Republican Group Distances Itself from Rashid Khalidi

Concerns raised about Sen. Barack Obama’s relationship with Palestinian-American Professor Rashid Khalidi have prompted critics of Sen. John McCain to try to link him to Khalidi as well. Read

Growing Threats from North Korea As Leader Ails

Amid continuing speculation about the state of Kim Jong-il’s health, North Korea’s government has stepped up threats against its neighbor. It is especially sensitive about the dissemination of propaganda leaflets inside its territory. Read

Rashid Khalidi Referred to Arafat’s PLO As ‘We’

Rashid Khalidi, the Columbia University professor whose friendship with Sen. Barack Obama is raising questions, says he was never a spokesman for the PLO, but his strong PLO leanings were evident at a time when Yasser Arafat’s group was mounting terror attacks in Israel and causing mayhem in Lebanon. Read

Syria Says US Trying to Undermine Its European Diplomatic Successes

A U.S. attack on Syrian soil over the weekend was intended to derail recent diplomatic breakthroughs between Damascus and the European Union, the Syrian government charged on Monday. Read

Tanzania’s Christians Unhappy About Push to Join Islamic Body

A top Christian body in Tanzania is calling on the country’s foreign minister to resign for promoting a move to join the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Read

Syria Condemns Unprecedented US Cross-Border Strike

Syria on Sunday formally protested to the U.S. and Iraqi missions in Damascus after alleging that U.S. helicopter-borne troops crossed the Iraqi-Syrian border and carried out an attack inside Syrian territory, killing eight civilians. Read

Hezbollah Denies Links to Latin American Criminals

The smashing of a Colombian drugs and money-laundering ring linked to Hezbollah may help investigators who are probing links between the Lebanese terrorist group, its patron Iran, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Colombian narco-terrorists. Read

Japan-US Ties Strained Over North Korea

Amid signs of a chill between the U.S. and Japan over how to handle North Korea, Australia has been asked to step in with energy aid for Pyongyang that Japan is refusing to provide. Read

Report on Post-Election Carnage Rocks Kenya

Ten months after Kenya was torn by inter-ethnic violence sparked by a disputed election, former rivals President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga shared a platform at a national holiday event Monday, amid raging debate over justice versus amnesty for those behind the carnage. Read

Iran Denied Security Council Seat, But OIC Will Have Four

Iran has blamed Western “intolerance” of its political positions for its failure to be elected to the United Nations Security Council. Read

‘Time to Push Back Against Chavez,’ Critics Say

As the slump in oil prices hurts producers like Venezuela, OPEC has moved up an emergency meeting where a sizeable production cut looks likely – part of a cartel bid to push prices back up. Read

United Nations Set to Revisit Cloning Issue

More than three years after the U.N. General Assembly passed a non-binding and intentionally ambiguous declaration opposing all human cloning, the issue is back on the world body’s agenda. Read

EU’s Ambitious Green Goals Collide With Financial Crisis

It was only a matter of time before the global financial crisis squeezed efforts to combat climate change, and that stark reality played out at a European Union summit in Brussels Thursday. Read

Russia-Georgia Talks Falter

Talks between Russia and Georgia broke down shortly after they began on Wednesday, and the sides will not try to talk again until after next month’s U.S. election. Read

Fatwa Forbids Suicide Bombings, But Is Hostile Toward US

As Pakistan endures an epidemic of suicide bombings, two Islamic clerical bodies issued fatwas or rulings this week declaring suicide attacks inside the country forbidden. Read

International Parliamentary Group Admits ‘Palestine’

An international body of lawmakers agreed Wednesday to admit “Palestine” as a full-fledged member, in the latest move to support and accelerate the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Read

Iranians Lecture Foreigners on ‘Zionist Crimes’ and West’s ‘Lust for Power’

Dialogue is good and necessary, but until the Western “lust for power” is curbed, the world’s problems will remain, Iran’s leaders have told foreign visitors. Read

Iran’s Security Council Bid Nears a Vote

Twelve years after Iran put forward its name for a seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2009-10 period, its candidacy comes to a vote later this week, at a time of disquiet over Tehran’s anti-Israel rhetoric and nuclear activities. Read

British Pro-Lifer Hails Palin’s ‘Speech of the 21st Century’

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s remarks at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday amounted to the “most significant” political speech of the 21st century, in the view of a leading British pro-life activist. Read

Islamic Finance System ‘Can Replace Capitalism’

Muslims should seize the opportunity provided by the global financial crisis to build a system based on Islamic principles, an influential Sunni cleric said on Sunday. Read

Delisting North Korea Draws Cautious Praise, Skepticism

Washington’s decision to remove North Korea from its terror-sponsor list, not an unexpected step, is aimed at salvaging a fragile denuclearization deal that had begun to unravel. Read

Treatment of Anti-Obama Author in Kenya Called ‘Counter-Productive’

Sen. Barack Obama may be very popular in his father’s homeland, but the Kenyan government’s treatment of Obama Nation author Jerome Corsi this week has drawn strong criticism from commentators in the country. Read

Ukraine Snap Election May Benefit Russia, Impact NATO Bid

The calling of an early parliamentary election in Ukraine launches a campaign that will further expose deep divisions in the former Soviet republic over whether its future lies with Russia or the West. Read

Order to Release Uighur Detainees at Guantanamo Blocked

A day after a Washington, D.C., court ordered the Bush administration to release 17 Uighur Muslims held by the military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a federal appeals court has blocked the move. Read

Can’t Force Doctors to Act Against Their Beliefs, Australian Group Insists

As Australian state lawmakers debate the most contentious abortion legislation to come up in years, a group of doctors is urging the prime minister to block a move they say will violate human rights law. Read

Obama Hardens Foreign Policy Rhetoric in Debate

Tuesday’s presidential debate in Nashville was dominated by the financial crisis and domestic policy, but foreign issues featured strongly in the latter part, with both candidates signaling tough stances on Iran, Russia and Osama bin Laden. Read

Dueling Petitions on Abortion Target the UN

Almost a year after one of the world’s biggest private abortion providers launched a global “safe abortion” drive, an online petition intended to be handed to the United Nations in two months’ time has been signed by fewer than 600 people. Another petition, launched by pro-lifers as a counter-move, obtained more than 17,400 signatures in its first week. Read

European Gov’ts Urged to Challenge US Condom Decision

When the Bush administration last June announced that it would withhold funding for the U.N. Population Fund for a seventh year because of its links to China’s coercive population control program, critics were not surprised. Read

US ‘Still Looking’ at Establishing an Interests Section in Iran

The United States has not shelved a proposal to establish an interests section in Iran, although there are no public signs that the Iranian government is ready to embrace the idea. Read

Bush Scores Foreign Policy Coup Amid Financial Bailout Turmoil

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed for India Friday to nail down one foreign policy achievement for the Bush administration as one of her assistants continued efforts 3,000 miles away to salvage another. Read

Diplomacy, Development Focus of Stepped-Up U.S. Policy in Africa

The first visit to South Africa by a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in four decades comes within days of the formal launch of U.S. Africa Command, an initiative that has prompted African skepticism about the U.S. military’s intentions for the continent. Read

Change of Leadership May Not Reform Pakistan’s Terrorist-Friendly Spy Agency

It will take more than a change at the helm of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency to allay concerns about its links to terrorism, a leading security analyst said Wednesday. He noted that Islamabad faces an uphill battle in convincing critics it is serious about reform. Read

Eat Kangaroos, Save the Planet

Australian sheep and cattle producers should consider shifting to kangaroos to help reduce emissions of “greenhouse gases,” a major report on climate change says. Read