if there is sufficient political will within the organ, the African Union can have significant impact on the continent and can have significant impact in ending conflict and ensuring that human rights are respected. - Amnesty International's Noel Kut...
Iran is starting 11 days of celebrations to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Around the country, Iranians paused at 9:33 in the morning to remember the day that the revolution's leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from a...
Political observers have praised the recent Ukrainian elections, saying the outcome of Sunday's second round contest between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and one of her predecessors, Viktor Yanukovych, is not predetermined. That's in stark contras...
A legislation in the country's parliament to set the minimum age for marriage at 17 has been languishing for a year Heather Murdock | Sanaa 01 February 2010 In many parts of Yemen, it is customary to marry girls as young as 10-years old. About a year...
Indonesia's central bank has recently embraced new regulations for Islamic banking, which it sees as key to building on last year's strong economic growth. In a country that is home to more than 200 million Muslims, the potential for expansion is eno...
A United Nations Trade Group is promoting so-called EcoChic Fashion as one way of stemming the rapid loss of the world's biodiversity. The United Nations has designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity to focus attention on the threaten...
USA skeleton competitor Zach Lund poses for a portrait during the USOC Media Summit in Chicago. Lund was suspended for a year and booted from the 2006 Turin Olympics because of a hair-growth product that at the time contained a banned substance. He's...
The Greek philosopher Plato said necessity is the mother of invention. And in tough economic times, innovation is essential for job seekers. With 10 percent of the U.S. workforce unemployed, some entrepreneurs are seizing opportunity. For young peopl...
Three world champions are among the five athletes on the U.S. Nordic Combined team for the Vancouver Olympics. Todd Lodwick, Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane hope to bring the United States its first Olympic gold medal in the event that features ski j...
Some Haitians trying to rebuild their shattered communities are turning to their faith. Many Haitians now worship in the open air after their churches were badly damaged or destroyed by a devastating earthquake nearly three weeks ago. In one Port-au-...
A patient's view of the devastation in Haiti and his appreciation for the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort are attracting the attention of those on board. The black-and-white pencil drawing, with its hard lines and delicate shading, is signed in the l...
The director of governance at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa says he expects a change in approach following Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharikas election as chairman of the African Union over the weekend. Peter Clottey | Washington...
U.S. and Iraqi officials inaugurated a portion of the country's new border security fence along the Iraqi-Syrian border, as efforts are stepped up to improve security before March parliamentary elections. Sunni and Shi'ite political leaders also cont...
Regional diplomats say Guinea's new transitional government should keep to its timetable to organize elections within six months. That could help stabilize a region still recovering from conflict in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The African...
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has stepped down as chairman of the 53-nation African Union, but not without firing a few verbal broadsides at the organization. Mr. Gadhafi chastised his fellow heads of state for refusing to go along with his plan for...
