News headlines in April 2009, page 15

Universities are places for teaching, studying and learning, but for a prominent scholar in Belarus, researching and publishing on topics that the government considered unpopular led to a progression of abuse that began with being snubbed by academic conferences and isolated at the university and ended with his termination and even death threats.

The Justice Department Thursday released four secret memos used by the George W. Bush administration to justify torture.

There is a heavy turnover of social movement leaders in Colombia, given the frequency with which they are killed, displaced or forced into exile. And because of the dangers, those who step up to the plate can be considered veritable heroes – one of whom is indigenous leader Aída Quilcué.

The government of Iraq and the international community must establish safe conditions for the return of 2.6 million displaced Iraqis, says a new field report by the non-profit group Refugees International.

Former Costa Rican president Rodrigo Carazo (1978-1982) said that at times of global recession, economies like that of his country, dependent on what he called 'dessert' exports - like bananas or coffee - would be hit the hardest because they are among the first products people stop buying when money gets tight.

U.S. President Barack Obama may be the star attraction at the three-day meeting, but the U.S. embargo on Cuba – which has not been invited to attend – remains a major issue at this weekend’s Fifth Summit of the Americas to be held for the first time in an English-speaking Caribbean country.

As the wreckage from Israel's recent siege on Gaza continues to smoulder, international civil society organisations are assembling this week in Switzerland to address Israel's crimes of military occupation and racism.

In a ruling that could have widespread implications for government contractors overseas, a federal court has concluded that four former Abu Ghraib detainees, who were tortured and later released without charge, can sue the U.S. military contractor who was involved in conducting prisoner interrogations for the Pentagon in Iraq.

Tension between Israel and Palestinians is rising sharply as reflected in a number of increasingly bloody and violent confrontations since Israel's devastating war in Gaza at the beginning of the year.

The government of the right-wing New Democracy has announced massive security measures that legal experts warn can corrode social and political rights.