Friday, January 29, 2010

With New Leader Installed, Shunned Honduras Seeks International Recognition

Honduras took a big step away from its protracted political crisis this week when its new president was sworn in and his deposed predecessor flew into exile, but the new government still faces a challenge in winning international recognition. Read

U.S. Senate Votes to Squeeze Iran by Targeting Its Gasoline Imports

A day after President Obama warned that Iran faced “growing consequences” over its nuclear activities, the U.S. Senate late Thursday offered him a tool to make good on that pledge – but it’s a tool for which the administration has shown little enthusiasm. Read

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Obama Urged to Set Up Commission to Probe National Security-Climate Link

In the light of controversies swirling around the U.N.’s climate change body, a retired top military officer urged President Obama Wednesday to set up an independent expert commission to examine the much-touted link between climate change and national security. Read

Foreign Policy Gets Little Attention in Obama’s State of the Union

President Obama dedicated considerably less of his State of the Union address to foreign policy issues than did five previous presidents in their speeches of similar or shorter length. Read

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Bangladesh Court Orders Protection for Muslim Girl Who Was Punished for Being Raped

Bangladesh’s High Court has ordered authorities in an eastern district to protect and produce in court a 16-year-old girl who was lashed 101 times earlier this month after becoming pregnant as the result of a rape. Read

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

More Questionable Material Found in U.N. Climate Report

The U.N. climate report that contains an erroneous claim on the rate of glacier retreat also includes references to studies not originating from peer-reviewed scientific literature, some of them linked to environmental activists. Read

No Sign of International Unity on Iran After Administration’s Latest Deadline Passes

Almost a month after the Obama administration’s most recent deadline passed for Iran to respond to international demands on its nuclear programs or face “tough” sanctions, the likelihood of multilateral action against Tehran looks as remote as ever. Read

Monday, January 25, 2010

Israelis Win Unaccustomed Praise for Rescue Efforts in Haiti

The rescue Friday of a Haitian man pulled from rubble ten days after the devastating earthquake was the latest accomplishment by Israelis who have drawn unaccustomed international praise for their small country’s fast, effective and lifesaving response to the disaster. Read

Chairman of U.N. Climate Panel Clings to Post Despite Erroneous Vanishing Glacier Claim

After a groundless claim about vanishing Himalayan glaciers found its way into a key United Nations climate report, the chairman of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) faces new calls to resign. Read

Friday, January 22, 2010

Group That Alerted Media to Biblical Markings on Rifle Sights Wants Congress to Investigate 'Military Religious Extremism’

The advocacy group that brought worldwide attention to the fact that an American company has been stamping biblical references on combat rifle sights used by the U.S. military said Thursday it hoped the damage done was not “beyond repair.” Read

Obama State Department Cites Outreach to Muslims As Reason to Allow Two Muslim Scholars Into the Country

The Obama administration announced earlier this week that it would allow two Muslim scholars into the country – lifting a ban on Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss national and professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University, and Adam Habib of South Africa. Read

Thursday, January 21, 2010

One Year Later, Obama Administration’s Top Religious Freedom Post Still Vacant

One year after President Obama took office, the administration’s top international religious freedom post remains empty, at a time when a wave of religious persecution is troubling veteran campaigners. Read

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

U.S., U.N. Target Al-Qaeda in Yemen As Senate Report Warns That American Converts May Be Training There

The U.S. government and a U.N. Security Council committee announced new measures Tuesday against the al-Qaeda wing based in Yemen. The moves came as a new Senate report raised concerns about several dozen American converts to Islam who are now living in Yemen. Read

Nigeria’s Religious Violence Comes Amid Political Crisis

The latest surge of interreligious killings in Nigeria comes at a sensitive time for Africa’s most populous country, already in crisis over the prolonged and destabilizing absence of its president. Read

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Yemen Claims to Have Top Terrorist in Custody

The government of Yemen says it has arrested al-Qaeda’s number two leader in the country – a Saudi held at Guantanamo Bay who was released from U.S. custody in 2007. He quickly resumed jihad activity after going through a Saudi government “rehabilitation” program. Read

Monday, January 18, 2010

No Sign Other Companies Will Emulate Google’s Stand Over China

Google’s threat to pull out of China over intellectual property and censorship concerns continues to resonate, with parties on both sides of the disagreement anxious to see how it will be resolved – and with what implications. Read

Leftist Leaders Say U.S. Is Using Relief Mission As Pretext to Occupy Haiti

The United States is using the humanitarian crisis in Haiti as an excuse to occupy the earthquake-hit island nation, two of Washington’s most vocal leftist critics in Latin America implied at the weekend. Read