Report Calls to Engage Iran’s People While Preventing Nuke

The U.S. should not only focus on the short-term goal of “suspending or delaying” Iran’s alleged quest for a nuclear weapons capability, but also on “curtailing Iran’s other worrisome activities in the region while encouraging - or at least, not derailing - a better relationship with the citizens of the pivotal state,” according to a report released Thursday by the Washington-based Atlantic Council.

BOOKS: Afpak Insider Dissects Obama’s Policy Missteps

Publication this month of Vali Nasr’s "The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat" is well-timed.

Leaking Pipeline Offers Warning on Keystone XL Proposal

Environmental groups are sounding alarms about conflicting reports on the size and seriousness of an oil spill that took place late last week in the southern U.S. state of Arkansas.

Escalating Korea Crisis Dims Hopes for Denuclearisation

With all sides seeming to climb further up the escalatory ladder over the last several days, defusing the ongoing crisis on the Korean Peninsula -- let alone persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal as it once promised to do -- looks daunting.

P5+1 Coalition Fraying on Eve of Second Almaty Talks with Iran

On the eve of its second round of talks with Iran on curbing its nuclear programme in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the so-called P5+1 (U.S., Britain, France, China, and Russia plus Germany) is showing signs of growing disunity, according to the European Union’s former top foreign policy official.

Veto Returns to Haunt Big Powers in Arms Trade Treaty

When the United Nations set out to draft a politically-sensitive Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), ever since negotiations began in 2006, member states agreed to take the final decision by "consensus".

Iraq, Afghanistan Wars Will Cost U.S. 4-6 Trillion Dollars: Report

Costs to U.S. taxpayers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will run between four and six trillion dollars, making them the most expensive conflicts in U.S. history, according to a new report by a prominent Harvard University researcher.

U.S. Eyes Pension Funds to Renew Crumbling Infrastructure

President Barack Obama doubled down on a new push for infrastructure investment in a major speech Friday, highlighting roads, ports and bridges that many say have suffered from decades of insufficient upkeep.

U.S. Unveils Major New Proposal to Cut Vehicle Emissions

Environmentalists and public health advocates are lauding a key, long-awaited proposal put forward by President Barack Obama’s administration that would require cleaner gasoline and more effective technologies on vehicles, cutting various harmful emissions by 40 to 80 percent.

“Crowdfunding” Gives Boost to Renewables in U.S.

A U.S. company called Mosaic has unveiled a new way for citizens to use the Internet to invest in specific solar energy projects around the country.

U.S. Pesticide Approval Process “Grievously Flawed”

An environment group here is warning that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a key government regulator, may have been haphazardly approving thousands of pesticides for decades, some of which pose risks to both human and environmental health.

U.S. Fourth Graders Fight to Bring Home Deported Classmate

Rodrigo Javier Diaz Guzman was a fairly typical Berkeley, California kid. He loved playing baseball and video games, enjoyed school and got good grades, watched Ninjago on TV, and ate take-out burritos and Chinese food whenever he could.

U.S. High Court in Hot Seat over Same-Sex Marriage

On the second day of oral arguments in two different cases involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed serious doubts about the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which codifies the non-recognition of same-sex marriage for federal and inter-state purposes.

Iranian People Caught in Crossfire of Dueling Messages

Since Barack Obama became president of the United States, messages marking the Iranian New Year – Norouz - celebrated at the onset of spring have become yearly affairs. So have responses given by Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from the city of Mashhad where he makes a yearly pilgrimage to visit the shrine of Shi’i Islam’s eighth imam, Imam Reza.

Concerns Mount as U.S. Plans Major Natural Gas Exports

Environmentalists and others here are reacting with concern to a surprise announcement on Monday of a major deal that would see U.S. natural gas exported to the United Kingdom, marking the first time that such sales have been permitted.

Iran’s Nuclear Activities Go On Despite Sanctions

While the U.S.-led sanctions regime on Iran has produced substantial economic hardship, analysts here are increasingly pointing out that Tehran’s controversial nuclear activities have continued unabated.

U.S. Congress Inches Away from the Straight and Narrow

Even as the issue of gay marriage continues to make waves in the U.S., change is inexorably arriving in the halls of power, with a record seven openly homosexual or bisexual members of the new U.S. Congress.

Controversial Inter-American Reforms Process to Continue

The 35-member Organisation of American States (OAS) on Friday voted unanimously to approve a series of reforms to the Inter-American human rights system, but stepped back from proposals that had caused the greatest concern among civil society groups.

As Iraq Anniversary Fades, “Strategic Narcissism” Stands out

After a week of retrospectives on the tenth anniversary of Washington’s ill-fated invasion of Iraq, the most compelling consisted of a retrospective of the retrospectives.

Obama Boosts Syria Support as Congress Pushes Military Intervention

As the Syrian uprising enters its third year, the United States and its allies are preparing to materially increase their support of the armed opposition in Syria.

Conflicts of Interest Plague Arms Trade Treaty Talks

The U.N. organ tasked with maintaining international peace and security harbours a serious conflict at its core.