Billion Dollar Audit Missed by Pentagon Watchdog
    on 02/09/2010 15.07.26 GMT
Pratap Chatterjee*... (continue)

US-MIDEAST:Light At End of Tunnel Elusive Despite Obama's Efforts
   Analysis by Jim Lobe on 02/09/2010 15.01.44 GMT
WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (IPS) - President Barack Obama will try this week to underline his progress in extricating the United States from the morass his predecessor's "global war on terror" in the Greater Middle East.... (continue)

Media Didn't Buy Petraeus Command's Story of Low Taliban Morale
    on 02/09/2010 14.56.02 GMT
Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (IPS) - In an effort to introduce a story of "progress" into media coverage, Gen. David Petraeuss command claimed last week that the Taliban is suffering from reduced morale in Marjah and elsewhere, despite evidence that the population of Marjah still believes the Taliban controls that district.... (continue)

Climate-related Security Predictions Coming True in Pakistan
    on 02/09/2010 12.47.56 GMT
Matthew O. Berger WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (IPS) - Analysts have been warning for several years that the impacts of climate change directly relate to the national security of the U.S. and other countries, but the link has never been so clear as it is today in northwest Pakistan.... (continue)

AFGHANISTAN:Ouster of Contractors Throws U.S. Strategy in Doubt
    on 24/08/2010 21.08.02 GMT
William Fisher NEW YORK, Aug 24 (IPS) - Charging that U.S. private security contractors are "mafia- like groups" being financed by U.S. taxpayers to carry out "terrorist activities" with the support of the U.S. government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered a four- month phaseout of all private security companies in his embattled country.... (continue)

Pakistani Officials Seek Funds, Debt Relief in Washington
    on 24/08/2010 13.44.50 GMT
Matthew O. Berger WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (IPS) - Pakistani officials continued their quest for help in light of the floods that have affected 20 million people in their country by meeting with officials at the International Monetary Fund here Monday.... (continue)

Death of Smallpox Holds Clues to Stop Viral Killers
    on 23/08/2010 18.03.16 GMT
Matthew O. Berger WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (IPS) - The stories of Dr. Ciro de Quadros' work in eradicating smallpox read like the stuff of global health legend.... (continue)

Obama Plays Down Plan for Post-2011 Iraq Troop Presence
    on 23/08/2010 17.01.32 GMT
Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (IPS) - When the Barack Obama administration unveiled its plan last week for an improvised State Department-controlled army of contractors to replace all U.S. combat troops in Iraq by the end of 2011, critics associated with the U.S. command attacked the transition plan, insisting that the United States must continue to assume that U.S. combat forces should and can remain in Iraq indefinitely.... (continue)

Brazil Aims for World's "Most Perfect" Population Census
    on 23/08/2010 16.39.32 GMT
Thalif Deen RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 23 (IPS) - Come Dec. 31, about 68 countries are expected to complete the arduous task of taking an accurate head count of the number of people living within their geographical borders.... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Schools Cross Extremism Out Of Textbooks
    on 23/08/2010 11.51.00 GMT
Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Aug 23 (IPS) - Turn schools into hate-free zones, and achieving peace in violence-wracked Pakistan may not be far behind.... (continue)

AFGHANISTAN:Task Force 42 and Task Force 121, the Other Secret Killers û Part 3
    on 23/08/2010 11.48.56 GMT
Pratap Chatterjee*... (continue)

AFGHANISTAN:Task Force 373, the Secret Killers û Part 2
    on 23/08/2010 11.48.38 GMT
Pratap Chatterjee*... (continue)

AFGHANISTAN:Task Force 373, the Secret Killers û Part 1
    on 23/08/2010 11.44.12 GMT
Pratap Chatterjee*... (continue)

Q&A:"Women Are the First to Cook and the Last to Eat"
    on 20/08/2010 01.14.52 GMT
Kumari Karandawala interviews activists from the new INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S ALLIANCE... (continue)

DEVELOPMENT-AUSTRALIA:It's Not Just About More, But Better, Aid
    on 19/08/2010 12.22.06 GMT
Neena Bhandari SYDNEY, Aug 19 (IPS) - Australia's foreign aid budget is likely to double by 2015, but civil society groups say this is far from enough if it is to keep to its "fair share" of commitments to poorer countries.... (continue)

Need and Risks Never Higher for Humanitarian Work
    on 18/08/2010 23.46.20 GMT
Megan Iacobini de Fazio... (continue)

US:Standing Up for Homeless Vets at Stand Downs
    on 18/08/2010 16.47.14 GMT
Aaron Glantz* PLEASANTON, California, Aug 18 (IPS) - More than 400 homeless veterans from across northern California relaxed in comfort at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.... (continue)

RIGHTS-INDIA:Despite Laws and Campaigns, Child Marriages Persist
    on 17/08/2010 06.45.26 GMT
K S Harikrishnan TAMIL NADU, India, Aug 17 (IPS) - Soon after she had her second child, Rathna fell into a frenzied state and had to be brought to a hospital here in the southern Indian village of Dharmapuri. After a month-long series of tests, doctors issued their diagnosis: Rathna, they said, was suffering from a psychiatric aberration that seems to occur often among adolescent mothers.... (continue)

TRADE-NEPAL:Carpet Industry Frayed at the Edges
    on 13/08/2010 08.30.38 GMT
Bhuwan Sharma KATHMANDU, Aug 13 (IPS) - It was an industry pioneer and had even proved itself successful in the export market. But these days Jawalakhel Handicraft Centre (JHC) is barely able to sustain itself on retail sales, and general manager Chimi Dorjee has been reduced to just recalling how things had been when the going was still good.... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Endangered Snow Leopard Clawing Its Way Back
    on 12/08/2010 10.01.56 GMT
Zofeen Ebrahim KARACHI, Pakistan, Aug 12 (IPS) - For more than 10 years, Shafqat Hussain has been on the trail of the endangered snow leopard. He has heard the beast's growl, and has seen its pugmarks against a snowy track. But his dream, of coming eye-to-eye with the elusive nocturnal feline, remains unfulfilled. "If you've seen the cat, you've seen the Holy Grail," says Hussain.... (continue)

Trial of "Child Soldier" Opens at Guantanamo
    on 10/08/2010 22.26.18 GMT
Megan Iacobini de Fazio... (continue)

POLITICS:Laos Takes Centre Stage in Cluster Bombs Treaty
    on 05/08/2010 15.42.16 GMT
Marwaan Macan-Markar... (continue)

QA:"The World Needs a New Social Contract"
    on 04/08/2010 23.08.40 GMT
Clarinha Glock interviews Argentine Nobel Peace Prize-winner ADOLFO PÉREZ ESQUIVEL... (continue)

Despite Iraq Withdrawal, Greater Mideast Not Looking Good
   Analysis by Jim Lobe* on 03/08/2010 08.15.16 GMT
WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (IPS) - While President Barack Obama Monday touted the continuing U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq as a key marker in the success of his regional policies, the latest news from the Greater Middle East, as well as a new public opinion survey, is far less encouraging.... (continue)

Pakistan Poll Finds Widespread Disillusionment
    on 30/07/2010 07.28.18 GMT
Eli Clifton* WASHINGTON, Jul 29 (IPS) - The recent Wikileaks dump of war-related documents has brought little new to the debate over Washington's ongoing military involvement in Afghanistan, but allegations that Pakistan's intelligence services are aiding the Taliban has brought renewed attention to U.S. concerns over its reliance on Islamabad in battling Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Life At A Time Of Suicide Bombings
    on 28/07/2010 06.26.36 GMT
Zofeen Ebrahim LAHORE, Pakistan, Jul 28 (IPS) - Like any other Friday morning, hordes of people flocked at the shrine of 11th-century Sufi saint, Hazrat Ali Hajveri, that is near Bhaati Gate inside Lahore's walled city on Jul. 2. By that afternoon, a much larger crowd had gathered at the site, this time for the usual Friday prayers.... (continue)

SINGAPORE:Drumming Up Youths' Support in Anti-trafficking Campaign
    on 27/07/2010 07.22.30 GMT
Stanislaus Jude Chan... (continue)

Obama's Afghanistan Strategy Increasingly Under Siege
   Analysis by Jim Lobe* on 27/07/2010 03.57.22 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (IPS) - Monday's release by WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified documents detailing the travails of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Pakistan's secret support for the Taliban from 2004 through 2009 comes amid a growing crisis of confidence here in the nearly nine-year-old war.... (continue)

Leaked Reports Make Afghan War Policy More Vulnerable
   Analysis by Gareth Porter* on 27/07/2010 02.48.46 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jul 26 (IPS) - The 92,000 reports on the war in Afghanistan made public by the whistleblower organisation WikiLeaks, and reported Monday by the Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel, offer no major revelations that are entirely new, as did the Pentagon Papers to which they are inevitably being compared.... (continue)

BULGARIA:Refuge Can Get Worse Than Rejection
    on 23/07/2010 08.35.18 GMT
Claudia Ciobanu BUCHAREST, Jul 23 (IPS) - A protest to close down Busmantsi, a detention centre for undocumented migrants in Sofia, highlighted the obstacles faced by refugees and asylum- seekers in Bulgaria.... (continue)

Obama-Cameron Meet Overshadowed By BP and Libya
    on 21/07/2010 15.34.40 GMT
Eli Clifton WASHINGTON, Jul 21 (IPS) - British Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Washington, DC on Tuesday was supposed to be an opportunity for the Conservative Party leader to build a rapport with U.S. President Barack Obama.... (continue)

US-IRAN:Mosque Blasts Denounced by Obama, Clinton
    on 17/07/2010 01.31.20 GMT
Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jul 16 (IPS) - Both U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday denounced Thursday's suicide bomb attacks on a Shi'ite mosque in Sistan-va Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran by a Sunni extremist group that Tehran charges is being supported by Washington.... (continue)

Right-Wing Agenda Slips Through Canada's Political Deadlock
    on 16/07/2010 14.55.32 GMT
Paul Weinberg TORONTO, Jul 16 (IPS) - Canada's parliamentary is so broken and dysfunctional that the country is in danger of becoming "the laughing stock" of the world.... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Swat Valley's Festival Speaks Up for Peace
    on 16/07/2010 10.35.28 GMT
Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Jul 16 (IPS) - The threats against officials and ordinary people alike have not stopped, with yet another suicide bomber sowing terror in the district's main town just on Jul. 15.... (continue)

McChrystal Probe of SOF Killings Excluded Key Eyewitnesses
    on 06/07/2010 16.01.56 GMT
Gareth Porter and Ahmad Walid Fazly*... (continue)

PAKISTAN:Afghans Find Their Welcome Running Out
    on 05/07/2010 06.29.16 GMT
Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jul 5 (IPS) - The number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan who will return to their homeland this year is expected to be double the 2009 figure, but it's not only a longing for their native soil that is fuelling the Afghans' departure.... (continue)

'This Is Worse Than Guantanamo'
    on 02/07/2010 11.32.24 GMT
Pavol Stracansky BRATISLAVA, Jul 2 (IPS) - A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner at a refugee detention centre in Slovakia has said he is prepared to die in hunger strike after living five months in conditions he says are worse than in the infamous U.S. prison.... (continue)

IOC Joins U.N. to Level the Playing Field for Women
    on 01/07/2010 16.19.12 GMT
Beatrice Paez UNITED NATIONS, Jul 1 (IPS) - The sight of girls and boys playing cricket and skateboarding together in the streets of Afghanistan and Iraq may be unexpected to some, but it is a homegrown effort aimed at fostering gender equality.... (continue)

White House Low-Key on China-Pakistan Nuke Deal
    on 01/07/2010 00.17.50 GMT
Eli Clifton WASHINGTON, Jun 30 (IPS) - Last week's meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in New Zealand brought statements of concern over China's planned nuclear deal with Pakistan, but U.S. State Department officials avoided taking a strong position on the deal when pressed by reporters this week.... (continue)

Unmanned Drones - Targeted Killing vs. "Collateral Murder"
    on 29/06/2010 18.11.48 GMT
Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Jun 29 (IPS) - When a Pakistani-U.S. national pleaded guilty last week to a failed attempt to detonate explosives packed in a vehicle in the heart of New York City, he admitted that one of the reasons he targeted the busy Times Square neighbourhood was to "injure and kill" as many people as possible.... (continue)

Inspectors Call Afghan Police Tracking System a Failure
    on 29/06/2010 15.53.32 GMT
Pratap Chatterjee*... (continue)

MALAYSIA:Thousands of Refugees Living in Constant Fear of Arrest
    on 29/06/2010 06.13.42 GMT
Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (IPS) - As Rajoo, 27, makes tea at a rundown shed in Brickfields, a depressed suburb of the capital inhabited by hundreds of Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka, he evinces no sign of anxiety and a deep yearning for something.... (continue)

US-AFGHANISTAN:What Now?
   Analysis by Jim Lobe* on 29/06/2010 01.10.26 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jun 28 (IPS) - Nearly a week after the abrupt demise of Washington's top commander in Afghanistan, U.S. strategy for reversing the flood of bad news that has been recently pouring out of that strife-torn country remains as unclear as ever.... (continue)

As Canada's Democracy Trembles, a New Global Architecture Emerges
    on 28/06/2010 12.54.32 GMT
Anthony Fenton TORONTO, Jun 28 (IPS) - Nearly 600 people were arrested as global leaders and elites met behind a fortified perimetre during the G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto this weekend.... (continue)

Wrangling Continues over New U.N. Women's Entity
    on 27/06/2010 17.19.56 GMT
Beatrice Paez UNITED NATIONS, Jun 27 (IPS) - Ahead of a week-long meeting on gender equality starting Monday at the United Nations, women's rights activists have been pushing for concrete progress on a pledge made last September by the world body to create a new, better-funded U.N. agency for women.... (continue)

U.S. Congress Approves Strong Unilateral Sanctions on Iran
    on 25/06/2010 02.40.52 GMT
Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, Jun 24 (IPS) - Escalating Washington's growing confrontation with Iran, both houses of Congress Thursday approved a sweeping unilateral sanctions package designed to pressure Tehran into curbing its nuclear programme.... (continue)

POLITICS:All Quiet on the Australian Front on Role in Afghanistan
   Analysis by Stephen de Tarczynski on 24/06/2010 04.43.00 GMT
MELBOURNE, June 24 (IPS) - The lack of debate here concerning Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan is unlikely to change in the near future despite the recent deaths of five Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in the war-ravaged nation.... (continue)

MEXICO-US:Wall of Hate and Poverty Divides El Paso and Juárez
    on 24/06/2010 01.26.38 GMT
Daniela Pastrana CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico, Jun 23 (IPS) - "Sergio, your death will be avenged by the angry, organised people" reads graffiti under the Puente Negro railroad bridge connecting this border city with El Paso, Texas.... (continue)

Shift in Illicit Drug Use Bodes Ill for Developing World
    on 24/06/2010 00.47.38 GMT
Matthew O. Berger WASHINGTON, Jun 23 (IPS) - While drug use has largely stabilised in industrial countries, there are signs that it may be on the rise in developing countries, says a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the impact of a rise in drug abuse could cause a lot more damage in developing countries than it has for their richer counterparts.... (continue)