The ongoing effort to repeal the policy banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the U.S. military got more ammunition Tuesday when the U.S. Department of Defence released a report finding that its repeal would cause only minimal short-term disruption to the military.

The United Nations has long been a veritable playground for spooks of all political stripes to spy on each other - going back to the days of the U.S.-Soviet Cold War in the 1960s and '70s.

Who is responsible for stalling reform of the U.N. Security Council? The exclusive club of five nuclear-armed industrialised countries, or those from the developing world who have little say in decision-making on issues of international peace and security?

Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobrás maintains a solid and vigorous presence in natural gas production within Bolivian territory, even with the nationalisation of petroleum and gas in 2006 led by Bolivia's left-wing President Evo Morales.

A diplomatic cable from last February released by Wikileaks provides a detailed account of how Russian specialists on the Iranian ballistic missile programme refuted the U.S. suggestion that Iran has missiles that could target European capitals or intends to develop such a capability.

Uganda has lost more than two million hectares of forest since 1990, mostly converted to farmland by a growing population of smallholders. Carbon finance through the REDD programme is often presented as one way to arrest this destruction, but only if the benefits clearly translate to the grassroots.

While the U.S. Congress idles on the passage of the DREAM Act, immigrants here face ever harsher treatment. The rate of deportations has increased by 1,200 percent since 1990, from 30,000 per year then to a staggering 360,000 under the Barack Obama administration.

Speaking at the Peace Fair to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury said the historic and operational value of the resolution has been undercut by the disappointing record of its implementation.

More than 11 percent of Peruvian territory is distributed among mining concessions. Those mining blocks can include moors, river sources, and even protected natural areas.

Tasha Ncube* has no kind words for the police. Early last month, the 31-year-old mother of two was beaten several times by her husband over what she says were small arguments. This was the first time in a marriage that has gone for years without any such occurrence.