Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Afghanistan This report is produced by OCHA Afghanistan in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period only 17 May 2012. I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES (...) Read the original article... More»

Today, a broad coalition of groups supporting clean air safeguards announced that more than one million Americans have shown their support for new standards to curb industrial carbon pollution from power plants by submitting comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With over a month still remaining in the public comment period, this is... More»

Turkey is demanding that Israel explain an alleged incursion by an Israeli aircraft into northern Cypriot airspace. In a statement Thursday, the Turkish military said the Israeli plane violated the airspace five times on Monday. The statement did not identify the type of aircraft. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it has contacted Israel's mission in... More»

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is pleased that Members of the House of Representatives are moving forward on significant components of long overdue voting legislation that will address the real problems occurring in our election system today. This bill offers much needed reforms to our antiquated voter registration system, increases access... More»

The role of bioenergy in a green economy, a subject of heated debate and concern among members of the international community, will be a topic of discussion at the Rio+20 negotiations. As IFPRI’s Global Food Policy Report reveals, biofuels were once viewed as a means to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, whose carbon emissions... More»

U.S. President Barack Obama has named Derek Mitchell as the first U.S. ambassador to Myanmar in more than 20 years, in a move marking the restoration of full diplomatic relations. (...) Read the original article... More»

Washington, D.C. (May 17, 2012) - As part of an ongoing effort to bring Sudanese President Omar Bashir to justice, the House Appropriations Committee today adopted an amendment cutting off non-humanitarian aid to any nation that allows the indicted war criminal into their country. (...) Read the original article... More»

Multibillonaire Pete Peterson’s Fiscal Summit concluded on Tuesday with a stand for no-compromise austerity and Speaker of the House John Boehner laying out the case for massive spending cuts. Yesterday the Senate voted down budget proposals that would have slashed Medicaid, cut SNAP, voucher-ized Medicare, and shrunk most other domestic human needs programs. At... More»

The U.S. Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on an accused Haqqani network operative and a Taliban financier, a move it says will help "ensure all those who perpetrate ongoing violence and terrorist activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan will continue to be marginalized and cut off from the international financial system." Read the original article... More»

The U.S. Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on an accused Haqqani network operative and a Taliban financier, a move it says will help "ensure all those who perpetrate ongoing violence and terrorist activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan will continue to be marginalized and cut off from the international financial system." Read the original article... More»

HARARE - Zimbabwe's finance minister has ruled out holding elections this year, saying the troubled nation does not have enough money to fund the polls. He blamed the problem on diamond mining firms failing to pay the government its share of revenue.   Addressing journalists in Harare, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said it was... More»

Egyptian presidential hopeful Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh is a practicing physician with extensive experience in international relief work. A former leading figure of the Muslim Brotherhood, he is also a prominent Islamic activist. Known for his relatively liberal positions on social issues, he is supported by young Islamists, liberals and even Egypt's Copts. ... More»

Human Rights First welcomes today’s release from the U.S. Department of Justice of a final rule to govern standards that protect prisoners from sexual abuse. The new standards are required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act, passed by Congress in 2003 to “prevent, detect, respond to and monitor sexual abuse of incarcerated or detained... More»

A blue-green coalition of more than 100 labor, environmental, public health, and environmental justice organizations urged President Obama to take executive action to protect Americans from the risks posed by dangerous chemical facilities in a letter sent to the White House yesterday.read more Read the original article... More»

Winston Churchill once said, "The further backward you look, the further forward you can see." As President Obama is set to make a speech about today's global hunger crisis, it helps to look back on this... Read the original article... More»