Full Coverage: North America

31.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 31 (OneWorld) - Month-long U.N. talks on halting the spread of nuclear weapons have ended with no agreement on how to update and strengthen the 35-year-old Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

31.05.2005 Heroin sourced in Afghanistan will again dominate world markets following news that the opium harvest has increased, much against the intent of coalition forces. As well as blaming President Karzai, US officials in Kabul say that Britain has lead responsibility for eradication programmes.

30.05.2005 The Bush administration is making a final push for Congressional passage of a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but claims that it will improve economies and strengthen freedom and democracy in Central America are not even supported by a majority in the Republican-led U.S. Congress, says In These Times senior editor David Moberg.

30.05.2005 The Bush administration's new interpretation of a pair of laws would withhold HIV/AIDS funds from U.S.-based as well as foreign organizations unless they sign a pledge to oppose prostitution. Over 200 groups and individuals have written to President Bush opposing the pledge requirement, saying it will cause groups to alienate the very populations they're trying to help.

27.05.2005 Foreign governments should launch independent investigations into torture allegations against U.S. troops to determine where the ultimate responsibility lies, said Amnesty International Wednesday, launching its annual report on the state of human rights worldwide. And fault is found as high as Rumsfeld, Bush, Tenet or others, they should receive the same treatment the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet got--arrest and trial.

27.05.2005 With confidence in the Pentagon at its lowest levels since the Vietnam War, explaining away the Abu Ghraib tortures as the work of a few "bad apples" is insufficient, says Col. Daniel Smith (Ret.), arguing that the repeated reports of prisoner abuse in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay point to a larger problem--one for which the Pentagon's senior policymakers should ultimately be accountable.

27.05.2005 The House of Representatives rejected a measure Wednesday calling on President Bush to devise a plan for an Iraq withdrawal. With talks of a pullout taboo a few months ago--by even progressive lawmakers--some argue that the proposal--and the 128 "yay" votes it received--indicates a change of attitude in Congress toward Iraq.

27.05.2005 As temperatures soared, U.S. Border Patrol Agents recorded their busiest weekend in history last week, with 12 deaths and 40 emergency rescues. Widespread policy failures on border immigration and smuggling have caused advocacy groups to join forces in calls for reform, as the debate no longer breaks along right-left lines.

26.05.2005 In the wake of two tainted U.S. presidential elections, Global Exchange has launched a new website--votejustice.org--to promote the work of voters rights organizations. The new portal will be a gateway for activists to find campaigns and organizations to work with and resources on actions to take and local and national events to attend.

26.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 26 (OneWorld) - Rights watchdog Amnesty International urged foreign governments Wednesday to investigate and prosecute President George W. Bush much as they once did former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

26.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 26 (OneWorld) - Activists are seeking to use a European breakthrough this week to turn up the heat on some of the world's richest countries to come up with money they promised decades ago in the global fight against poverty.

26.05.2005 The European Union agreed Tuesday to set concrete timetables for fulfilling a promise the world's richer countries made in 1970 to allocate 70 cents of every $100 of national incomes to aid for poor countries. The move, which would double European aid by 2010, is expected to give a massive jolt to poor countries seeking to finally throw off the yoke of poverty.

26.05.2005 Although the last-minute deal reached by senators Monday night takes the “nuclear” option off the table, the move allowed some of President Bush's most controversial nominees to move forward and the real fight--over future Supreme Court nominations—is still to come.

26.05.2005 President Mahmoud Abbas' White House visit this week--the first between a Palestinian leader and President Bush--will likely be feted as an example of the Middle East's democratic potential. But it will also serve as an example of democracy's uncertainties, says journalist Howard LaFranchi, as Bush refuses to lessen support for Israel and Congress is unwilling to finance Palestinian aid.

26.05.2005 The Amnesty International Annual Report for 2004 is not exactly children's bedtime reading. It depicts a disturbing world in which cherished principles of human rights have been shoved under the carpet, not just by the familiar despots of Africa but also by dominant global powers led by the US.

25.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 25 (OneWorld) - The United States has ramped up arms sales to some of the world's most repressive and undemocratic regimes in a misguided attempt to bolster counter-terrorism efforts since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil, says a new report from leading arms trade researchers.

24.05.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., May 24 (OneWorld) - U.S. political celebrities and activists demanded Tuesday that the White House ''take specific steps to stop the genocide in Darfur'' and warned that inaction could push the death toll in the war-wrecked Sudanese region past one million people by the end of this year.

24.05.2005 More than 35 non-governmental organizations from across the U.S. are calling on Congress to grant the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands the same level of health care, clean up, and standards for radiation safety that apply to U.S. citizens affected by similar circumstances.

24.05.2005 "ExxonMobil's unwillingness to build a low-carbon future is only furthering the dangerous addiction to fossil fuels," says a major U.S.-based environmental coalition, offering a letter citizens can e-mail to Dr. Michael Boskin before Wednesday's meeting urging him to lead the company toward a clean energy future.

24.05.2005 At Halliburton's annual shareholder meeting in Texas last Wednesday, the international human rights organization Global Exchange put questions directly to company heads regarding the welfare of Halliburton employees in Iraq, and Halliburton's continued dealings with Iran despite U.S. sanctions. Most of the 250+ protestors who showed up to the meeting were barred entrance.