Russia Plays the Pardon Game

An amnesty freeing high-profile detainees and convicts and the pardoning of arguably Russia’s most famous political prisoner have failed to move critics of the country’s appalling human rights record.

Iran Sanctions Bill Big Test of Israel Lobby Power

This week’s introduction by a bipartisan group of 26 senators of a new sanctions bill against Iran could result in the biggest test of the political clout of the Israel lobby here in decades.

Women Advance in Distant Islands

Women’s political representation in the Pacific Islands region is globally the lowest at 3.65 percent, compared to the world average of 18 percent. Leadership is still widely perceived as ‘men’s business’ and voting is heavily influenced by nepotism and money politics. However, Rhoda Sikilabu, minister for community affairs in Isabel Province in the Solomon Islands is demonstrating that women leaders can drive development progress and win voter support.

Ethiopia Swamped by Tidal Wave of Returned Migrants

The return of 120,000 young undocumented migrant workers from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia has sparked fears that the influx will worsen the country’s high youth unemployment and put pressure on access to increasingly scarce land.

Saudi Arabia’s Ad Hoc Foreign Policy

If you are confused or baffled by Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy moves over the past month or so, you are hardly alone. It appears the Saudis themselves don’t know quite what to make of the various situations in which they find themselves.

How Israel Sank into the Quagmire of Apartheid

When one writes a book about Israel, one must expect that it will be analysed not for its quality but for its ideological bent.

‘Rights Up Front’: A New UN Strategy for Prevention of Genocide

The United Nations Thursday took rigorous steps to launch a new a six-point action plan called ‘Rights up Front,’ seeking to revamp preventive strategies which play a vital role in sending out quick responses to human rights violations.

Changing Patterns of Global Migration & Remittances

A growing number of international migrants now live in high-income countries such as the United States and Germany, while a growing share was born in today’s middle-income nations such as India and Mexico, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the United Nations and the World Bank.

China Gets More Territorial

Since his rise to power in late 2012, China’s President Xi Jinping has managed to consolidate his control swiftly over the three pillars of the Chinese political system, the state bureaucracy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the military. In response, many neighbouring countries cautiously welcomed a more self-confident and stable leadership in Beijing, hoping the new Chinese president will display greater flexibility on outstanding regional issues.

Caring for Water Is a Must for Brazil’s Energy Industry

As they build huge hydropower dams, the Brazilian government and companies have run into resistance from environmentalists, indigenous groups and social movements. But the binational Itaipú plant is an exception, where cooperation is the name of the game.

And Now This Filthy Flood

Wearing tattered shoes and hopping between dirty puddles, 14-year-old Sabeh manages to find his way to the market at the Al Shati refugee camp, one of Gaza’s most heavily populated and poor areas.

Ugandan HIV Drugs Outpriced by Imports

The Ugandan government is struggling to live up to its promises to protect the local production of antiretrovirals and anti-malarials from competition from abroad.

Syrious Paralysis on Pennsylvania Avenue

Three months after averting a military strike against Syria with a last-minute deal to deprive it of its chemical weapons arsenal, U.S. policy toward the world's most violent conflict appears increasingly at sea.

Kim the Third

A very Shakespearean epic is unraveling today in Pyongyang.

OP-ED: Bahraini Prime Minister Dodges Corruption Bullet, for Now

The recent collapse of the British Serious Fraud Office court case against Victor Dahdaleh has left the Bahraini prime minister’s reputation for corruption intact.

Nevis Embarks on Geothermal Energy Journey

The tiny island of Nevis in the northern region of the Lesser Antilles is one of the few remaining unspoiled places in the Caribbean. It is now seeking to become the greenest, joining a growing list of Caribbean countries pursuing clean geothermal power.

Cameroonians Flee Atrocities in Central African Republic

“We couldn’t stand the violence anymore,” said 27-year-old Baba Hamadou shortly after alighting from a chartered flight at the Douala International Airport earlier this week.

71 Journalists Killed in 2013

The Paris based Reporters Without Borders said the annual toll of journalists killed in connection with their work was again very high in 2013, although this year’s number, 71, was a slight fall (-20%) on last year’s.

As Malaysia rises to ‘high-income status’, it must focus on the most vulnerable, says UN expert

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, complimented Malaysia for its efforts to becoming a high-income country. But Malaysia should also “ ensure that growth is not achieved at the expense of the environment and the rights of vulnerable groups in society, such as the indigenous communities and migrant workers,” he cautioned.

Mexico Needs a Bouncer at the Oil Industry Door

As Mexico is about to open its oil industry up to foreign investment, it will need penalties for negligence and regulations that force private firms to follow best practices in order to avoid problems like oil spills, analysts say.

Q&A: “Libyan Women Were Handed Over as Spoils of War”

Unless immediate changes are enforced, Libya is heading towards an "Afghan" model regarding women´s rights, Aicha Almagrabi, a Libyan writer and senior women rights activist, told IPS from her residence in Tripoli.