News headlines in July 2009

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is known to publicly castigate countries accused of gender discrimination or violating international conventions governing women's rights.

The southern Chilean region of Araucanía has been shaken in the last few days by occupations of land by Mapuche activists claiming it as part of their ancestral territory, attacks on vehicles, and the resurgence of an anti-Mapuche paramilitary group.

Pres. Barack Obama has repeatedly declared himself a close friend of Israel. But many Israelis inside and outside their country's government have now expressed concern about the lack of closeness, or even just of attention, with which they feel Obama is treating them.

The latest row between Colombia and Venezuela continues to escalate, prompting Brazil to decide to intervene, in order to head off further incidents or statements that could lead to a rupture of ties between its two neighbours.

This city of 100,000 people in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul is named after the leader of the 1835-1845 Revoluçao Farroupilha (Ragged Revolution), which under the slogan 'Liberty, Equality, Humanity' resulted in the independence of the state from the Brazilian empire. At an international conference here today, peaceful revolutionaries are furthering similar ideals.

As more and more states are turning against coal power facilities in the U.S., advocates have been using the legal system to halt new pending plants.

Informal talks are being held in Vienna between the different parties involved in the long lasting conflict over the Western Sahara. A new plan proposed by the Obama administration will be discussed between the Polisario and the Kingdom of Morocco.

Against the backdrop of challenges ranging from the global financial crunch to the popularity of new media, editorial cartoonists are drawing up ways to be creative in more ways than one.

Slow Food, obviously, is the opposite of fast food. And it's a movement now with more than 100,000 members in 132 countries. But what does 'slow food' mean in practical terms?

With the need for a comprehensive approach toward Sudan growing more urgent every day, U.S. policy remains a topic of disagreement amongst top Washington officials and even within the Barack Obama administration itself.