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For all of his effort to cultivate personal ties with foreign counterparts over the last four and a half years, President Obama has complicated relationships with some, and has bet on others who came to disappoint him.
Obama is set to make the case for a new phase in nuclear-weapons reductions in a major foreign-policy speech in Berlin.
The National Security Agency last year checked fewer than 300 telephone numbers against its database containing details about every phone call made in America, intelligence officials said Tuesday.
The Chilean Supreme Court approves the extradition of former Argentine judge Otilio Romano, accused of human rights abuses under the military government.
Protest leaders sought to turn Monday's venting of national frustration into a long-term movement, and a wary political class searched for footing in a country that has voiced a powerful call for change.
On June 13–14, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Tashkent for a summit with his Uzbekistani counterpart Islam Karimov. Although media coverage of this meeting differed in both countries, the summit witnessed the signing of a “strategic partnership” between Astana and Tashkent.
Intensified attacks on supply convoys from Pakistan for international forces in Afghanistan may signal a turning point for US drone attacks on militants on the AfPak border. With observers pointing out that the Taliban is in a stronger position than at any time since the 9/11 attacks, the main exit route for the 2014 withdrawal of troops is looking vulnerable, unless the US stops its drone program.
Though the move will help bring some order to Indonesia's budget, more drastic changes are still needed to attract investment and improve the country's economy.
The World Bank projects that portions of Bangkok would be flooded by 2030 and is beginning to commit billions of dollars in Asia to avoid the expected impact of climate change.
With only 18 cars per 1,000 people, india has lured global carmakers, but now sales are on the slide.
Mali's government reached a peace deal Tuesday with Tuareg fighters who rebelled last year and seized most of the country's north. But the deal does not resolve the West African nation's conflict with separate Islamic militias linked with Al Qaeda that are still plaguing the region.
Although the fate of Syrian President Bashar Assad split the Group of 8 summit, leaders manage to come up with a statement of common goals.
Spain needs further labour market reforms to reduce its “unacceptably high” unemployment, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, in a report that highlights concern among international policymakers that Madrid is slowing the pace of structural reforms.
After years of moving in a more socially liberal direction along with the rest of western Europe, the Spanish government is now doing an about face, seeking to clamp down on abortion and return the Roman Catholic Church to a prominent role in the country's school system.
The United States is being singled out for criticism after the Group of Eight (G8) rich countries failed to adopt a plan pushed by British Prime Minister David Cameron to require the creation of public country-level registries with detailed information on corporate ownership and activity.
The Lebanese city of Sidon exploded into widespread street violence Tuesday afternoon as supporters and opponents of the militant group Hezbollah traded artillery and small arms fire in response to an attack on a prominent Sunni Muslim opponent of the Shiite Muslim group, according to senior security officials and witnesses. At least one person was killed and nearly a dozen wounded, according to Lebanese security officials.
The Afghanistan president is apparently angered by the U.S.-backed initiative to start formal peace talks with the Taliban.
The Taliban announced the opening of a political office in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday and said they were prepared to talk, raising hopes for a break in long-stalled peace efforts.
America and Iran mustn’t be deluded by false perceptions. If both believe they have the upper hand in negotiations, there will be no nuclear deal.
President Obama's speech in Berlin today shows that America needs Germany to help with global issues. But German power has limits. Obama needs fresh ideas to help Europe and to fortify the transatlantic relationship, because the circumstances that created this bond no longer exist.
When serving in harm's way, diplomats, spies and soldiers need to know that their government has their back.
Calvo Cárdenas is an Afro-Cuban -- a group that makes up roughly half of Cuba’s population but that is greatly under-represented in its political leadership, media and nascent business class.
The carbon trade doesn't just fail to address climate change. In countries like Honduras, it fuels a perverse incentive structure by funneling cash to notorious human rights abusers engaged in extractive industries.
Although it faces strong resistance, reforms will be vital if the Chinese economy is to continue to evolve.
Western donors face a conundrum as Hun Sen continues to ignore calls for fair elections.
Free trade across the Atlantic is good for everyone, but the politics will require some flexibility.
The protesters in Istanbul have a message for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Butt out!
Laws restricting abortion, divorce and gay rights mask Russia's real problems.
I wanted to share my thoughts on what could be identified as the “Gezi syndrome” in Turkey.
During an interview on RT television last week, President Vladimir Putin made a truly sensational statement by revealing the real reason for the Russia-Georgia war of August 2008.
Unlike outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was a relative unknown in the West when he was first elected to the presidency, Rouhani is someone with whom the United States and its allies are well acquainted.
When responding to accusations that Iran's expansionist regional ambitions are a major source of Shi'ite radicalization in the region, any individual Shi'ite will, no doubt, say that there is no evidence of direct Iranian intervention in his everyday life, or his government's decision-making process.
Although the risk of sliding towards authoritarianism afflicts all societies, Turkey and 'Arab Spring' countries seems particularly prone to this. But what is the reason behind it?
Hassan Rowhani’s election as Iran’s next president has inspired hope of reform in his country, and of a more pragmatic relationship between Iran and the world. But the hard-liners who control the Islamic Republic's nuclear and regional policies have not gone away.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday proposed a new regulatory framework for mining in Brazil, one of the world’s biggest producers of iron, bauxite, gold, nickel, manganese and other minerals.
Argentina’s Supreme Court has ruled that the controversial Council of Magistrates reform, drafted by the Cristina Fernandez administration, is unconstitutional and suspended the election of the 12 members up for the popular vote in the next election.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told his visiting Vietnamese counterpart of Wednesday that maintaining peace and stability in the contested South China Sea was vital for both countries, who should remember their traditional friendship.
The Philippines has deployed a fresh batch of marines and supplies to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea, where a Chinese warship and surveillance vessels appeared last month and triggered a new standoff in the strategic waters, the Philippine defense secretary said June 19.
South Korea has begun accepting bids from aircraft makers to supply 60 new fighter jets at an estimated cost of $7.3 billion.
Indian scientists are upgrading the nation’s indigenous ballistic missile defense (BMD) system to extend the range at which it can kill an incoming missile from 1,2400 mi to 3,100 mi.
Ethiopia has no intention of harming Egypt and Sudan’s water interests, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said Tuesday.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has filed an urgent application with the country's top court to push back crucial elections by two weeks.
A coalition of human rights groups, numbering over 2,500 across the globe, Tuesday urged Mauritania to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Boeing has secured Britain’s Royal Navy as the latest customer for its ScanEagle unmanned air vehicle.
Ukraine is seeking to supply tanks and armored vehicles to Mexico, the Ukroboronprom state defense company said Wednesday.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has demanded a complete revision of his country's $13 billion bailout, which imposed unprecedented cuts on large depositors. But it is unlikely his request will be approved by eurozone ministers.
Khaled Mashaal, the Hamas political bureau chief, and Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, discussed the current issues related to Palestine, including the Middle East peace process, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
U.S. oil giant Chevron says it has signed a deal with Iraq's Kurdish regional government to expand its oil exploration territory in the northern self-rule region.
