Politics

Russia is pressing the Syrian leadership to put into action previous pledges for dialogue with the opposition, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. “We actively encouraged… the Syrian leadership to maximally put into action its declared readiness for dialogue…

Singers Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger hosted the “Bring Leonard Peltier Home in 2012 Concert” at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on Friday to raise awareness of Peltier’s 37-year ordeal and plea for executive clemency from President Obama.…

Britain will slash its military force in Afghanistan next year, withdrawing nearly 4,000 troops as local security forces become increasingly capable, Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday. Cameron told parliament that the current force of 9,000 British troops would be…

In 2009 the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the conservatives, lost power in the Japanese Diet for the first time in over 50 years. They had spearheaded Japan’s rise from the ashes of defeat in 1945. By David Jack The Japanese…

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is reportedly planning an escape from Damascus, preparing for a last stand in his home town, The Sunday Times reported this week. The embattled leader, facing a lingering 22-month-old uprising against his rule, is preparing for…

Egyptians are voting on a disputed new constitution that has split the country in two and sparked deadly protests. Liberal opposition condemns the document as too Islamist, curtailing the rights of Egyptian minority groups. Polls opened at 8:00 pm local…

Russia’s parliament should reject a proposed bill that would violate Russians’ freedom of expression and discriminate against and stigmatize Russia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. On December 19, 2012, the Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, is scheduled…

By Jayantha Dhanapala* The US Presidential Inauguration ceremony will be held in Washington DC on Monday, January 21, 2013.The official theme for the 2013 inauguration is “Faith in America’s Future”. For many Americans, and indeed for many international observers, that…

The Argentine media group Clarin obtained an eleventh-hour ruling yesterday delaying the application of a section of the country’s new media law which would have forced it to give up some of its broadcasting licences. The Civil and Commercial Court…

Since protests began in Spain, Athenians started to demonstrate in Syntagma Square (25th of May 2011), together with demonstrations in more than 30 cities across the country. We spent more than a month with a consistently large crowd gathered daily at the bottom of the square, where open assemblies practicing direct democracy were organized. The open meetings continued…