POLITICS: U.S. Lifts Restrictions on Web Services
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON - After U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's January address on the role of internet freedom in U.S. foreign policy, the Barack Obama administration appears to be taking the first steps to introduce specific legislation and policies to exploit the role of the internet in opening up those countries ruled by oppressive or authoritarian governments.
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FINANCE: Self-Policing of Extractive Industries a "Dismal" Failure
By Charles Fromm
WASHINGTON - An international initiative that seeks to reform how governments profit from their natural resources should not reduce its existing standards of membership solely because candidate countries have been reluctant or incapable of meeting them, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
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ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities
By Gonzalo Ortiz
QUITO - Science fiction blockbuster Avatar was the big loser in the Oscar awards ceremony - not only a blow for director James Cameron but also seen as a symbolic reverse in the struggle to recover Amazon rainforest areas in Ecuador from the effects of oil pollution.
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ENVIRONMENT: Violent Backlash Against Climate Scientists
By Stephen Leahy*
UXBRIDGE, Canada - Climate change science has come under full-scale attack in a last-ditch effort to delay or prevent action by the U.S. government against global warming, experts warn.
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RIGHTS: Fewer Jobs, Less Money, Same Old Story
By Haider Rizvi
UNITED NATIONS - "What do I get from them? Nothing but bullsh*t," says Nupur Acharya, reflecting about how she is treated by her husband and two grown sons on daily basis.
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IRAQ: Elections Bring Joy and Uncertainty
By Mohammed A. Salih
WASHINGTON - The holding of Iraq's third parliamentary elections on Sunday has generated a sense of satisfaction in Washington, but there is a feeling of anxiety about how the post-election negotiation process to form a new government might proceed.
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HAITI: U.S. Acts Quickly on Debt Relief Ahead of Preval Visit
By Jim Lobe*
WASHINGTON - With U.S. President Barack Obama preparing to host Haitian President Rene Preval at the White House Wednesday, Congress is moving quickly to show support for far-reaching debt relief and additional aid for the earthquake-stricken Caribbean nation.
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RIGHTS: This Eerie Economic Calm
By Sanjay Suri and Marguerite A. Suozzi
NEW YORK - The problem now, almost, is to find a way to relive the peak of that economic crisis of September 2008. The current move back to business of old – on the face of it anyhow – could well turn out to be a longer-running difficulty than the crisis it supposedly left behind. A difficulty far greater for women than for men.
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U.S.: ACLU Ad Challenges Military Commissions
By William Fisher
NEW YORK - Civil libertarians hit back hard Sunday at reports indicating that the Barack Obama administration is about to cave in to pressure from Congress and local groups in New York City and is not only considering transferring the cases of suspected terrorists to another federal court, but even moving them to the military commission system.
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POLITICS: Fiction of Marja as City Was U.S. Information War
By Gareth Porter*
WASHINGTON - For weeks, the U.S. public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against what it was told was a "city of 80,000 people" as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban in that part of Helmand. That idea was a central element in the overall impression built up in February that Marja was a major strategic objective, more important than other district centres in Helmand.
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