PAKISTAN: Like Other Assassinations Bhutto's Remains a Mystery

"The chapter is closed, and the Pakistan People’s Party [PPP] is dead. It doesn’t matter who killed her," said Mohammad Sharif, a young driver working for a voluntary agency, referring to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination on Dec. 27 last year.

RIGHTS-US: “Bad Apples” Didn’t Fall Far From the Tree

On the heels of a bipartisan Congressional report blaming high-level officials of the George W. Bush administration for employing harsh interrogation techniques on detainees captured in the "global war on terror", many of the world's most respected civil libertarians are calling for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the alleged abuses.

RIGHTS-INDIA: New Anti-Terror Laws Draconian Say Activists

Following the late November terror attacks in Mumbai, India has passed two tough laws being seen by rights activists as potentially eroding the country’s federal structure and limiting fundamental liberties.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Anti-Terror Laws Under Increasing Fire

As the Rudd government continues to speak of the need to balance concerns for civil liberties with maintaining intrusive counter-terror legislation to protect Australia, rights groups are stepping up their campaign against the laws.

POLITICS: Scant Support for U.S. Naval Forces in the Gulf

A new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org conducted in 21 nations around the world finds widespread opposition to the United States maintaining naval forces based in the Persian Gulf.

RIGHTS: U.N. Declaration Is “Alive and Well”, in Theory at Least

Despite a motley record of government respect for the 60-year-old U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, a new poll of citizens in 25 countries around the world shows strong support for the broad principles of freedom and equality it champions.

US-IRAQ: Immunity Recedes for Private Contractors

The virtually total impunity from prosecution accorded to private contractors in Iraq may be coming to an end.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: Scandal over CIA “Renditions” Flights Revived

Portuguese European Parliament member Ana Gomes will ask the EU legislative body to restart the debate on stopovers in EU territory by secret CIA flights carrying prisoners captured in Afghanistan.

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Kashmiri Leaders Aghast at Mumbai Massacre

Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, a bone of contention between India and Pakistan for more than 60 years, are aghast at last week's carnage in the Indian port city of Mumbai, carried out by armed men who apparently sailed in from the Pakistani port of Karachi.

BOOKS-US: Cloak-and-Dagger, Inc.

When Barack Obama visits the Virginia headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in the not-too-distant future, he might want to scan the room to see how many of them sport green badges, the telltale sign that they are contractors and not federal employees.

RIGHTS: Ret. Officers Urge Obama to Expunge “Stain of Torture”

As a group of retired military leaders prepared to urge U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to quickly put an end to the harsh interrogation practices inflicted on security prisoners, a new United Nations report charged that Iraqi authorities were committing "grave human rights violations" in their treatment of thousands of detainees.

RIGHTS-PERU: Leftist Leaders Targeted by Anti-Terror Police

Based on information from a laptop computer belonging to Colombian guerrilla leader Raúl Reyes, Peru’s anti-terrorism police have requested arrest warrants for 14 leftist politicians and trade unionists from Peru for supposed ties to Colombia’s FARC guerrillas.

INDIA: Caught Unprepared for Mumbai Terror

More than 24 hours after a group of armed men mounted a series of coordinated attacks on Mumbai, India's main port and financial hub, leaving more than 125 people dead, it has become painfully apparent that this country is woefully unprepared for terrorist attacks of this type.

RIGHTS-US: No Amnesty for Cheney et al, Say Torture Opponents

Judging by the rare leaks from President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, investigations and prosecutions of high-level George W. Bush administration officials for torture and war crimes are a distant prospect. But likely or not, that won't stop pundits from debating the question of whether those officials responsible should be held accountable.

EUROPE: Criticising Bush, And Copying Him

Outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush has been unpopular in Europe, but his policies in fighting the 'war on terror' have found many takers.

POLITICS: Greybeards Urge Overhaul of Global Governance

Capping a nearly two-year consultation involving dozens of U.S. and international leaders, a new report by three U.S. think tanks is calling on President-elect Barack Obama and other leaders to implement sweeping reforms in global governance to more effectively tackle shared regional and global threats over the next half century.

US-PAKISTAN: Obama-Tied Think Tank Calls for “Dramatic” Shift

A think tank closely tied to U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama is calling for a "dramatic strategic shift" in Washington's policy towards Pakistan, one designed to both strengthen civilian institutions and promote an effective counter-insurgency against al Qaeda and indigenous Islamist extremists in the tribal areas along the Afghan border who increasingly threaten the country's stability.

RIGHTS-US: Activists Seek Executive Order Banning Torture

Shutting down the infamous detention centre at Guantanamo Bay is just one of a series of measures to reform U.S. counterterrorism practices being urged by the watchdog organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW).

POLITICS: U.S. Task Force Found Few Iranian Arms in Iraq

Last April, top George W. Bush administration officials, desperate to exploit any possible crack in the close relationship between the Nouri al-Maliki government and Iran, launched a new round of charges that Iran had stepped up covert arms assistance to Shi'a militias.

U.S.: First, Close Guantanamo, Say Rights Groups

President-elect Barack Obama should make the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility a top priority when he takes office Jan. 20, U.S. and international human rights groups said Monday.

POLITICS: World Leaders Seek Culture of Peace

When more than a dozen world leaders meet in New York next week to discuss "the culture of peace", the primary focus will be the growing misperception of religion, specifically Islam, and the increase in racism, xenophobia and intolerance worldwide.