U.S. and the World
A Bad 30 Years for Afghans
Few peoples of the world have endured as much conflict and upheaval as the Afghans during the past 30 years. Oxfam conducted an examination of Afghanistan from the time of the Soviet invasion in 1979 to the present conflict fought between the Unit... read more
UN Arms Embargo Fails to Stop Flow of Munitions in Darfur
According to a report published by a panel of experts for the UN Security Council, the Darfur arms embargo has been blatantly violated by all parties, including Sudanese government forces, allied Janjaweed militias, rebel groups and insurgents fro... read more
China Steps Up Cyber Attacks on U.S.
Whether it’s using human spies or launching attacks in cyberspace, China is stepping up its intelligence efforts against American security. Experts from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission told Congress this week in a report tha... read more
Greece Unveils Museum Meant for Stolen Sculptures
Greece has built a new museum to reclaim the Parthenon Marbles, or Elgin Marbles, from the British Museum. The Parthenon Marbles are symbols of ancient Greek glory that were chiseled off the Parthenon temple two centuries ago by Lord Elgin. Greece... read more
Kuwaiti Company Indicted for Fraud in Supplying Food to U.S. Troops
Agility, a Kuwaiti logistics company owned by the Sultan Al-Essa family, is in hot water with the federal government for allegedly defrauding the U.S. out of billions of dollars on contracts to provide food for troops stationed in the Middle East.... read more
U.S. Judge Rebuked for Handling of Filipino Funds Due to Rights Abuse Victims
U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real has found himself being questioned again by his judicial colleagues, this time regarding his oversight of a $30 million fund slated to go to victims of Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship in the Philippines. Real has ... read more
Mexican Families Begin Sending Money to Relatives in U.S.
Mexico is expected to lose more than 700,000 jobs this year due to a slumping economy that may decline as much as 7.5%. Almost half of the country’s population lives in poverty, and yet, it is managing to reverse a trend of money that has traditio... read more
UN Internet Conference Held in Country Hostile to Open Internet
Free press and human rights advocates have been astonished by the United Nations’ decision to allow Egypt, a country that routinely cracks down on human expression, to host a conference about the Internet. The Internet Governance Forum, consisting... read more
Still Waiting for Senate to Ratify Children’s Rights Treaty
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, established to promote and protect the well-being of children throughout the world, will be officially 20 years old on November 20. On that day nations everywhere will celebrate the landmark treaty—except... read more
Koalas Threatened with Extinction
Nature’s teddy bear, the koala, may soon become extinct, warns an environmental group in Australia. A recent study by the Australian Koala Foundation found that the koala population has fallen from 100,000 to 43,000 in just the last six years, and... read more
Contractors Accused of Paying Protection Money to Afghan Insurgents
The war in Afghanistan is indeed a costly one, due not only to the expense of fighting the Taliban—but also paying them off so they don’t attack American supply convoys. This revelation was discovered by The Nation in its investigation of Afghan c... read more
Samoan Diplomat Sues Immigration Officials over False Imprisonment
Being a former member of the U.S. Air Force and a diplomat with dual citizenship wasn’t enough to keep Hans Joachim Keil from being thrown into jail by American immigration officials who thought he was an illegal alien and seized his U.S. and Samo... read more
FBI Sued over Kidnapping and Detention of U.S. Citizen
All Amir Meshal of Tinton Falls, New Jersey wanted to do was study Islam in Somalia, he says, but instead he wound up becoming the first American caught up in the U.S. government’s extraordinary rendition program for suspected terrorists. Meshal t... read more
U.S. Electricity Fueled by Recycled Soviet Bombs
U-235, the radioactive material that once threatened to blow up the United States is today helping to generate more electricity for American homes than hydroelectric or alternative sources of power. Unbeknownst to most consumers, the Megatons to M... read more
Christians Under Threat in Northern Iraq
The survival of minority groups in northern Iraq is being threatened by extremists and the political actions of Kurdish leaders, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Hundreds of Christians, Shabaks and Yazidis have been killed in the Kurdish reg... read more
U.S. Ship Banned From India as Too Toxic
Officials in India want no part of an old U.S. maritime ship headed for the world’s largest scrap yard because it has been deemed too contaminated. The Platinum-II was supposed to dock at the Alang shipyard where thousands of vessels from around t... read more