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The Shiite-led government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki allegedly influenced the Iraqi High Tribunal by shifting justices out of the system who opposed the death penalty for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, officials said.  These same officials contend that the rush to execute the former leader came at a time when the perception of […]

There is more news about religion, politics, and the United Nations. This past Thursday, Religions for Peace launched a new partnership with UNIFEM (the UN Development Fund for Women) “to engage communities of faith around the world to lead efforts to end violence against women.” Part of this cooperation entailed signing on to the “Say […]

Two members of the Macedonian parliament were charged with war crimes related to the country's brief 2001 civil war between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians. The cases could destabilize the country, as Balkan Insight reports a significant number of ethnic Albanian politicians will be charged. Indeed, the leader of the largest Albanian party, the Democratic […]

A while back I addressed a popular reaction to Senator Barack Obama's broad popularity outside the US: why does it matter what the world thinks? Here are two perspectives from foreign Obama-supporters themselves. British columnist Jonathan Freeland sent Americans an ominous warning in an opinion piece published by the UK's Guardian newspaper, titled: “The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it […]

Today's car bombing in Damascus was the first of its kind in Syria since the 1980s. This circumstance, in conjunction with the recent deployment of Syrian troops to the country's border with Lebanon and the alleged involvement of an extremist group in the attack, may have some conspiracy theorists wondering if the incident will be […]

I sat in on some of the exciting sessions of the FPA's annual World Leadership Forum (WLF) this week.  If you're interested in the recent developments in the financial industry and the bigger picture of the "geoeconomy," there were two panels of experts discussing some of the ins and outs of those issues which you […]

I’m staying with the debate topic today, and according to the latest report I could find, the debate is still on (Washington Post – McCain Says Yes to Debate in Miss.): Sen. John McCain announced in a statement that he is resuming his campaign and will travel to Oxford, Miss., this afternoon to face Sen. […]

“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance." – Kofi Annan The key to a prosperous future lies in the youth of the world, however if we ignore half of our future we will only have […]

Since tonight's presidential debate–if it happens at all–will likely stray from its agenda of foreign policy issues, let's see what the vice presidential candidates have been up to in the foreign policy department this week. Reuters reports that Sara Palin visited with a variety of foreign leaders this week. Only brief glimpses of Palin, running […]

In what amounts to state-sanctioned torture, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Armed Services Committee she interrogators in Iraq were using so called harsh interrogation techniques. WASHINGTON (AP) ‚ A military interrogation expert, Air Force Col. Steven Kleinman, told Congress on Thursday that prior to the abuses at Abu Ghraib, he witnessed […]

At the UN General Assembly's high-level debate yesterday, representatives of three countries discussed the need to encourage dialogue "and mutual respect between peoples of different faiths, beliefs, and values." The UN News Centre reported that the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Jan Peter Balkenende said that governments face a challenge "in balancing the need to […]

The quest for parenthood is nothing new, however in our increasingly busy Western lives we are waiting longer and longer to get married and have children. The result of older motherhood has led many families to face infertility and difficulties in conceiving. The idea of having fertility treatments is no longer shocking and taboo, so […]