A European initiative to fund pro-democracy groups was introduced to Polish activists this week by its new director, Poland’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jerzy Pomianowski (left), UPI reports:

Pomianowski, appointed by the European Union last month to lead the …

Yemen’s transition process is on the brink of collapse due to the failure to reform security institutions and disempower former regime elements, a leading activist warned today.

Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh should be excluded from politics, and youth, women …

Bahrain will begin reconciliation talks this weekend with opposition groups, Reuters reports, in an attempt to end two years of conflict over demands for democratic reform.

Opposition groups contacted by Reuters suggested they would attend the talks but cited differences …

“If you’re not a socialist/liberal/radical at the age of 20, you haven’t got a heart. If you’re still one at 40, you haven’t got a head,” the cliché goes.

But there’s an exception to every rule.

“Evolving from pacifist to hawk …

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating the education of girls, has made her first video statement since she was nearly killed.

In the brief statement (above), she attributed her survival …

Since the collapse of Communism, the Council of Europe has “become the first way station for former Soviet bloc nations aspiring to join a web of Western alliances,” writes Judy Dempsey, editor in chief of Carnegie’s Strategic Europe:

As a …

US-Russian relations will remain strained as long as Washington continues to criticize the country’s human rights record, says a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.

The US violated “a tacit understanding” to refrain from publicly criticizing Russia’s democratic regression, undermining …

Burma’s government today held talks with senior commanders of the rebel Kachin Independence Army in an effort to end a violent ethnic conflict that threatens to undermine the country’s reform process.

“The KIA is fighting for autonomy for Kachin state …

Syrian opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib today urged President Bashar al-Assad to enter a dialogue to end the violent conflict and help “the regime leave peacefully,” Reuters reports:

The moderate Islamist preacher announced last week he was prepared to talk …

China’s largest private sector employer is planning to hold “genuinely representative” trade union elections in an attempt to address growing worker discontent and prevent further outbreaks of unofficial labor militancy.

If the polls go ahead as planned …