MIDEAST: A Price to Pay for Israeli Aid Restrictions

Israeli restrictions on the delivery of international aid to impoverished Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories are costing aid organisations nearly five million dollars annually, and European and U.S. tax payers are footing the bill.

Moussa Seeks to Calm Arab Countries ‘Privately’

Leaving his position as secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa is now a "private citizen" as he prepares to contest the Egyptian presidential election. And as a private citizen there is little he can do officially to fight government crackdown on citizens across parts of the Arab world, he tells IPS in an interview.

Fresh Vegetables Endangering Health Again

The deadly epidemic of escherichia coli (EHEC) in Germany, that broke out in mid May, and which has killed 29 people so far, is the latest in a series of food and hygiene emergencies that have shaken European households for more than a decade.

CUBA: South-South Diplomacy Props Up Economic Modernisation

The diplomatic offensive undertaken by Cuba in recent weeks is propping up the most important medium-term development programmes implemented as part of what the Raúl Castro government describes as the "updating" of the economic system without abandoning socialism.

Turkish PM ‘To Govern for All’ After Poll Win

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won a third term in parliament, winning nearly 50 percent of the vote in the country's general election.

Dam Project in Turkey Breeds Controversy

The tranquillity and mystery of this town on the banks of Tigris River will not last long. The millennia-old town will be nearly totally destroyed once the nearby Ilisu dam, built for energy and irrigation, is complete.

New Fear of Civil War in Sudan

The escalation of violence around the north-south border in the run-up to Sudan’s big divide has sparked fears of a new civil war, but experts contend that the issue is more about land and water rather than oil.

Ninety Percent of Petraeus’s Captured “Taliban” Were Civilians

During his intensive initial round of media interviews as commander in Afghanistan in August 2010, Gen. David Petraeus released figures to the news media that claimed spectacular success for raids by Special Operations Forces: in a 90-day period from May through July, SOF units had captured 1,355 rank and file Taliban, killed another 1,031, and killed or captured 365 middle or high-ranking Taliban.

MIDEAST: Fishing Under Fire

In Gaza's main port, beyond the newly-built memorial to the Freedom Flotilla martyrs, Gaza's fishermen prepare to go out trawling at shallow depths in Palestinian waters. Other fishers stay on land to mend nets and fix boats damaged or destroyed by Israeli navy gunfire, shelling, water cannoning and even ramming. Such moves as the opening of Rafah have done nothing for Gaza's fishermen.

BAHRAIN: Tribunal-Issued Death Sentences Cause Outcry

Democracy advocates in the United States are troubled by the pending execution of two men who took part in anti-government protests in Bahrain.

INDIA: Gandhism Returns to Fight Corruption

Almost 65 years after Mahatma Gandhi used "satyagraha" or "truth force" to lead a movement against British rule in India, Gandhism is back, this time facing an enemy more pernicious than colonialism: corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen stashing stolen wealth abroad.

Q&A: “Full Reparations Must Be Guaranteed” for Displaced Victims in Colombia

Human rights groups and small farmers' associations will keep close watch in Colombia to make sure the new Victims' and Land Restitution Law, signed by President Juan Manuel Santos Friday, is effectively implemented.

U.S.: Alabama’s Immigration Bill “Turns Back Clock” on Civil Liberties

On Dec. 1, 1955, at the height of racial segregation in the United States, a little-known middle-aged seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery City bus in the southern state of Alabama.

Q&A: Land and Victims Law Crucial for Millions of Displaced Farmers in Colombia

The Victims and Land Restitution Law, signed Friday by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, "is an important message for reconciliation in the country," said lawmaker Guillermo Rivera, one of the sponsors of the law.

OP-ED: Global CO2 Emissions Reach a New Record High

The alarm bells this time are not being rung by climate scientists or by environmental activists. They are being rung by none other than the International Energy Agency (IEA) - the institution established in the 1970s to defend the interests of Western oil consuming nations.

PERU: Humala Pledges Justice for Sterilisation Victims

Peruvian President-elect Ollanta Humala will push the legal system to investigate and prosecute those responsible for a massive forced sterilisation campaign targeting poor indigenous women carried out by the government of Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), said the spokeswoman for Humala's party, Aída García Naranjo.

EUROPE: Turkish election campaign enters final hours

The leaders of Turkey's political parties have staged their final rallies before the country goes to the polls on Sunday in parliamentary elections with crucial consequences for the nation's future.

OP-ED: The War in Libya: The African Union’s Mistake of Policy and Principle

Africa's handling of the Libyan crisis at the United Nations has been timorous and confusing, but it presents an opportunity as well as a challenge for the continental body on how it defines its future strategic interests.

GUATEMALA: Future Interoceanic Corridor Will Rival Panama Canal

Guatemala will become a hub of connection and logistics for world trade when a highway-rail cargo transport corridor linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is completed.

BURKINA FASO: Mutiny Suppressed, But Questions Remain

Despite decisively putting down the most recent mutiny by rebellious soldiers, the Burkinabé government is facing questions over its ability to provide a long-term resolution to a crisis that has gripped the country for several months.

Death Penalty Popular in China

Despite government efforts to curb the number of people it puts to death, China continues to execute more people than the rest of the world combined, and corporal punishment remains popular among the citizenry.