World

John Otis and Juan Forero field questions from the audience during a discussion on Colombia at the Inter-American Dialogue.: By William W. CummingsJournalists, diplomats, policy makers and members of various Latin America-related non-governmental organizations overflowed the conference room in the Washington, D.C.

President Barack Obama is expected to urge the American public to have patience with his policy in Afghanistan during tonight's State of the Union speech. The president and administration officials first took the case for a troop increase to lawmakers and voters last December, meeting mixed reaction from both sides of the aisle as well as voters who are depicted by pollsters as increasingly fatigued by the lengthy conflict.

Big Ben, Parliament: Photo by hyku, courtesy of Creative CommonsA unified front concerning the future of the Afghanistan conflict is the focus of an international conference that will be held in London on Thursday. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the summit last November in hopes of matching the military force with a "political momentum," as troops start withdrawing in 2011.

Volunteers watch for news about the ongoing situation in Haiti.The Haitian Embassy swarmed with activity Wednesday.

A week after a devastating earthquake rocked the small Carribbean nation and caused almost 200,000 in casualties, people from across the area have flocked to the Hatian embassy to offer donations and assistance.

Matthew Henkes returned to his room at the Caribe Hotel in Port-au-Prince after a meeting with the Haitian Minister of the Environment. He was working as a USAID contractor on watershed initiatives designed to double the yield of Haiti’s farmers while teaching them more sustainable agricultural practices. The meeting had been stressful, and he needed to unwind. He removed his dress shirt, emptied his pockets onto the bed, took a deep breath and went toward the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.

At the National Naval Medical Center, Rear Adm. Matthew Nathan briefs his men, who're deploying to Haiti aboard the U.S.N.S. Comfort. Photo by Kathryn Yao for the American ObserverThe National Naval Medical Center deployed several hundred soldiers to Haiti on January 15 via the USNS Comfort, a mobile hospital on water with 1,000 beds and medical supplies, to help with the earthquake relief mission.

Christianity and Judaism –– two different religions brought closer to light as the days of December become shorter and darker.  Christians celebrate Christmas and Jews celebrate Hanukkah, and candles play a role in each of their traditions.

A section of the Berlin Wall is on display in Washington, D.C.'s Newseum, 20 years after its fall: Photo by Matt Stevens, American ObserverOn Nov. 9, 1989,  the Berlin Wall fell — marking the beginning of the death of communism as a world power. The fall of the Berlin Wall was an event many thought would never occur. Richard Pipes, however, thought otherwise.

For the crime of praying for the Dalai Lama at a Buddhist temple in Sichuan, the Chinese government forced a group of monks to take a “patriotism” class where they were made to trample over an image of him. Bob Fu speaks about religious freedom in China. Photo by Lauren Orsini, American Observer

On Tuesday, October 13th, American University held a forum to discuss how young people felt about President Obama one year after his election. Professor Jane Hall's advanced reporting class interviewed several students and non-students to get their feelings on how the president is doing, health care, the economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The American Forum is being broadcast and can be heard online on WAMU.