Haiti Gears Up for Polls - Again, Sans Lavalas Wadner Pierre PORT-AU-PRINCE, 30 Jul (IPS) - After weeks of delays, Haitian President René Préval confirmed this month that presidential and legislative elections will take place on Nov. 28. The U.N. and Western donor nations are pledging millions of dollars in support of the polls, but with at least 1.5 million people still homeless from the January earthquake, questions loom over how to ensure voter participation. more...   HONDURAS Rights Situation Deteriorates Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, 29 Jul (IPS) - Six months after the inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo, the human rights situation in Honduras continues to deteriorate, according to two major New York-based groups. more...   Pakistan Poll Finds Widespread Disillusionment Eli Clifton* WASHINGTON, 29 Jul (IPS) - The recent Wikileaks dump of war-related documents has brought little new to the debate over Washington's ongoing military involvement in Afghanistan, but allegations that Pakistan's intelligence services are aiding the Taliban has brought renewed attention to U.S. concerns over its reliance on Islamabad in battling Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. more...   US Court Blocks Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 28 Jul (IPS) - In a legal victory for the administration of President Barack Obama, a federal court Wednesday temporarily blocked the implementation of key provisions of a controversial Arizona immigration law that was to take effect Thursday. more...   Obama's Afghanistan Strategy Increasingly Under Siege Analysis by Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, 26 Jul (IPS) - Monday's release by WikiLeaks of tens of thousands of classified documents detailing the travails of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and Pakistan's secret support for the Taliban from 2004 through 2009 comes amid a growing crisis of confidence here in the nearly nine-year-old war. more...   Leaked Reports Make Afghan War Policy More Vulnerable Analysis by Gareth Porter* WASHINGTON, 26 Jul (IPS) - The 92,000 reports on the war in Afghanistan made public by the whistleblower organisation WikiLeaks, and reported Monday by the Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel, offer no major revelations that are entirely new, as did the Pentagon Papers to which they are inevitably being compared. more...   Hopes Fade for Languishing U.S. Climate Bill Eli Clifton WASHINGTON, 26 Jul (IPS) - The Barack Obama administration has found success in passing healthcare reform and legislation touted as an "overhaul" of the U.S. financial system, but last week it became clear that the Democrats wouldn't advance a climate change bill until after the August recess and, more likely, until next year. more...   Mentally Ill Adrift in U.S. Immigration System Esther Banales UNITED NATIONS, 25 Jul (IPS) - Mentally disabled legal permanent residents of the United States and asylum seekers face indefinite detention, erroneous deportation, and unfair hearings in U.S. courts, according to a new joint report from two leading human rights organisations. more...   Despite Cuts, Nukes Still Integral to U.S. Security Strategy Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, 23 Jul (IPS) - The new U.S. plan to maintain and improve its nuclear weapons complex is likely to hinder international efforts to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction, say independent analysts who have watched a series of U.N.-led talks on nuclear proliferation and disarmament for years. more...   US/INDONESIA Resumption of Special Forces Training Denounced Jim Lobe* WASHINGTON, 22 Jul (IPS) - Thursday's announcement in Jakarta that Washington will resume training for the Indonesian military's controversial Special Forces unit (Kopassus) has been denounced by human rights groups and two key lawmakers here. more...