Europe Confronts Its Borders

The influx of Tunisian migrants into Europe following the country’s ‘Jasmine Revolt’ has sparked a debate over the application of the passport-free Schengen Agreement.

GREECE: Social Media Advances Against Elite Owners

An unflattering report on Greece’s media by a former United States envoy to this country, revealed by Wikileaks, evoked little public reaction because it was taken as a faithful portrayal.

Familiar Hawks Press Obama on Iraq Withdrawal

A familiar group of mainly neo-conservative hawks – many of whom championed the 2003 invasion of Iraq –released an open letter to President Barack Obama Thursday urging him to retain a substantial military force in that Middle East country beyond this year.

Inheriting the Whirlwind of Extreme Events

The dramatic increase in extreme weather that has affected hundreds of millions across the planet is one of the clearest signs that burning billions of tonnes fossil fuels has seriously and permanently disrupted the global climate, experts say.

COLOMBIA: Uribe’s Former Intelligence Chief Sent to Prison

Jorge Noguera, a regional manager of former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe's (2002-2010) election campaign in 2002 and head of the secret police during the Uribe administration, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. "I trusted him; if he committed a crime it pains me, and I apologise to the people," Uribe said Wednesday.

ZAMBIA: Social Media to Monitor Elections

When Zambians go the polls on Sep. 20 they will have the most effective team of observers monitoring the electoral process – themselves. Citizens, through social media, will be able to report offences and irregularities during and before the general elections.

OP-ED-US: How the Road from 9/11 Led to My Door

For ten years, the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, have been used as a pretext for war - tens of thousands dead in Afghanistan, more than a million killed in Iraq and a campaign of repression at home, carried out against thousands of Arabs, Muslims, and now, even the peace movement.

Concrete Impact of Palestine’s U.N. Bid Still Uncertain

Despite the frenzy of media attention bestowed upon Palestine's expected bid for statehood at the United Nations later this month, some doubt the impact it would have on the political complexities of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the humanitarian issues and human rights abuses that many Palestinians face regularly.

China Increasingly Central to Caribbean Development

By the time Wang Qishan, China's vice premier, arrived in Trinidad for the Third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum earlier this week, Beijing had already ramped up its involvement with most countries in the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping.

BRAZIL: African Refugees in the Amazon

Wilson Nicolas, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was the first African refugee to find his way to Brazil's Amazon jungle region, and seems to have started a trend.

U.S.-IRAQ: Hawks Fret Over U.S. Withdrawal

Eclipsed by the war in Afghanistan, growing tensions between Israel and its neighbours, and the continuing reverberations of the so-called "Arab Spring", Iraq is inching back into the news here as a debate over the future of U.S. military forces there gathers steam.

Palestinians Face Large Cuts in U.S. Aid

With a vote on the Palestinians' status at the United Nations scheduled for next week, the Barack Obama administration has made its opposition to any upgrade of Palestinian status in the world body quite clear.

U.N. Racism Meet to Reaffirm Durban Declaration on Palestine

When a landmark world conference against racism adopted a historic political declaration in the South African port city of Durban back in 2001, the 62-page document covered virtually every conceivable act of racism, xenophobia and racial intolerance worldwide.

U.S.-SAUDI ARABIA: Agreeing on Less and Less

Accumulating strains between the United States and Saudi Arabia are steadily weakening one of the world's longest lasting and most effective bilateral alliances, according to observers here.

NATO-Led Forces Secure Kabul After Attacks

Afghan and NATO forces have ended their assault on Taliban fighters, 20 hours after the group launched coordinated attacks in Kabul, targeting NATO's headquarters, the U.S. embassy and the Afghan intelligence agency.

IRAN: Hikers’ Fate Exposes Fractures Between Executive and Judiciary

Just 24 hours after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that two U.S. hikers who have been detained for nearly two years would be released on bail, the country's judiciary insisted that the decision remains under review.

TURKEY: War of Words Lost in Translation

Bellicose dialectic between Turkey and Israel reached a new height last week and has precipitated the deteriorating relationship between the two former allies to new depth. But it is for the moment unclear whether Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's threats to cut the Israeli navy's perceived power and presence to size in Eastern Mediterranean represent a true tactical decision in Ankara's strategy to expand its influence in the Middle East, or a mere coup-de- theatre for domestic and Arab consumption.

MOROCCO: Demands for Autonomy Spread

Morocco's offer of autonomy to Western Sahara to stave off demands for full independence is boomeranging on the kingdom with other regions now demanding similar freedom.

At the U.N., Palestinians Keep Cards Close to the Chest

When the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly opened Tuesday, one of the key questions lingering in the minds of most delegates was the state of Palestine - literally and metaphorically.

MEXICO: Peace Caravan “Has Made Us Feel Stronger”

With a huge hug, Olga Reyes from Chihuahua, who has lost six family members in Mexico's wave of drug-related violence, greets Araceli Rodríguez from Mexico state, the mother of a young federal police officer who "disappeared" in Michoacán two years ago.

Companies Vow to Shun Child Labour in Uzbekistan

With Fashion Week under way in New York, Milan and London, more than 60 apparel companies from the United States and Europe this week publicly pledged to not knowingly buy cotton that has been harvested by children forced to labour in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan.