. But campaigners say South Africa's draft Protection of Information Bill represents a step backwards.

Watchdogs Push Hard for War Crimes Probe in Sri Lanka

Despite months of frustrated efforts to secure a full and impartial investigation into possible laws-of-war violations during the last phase of Sri Lanka's civil war, which ended in 2009, leading human rights advocates in the U.S. launched a fresh charge on the island nation's government this week, vowing that, "If the Sri Lankan government won't provide justice for victims, the international community will."

HONDURAS: Cabinet Shake-Up Raises Questions on Influence of Cartels

The dismissal of Óscar Álvarez as minister of security in Honduras, after he proposed a bill that would have allowed him to purge the police force of corrupt elements, has raised suspicions about the political influence of drug cartels.

U.S.: Iraq Intelligence Failures Cast Shadow Over Iran Assessment

As the George W. Bush administration built the case for war with Iraq in the early 2000s, press accounts picked up bits of leaked intelligence that described a weapons of mass destruction threat from then president Saddam Hussein. But once the U.S. military entered Iraq, they found nothing.

NEPAL: No Brakes on Sex Trafficking

While a Nepalese campaign to stop human trafficking gains recognition by the White House and Hollywood, Nepal continues to be a prime source for sex trafficking, thanks to unsettled conditions created by a protracted political crisis.