RAMAT GAN, Israel, Sep 12 (IPS) - Unmindful of news of the U.S. delaying its military action on Syria to pursue the Russian plan for international monitors to take control and destroy Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons, Israelis continue to collect their gas mask kits at Home Front Command distribution centres.

WASHINGTON, Sep 12 (IPS) - President Barack Obama's decision to put off a vote by Congress on the use of military force against Syria in order to pursue a Russian proposal to place Damascus' chemical-weapons arsenal under international control has evoked both cheers and jeers from across the political spectrum here Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 11 (IPS) - The United States, which is preoccupied with the ongoing political and military developments in Syria, is still saddled with an unresolved problem elsewhere in the Middle East: the military takeover of Egypt's first democratically-elected government.

SAN FRANCISCO, California, Sep 11 (IPS) - Newly arrived from London, Robert Swan is facing a promise he made to famed marine researcher and conservationist Jacques Cousteau decades ago.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 11 (IPS) - New international migration figures released by the United Nations Wednesday show that more people than ever are living abroad. Around 232 million of the global population of seven billion are considered international migrants, simply defined as persons living outside their country of birth.

ROME, Sep 11 (IPS) - After what is remembered as the North Africa emergency of 2011, Italy is again seeing an increase in the arrivals of migrants, especially asylum seekers.

TUNIS, Sep 11 (IPS) - The Tunisian revolution which ousted the dictator Ben Ali in early 2011, gave greater liberty to Tunisians but it also scared off many tourists. However, despite the current political crisis visitors have steadily returned, and the Tunisian authorities and tourism industry are determined to protect a sector which plays a vital role in the Tunisian economy.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 10 (IPS) - The Brazilian government projects the cancellation of nearly 900 million dollars in debt owed by a dozen African countries as a gesture of solidarity. But others simply see an aim to expand the economic and political influence of South America's powerhouse.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 10 (IPS) - If Syria eventually agrees to relinquish its stockpile of chemical arms under the 1993 international Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), what of the six other countries that have either shown reluctance or refused to join the treaty?

WASHINGTON, Sep 10 (IPS) - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) says it is "deeply concerned" over the Venezuelan government's decision to withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights, a move that went into effect Tuesday.