International Features

After a raucous hearing, a Manhattan community board backed a proposal on Tuesday evening to build a Muslim community center near the World Trade Center. The 29-to-1 vote, with 10 abstentions, followed a four-hour back-and-forth between those who said the community center would be a monument to tolerance and those who believed it would be an affront to victims of …

Haaretz reports today that Israel will attempt to block the humanitarian Freedom Flotilla heading toward Gaza. However, according to the Israeli paper, the humanitarian cargo would then be unloaded, inspected and sent to Gaza overland via the United Nations. Typical for Israel, it tries to win a lost battle. On the one hand, by stopping the flotilla Israel attempts to …

Obama’s Rudderless Foreign Policy Underscores America’s Waning Power  Irrespective of their politics, flawed leaders share a common trait. They generally remain remarkably oblivious to the harm they do to the nation they lead. George W. Bush is a salient recent example, as is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. When it comes to foreign policy, we are now witnessing a similar …

Washington – It was a feather in the cap of pro-boycott activists, but for Israelis, a major setback. With battle lines drawn across concert halls and stadiums hosting rock bands, the decision by mega-star Elvis Costello to cancel his planned concerts in Israel is being viewed as a game changer. In a statement posted on his website, Costello described his …

On May 15, Israel celebrated the 62nd year of its existence. Looking back, it claims that it outshines all the other states in the Middle-Eastern region as a true democracy. It also boasts that it is the only country in the region that upholds the fundamental rights of its citizens. However, it cannot boast about its record of human rights …

UNITED NATIONS, May 18, 2010 (IPS) – The United States, and most of the Western world, have transformed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad into a virtual bogeyman, thereby spreading fear throughout the neighbouring countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A nuclear-powered Iran, so the argument goes, is a …