In the US this week there’s been another outbreak of proposals to fix the “patent troll” problem. A new bill from Representative Bob Goodlatte suggests changing the nation’s patent law to punish trolling…
Wanted: al-Liby is wanted in connection with 1998 US embassy bombings.
US Department of State
Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, or Abu Anas al-Liby, as he is more commonly known, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to kill and maim Americans abroad and to attack US national defence facilities…
Phone a friend: Barack Obama talking with Hassan Rouhani recently.
White House
Talks begin in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss with Iran the thorny issue of its nuclear program, an area that has previously proved to be a stumbling block in normalising relations between the Islamic Republic…
Negotiations: Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry hammering out a deal on Syria.
US Department of State
The Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has announced it is sending a second team of weapons inspectors to Syria where, director-general Ahmet Üzümcü reports, destruction of al-Assad’s…
Great Satan: Iran-US relations will have to overcome 30 years of emnity.
Open Democracy
After more than three decades of false starts and missed opportunities, something might be finally moving on the diplomatic front between Iran and the United States. The two relatively moderate administrations…
Hard to get rid of: the US still hasn’t destroyed its chemical weapons stockplie.
US government
Bashar Assad’s decision to sign up Syria to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) last week committed his country to verifiably give up the possession of chemical weapons and their production capabilities…
While Barack Obama was getting the cold shoulder from Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg late last week, the mood was a great deal more cordial at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris as US secretary of state, John…
No matter who wins the federal election on Saturday, they will need to look beyond just the challenges at home in their term in office.
AAP/Auspic
Election 2013 Essays: As the federal election campaign draws to a close, The Conversation asked eminent thinkers to reflect on the state of the nation and the challenges Australia - and whichever party…
It doesn’t matter who won the Commons vote: these are the losers.
Freedom House via Creative Commons
As a policy analyst, I am naturally interested in the dynamics of domestic politics, the role of specific actors, institutions and communities. So I understand why so much talk in Britain yesterday and…
Barack Obama has so far held firm against a growing chorus demanding that the US should boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi after Russia’s introduction of discriminatory laws banning gay “propaganda…
Barack Obama’s comments that murdered teen Trayvon Martin ‘could have been me’ continue a long trend of Obama using ‘intimate politics’.
EPA/Shawn Thew
Barack Obama’s “Trayvon Martin could have been me” speech has been heralded as a political landmark. American commentators have lauded its seamless fusion of different voices: “a president, an African-American…
If China has already peaked, what will be the economic and political consequences of its decline?
EPA/Diego Azubel
The economic rise of China has produced a general feeling that the United States’ best days are behind them. Some experts argue the US is now facing “its fifth wave of Declinism”. Noting that many Chinese…
Yes, it’s getting hotter. Now President Obama is taking action.
EPA/Dennis Brack
President Obama’s speech at Georgetown University yesterday marks the most significant development in US climate change action so far. The “President’s Climate Action Plan”, a 21-page document, sets out…
The grim cost of conflict.
Freedom House via Creative Commons
President Obama’s confirmation that the United States would begin arming Syrian rebels has prompted an urgent debate about both the legality and the effectiveness of the decision. The announcement, ahead…
The impending Keystone XL decision will signal whether the US is ready to move from quick profits to investments in renewable technology.
Flickr/shannonpatrick
John Mathews, Macquarie Graduate School of Management
The Obama Administration is facing a critical choice over whether to approve an extension of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. If approved it will carry heavy crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta to refineries…
Tornadoes are common in the US Great Plains, but still devastating.
Carsten Peter/EPA/World Press Photo
Tornadoes are a part of life for people living in the Great Plains of the United States. In Oklahoma, a state that averages 62 tornadoes a year, people are prepared as best as they can be and are well…
In the last few years, both China and the US have ramped up efforts to address climate change.
Stefano Paltera/US Dept. of Energy Solar Decathlon
Ambition has awakened the global energy giants, China and the United States. Both nations have recently strengthened commitments to address climate change and announced plans to strengthen collaboration…
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University