Earlier this week, journalists highlighted U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Poneman's statement that the Obama Administration had "offered to facilitate Iran's procurement through the world markets of the medical isotopes its citizens need," but that "Iran's leaders apparently prefer to reject the most responsible, cost effective, and timely options... » read this article

A resurgent left, and the rapid growth of the Greens, look certain to condemn President Nicolas Sarkozy to two years' hard labour when French regional elections are completed this weekend. Opinion polls suggest that an alliance of the Socialists, the Greens and the harder left is likely to sweep at... » read this article

BUENOS AIRES -(Dow Jones)- In a ruling bearing potentially far-reaching implications, an appellate court in Argentina's Santa Fe province this week upheld a decision blocking farmers from spraying agrochemicals near populated areas. The ruling blocks the use of chemicals such as the widely used herbicide glyphosate within 800 meters of... » read this article

An Icelandic volcano, dormant for 200 years, has erupted, ripping a 1km-long fissure in a field of ice. The volcano near Eyjafjallajoekull glacier began to erupt just after midnight, sending lava a hundred metres high. Icelandic airspace has been closed, flights diverted and roads closed. The eruption was about 120km... » read this article

As the world marks World Water Day, the Gana and Gwi Bushmen of Botswana are marking eight years without access to a regular supply of water in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.In 2002, the Botswana government cut off and sealed a borehole, which the Bushmen relied on for water, in... » read this article

HALIFAX—They call him “the Hurricane.” Guatemalan coffee farmer Leocadio Juracan (his family name is close to the Spanish word for hurricane) has had a special relationship with many Nova Scotians—though most don’t even know it. His coffee-farming cooperative—part of the Comite Campesino Del Altiplano (CCDA), or Highland Peasant Farmers’ Committee—has... » read this article

Peter Kent recently returned from a three day trip (February 17-20) to Honduras, proudly declaring the mission a success. As Canada's Minister of State for the Americas, Kent is the Tory government's point person for Canada's growing political and economic interests in the region. Honduras has become an important focus... » read this article

Sixty-nine Burmese activists who were taken into custody on Friday for protesting in front of the Burmese embassy in New Delhi have been released, but 26 have been ordered to appear in court next week to face a variety of charges related to the incident. Police arrested the 69 activists... » read this article

KHAN YUNIS, Gaza - UN chief Ban Ki-moon slammed Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip during a tour of the war-battered coastal territory on Sunday, saying it was causing "unacceptable sufferings." "I have repeatedly made it quite clear to Israel's leaders that the Israeli policy of closure is not sustainable... » read this article

The top pro-Israel lobby opens its annual policy conference here Sunday keeping up the pressure to defuse a US-Israeli row over the Middle East peace process and to divert attention to Iran. Evan Bayh, a democatic Senator, and Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, will be the keynote speakers at... » read this article

Despite strong evidence that growing food crops to produce ethanol is harmful to the environment and the world’s poor, the Obama administration is backing subsidies and programs that will ensure that half of the U.S.’s corn crop will soon go to biofuel production. It’s time to recognize that biofuels are... » read this article

Earthquakes, like the recent Haitian and Chilean monsters, are not subtle events: They flatten buildings, crush houses, and turn infrastructures into concrete and steel confetti. But earthquakes can also generate a power that remains largely unseen, until a huge tsunami rises out of the sea and obliterates a coastline. This... » read this article

Veteran military and foreign affairs analyst and author Mark Perry reports that CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus dispatched a team of senior military officers in January to brief Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Michael Mullen on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Perry reports that the briefers told Mullen that “Israeli intransigence... » read this article

WikiLeaks uncovers information governments, companies try to keep from public view. WASHINGTON - A small, cash-strapped website that publishes documents governments want kept secret has caught the attention of the Pentagon. A report by the US Army Counterintelligence Center says the whistleblower website WikiLeaks poses a potential danger to safeguarding... » read this article

We are still shocked. We were never awed. We have not adjusted. The senseless waste of our blood and treasure, our honor and our reputation continue. Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom - the latter unleashed seven years ago today - have morphed into a single Operation Enduring Occupation,... » read this article

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s prime minister, promised on Thursday that Moscow would help Iran complete a civil nuclear power station by this summer, drawing criticism from Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state. His remarks highlighted the continuing differences between the two powers over how to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Mrs Clinton... » read this article

BELGRADE -- Foreign Ministry Political Director Borko Stefanović said Serbia would be recognizing Kosovo’s independence by participating in the conference in Slovenia. Serbian President Boris Tadić has made a definitive decision that he will not be attending the regional conference in Slovenia aimed at discussing the European integration of the... » read this article

Israel's proposed ascension to the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is nearly complete, while the details of this ascension provide a worrying picture of European negligence: The statistics provided by Israel to the OECD's committees have no reference to the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the almost four million... » read this article

In the first study ever done on the local health effects of the domes of carbon dioxide that develop above cities, Stanford researcher Mark Jacobson found that the domes increase the local death rate. The result provides a scientific basis for regulating CO2 emissions at the local level and points... » read this article

Venezuela and Belarus strengthened energy and trade co-operation on Wednesday, with President Hugo Chavez saying that the two allies are seeking to increase their independence from the US and other imperialist states. At a meeting in Caracas, Mr Chavez and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko agreed to invest $1.6 billion... » read this article