ENERGY-BOLIVIA: From Supplier of Raw Materials to Skillful Negotiator

The security provided by a new contract for increased sales of natural gas to Argentina and the threat of expropriation through military force of the assets of firms that refused to renegotiate their contracts under Bolivia’s new nationalisation scheme gave the Bolivian government the wallop it needed to pressure 10 foreign oil companies to agree to new deals.

POLITICS-US: Neo-Con Nadir?

Less than a week from mid-term elections that are expected to bring at least one house of Congress under Democratic control, neo-conservatives, whose foreign policy ideas dominated most of the first half of the administration of George W. Bush, are having a hard time.

POLITICS-US: Republicans Spring a New “Winning” Strategy

In the final days before the November elections, George W. Bush administration surrogates have taken to asking whoever they are conversing with about the Iraq war, "Do you want us to win in Iraq?"

EAST TIMOR: Worst Violence in Months

After centuries of Portuguese colonialism and more than two decades of military occupation by Indonesia, instability and violence continue to plague East Timor, one of the world's newest and poorest nations.

MIDEAST: 50 Years After Suez, U.S. Hegemony Ebbing Fast

As the Middle East prepares to mark the 50th anniversary on Oct. 29 of the Suez Crisis that effectively ended European colonialism, a half century of U.S. hegemony in the region also appears to be coming to an end, according to a growing number of analysts here.

POLITICS-IRAN: Ahmadinejad’s Divine Inspiration

Amid a struggle between two major clerical factions for control of Iran's influential Assembly of Experts, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to shore up his conservative base by portraying himself as a man with a direct link to god.

EAST ASIA: Torn Between Japan-US Ties and N. Korean Bomb

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's tour of Japan, China and South Korea last week to rally support for tough measures against North Korea underscored Japan's growing military dependence on Washington.

COLOMBIA: Uribe’s Explosion

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe's furious response to a car-bomb that blew up in a military installation in the capital was, for many, a spontaneous outburst against the FARC guerrillas, who he blamed for the attack. But perhaps it was a coldly calculated response, merely part of his overall strategy.

IRAQ/U.S.: A Consensus Develops: Leave the Course

While Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's continued tenure in office has been the subject of a surge of speculation over the past week, it may be George W. Bush's continued reign - at least over Iraq policy -¬ that appears most endangered at the moment.

RIGHTS-CHILE: Uphill Climb to Overturn Amnesty

Despite an Inter-American Court on Human Rights ruling against the amnesty law in force in Chile since 1978 and President Michelle Bachelet's determination to comply, it will not be easy to revoke the law.

POLITICS: Iraqi Endgame Approaching, Bush Ready or Not

If Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki were inclined to bet his life on President George W. Bush's latest assurances that there will be no timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, he should probably give it a second thought.

POLITICS: Iraqi Endgame Approaching, Bush Ready or Not

If Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki were inclined to bet his life on President George W. Bush's latest assurances that there will be no timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, he should probably give it a second thought.

MOLDOVA: Soviet Ways Surface in a Corner

After the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria voted for independence in a referendum last month, Russian diplomacy seems to indicate willingness to recognise a de facto state whose legitimacy the international community persistently denies.

DEVELOPMENT: Stand Up, to Wake Up

As protests go, this must be among the most comfortable: people will simply stand up at many places around the world to show their commitment to fighting poverty.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Social Security Not So Much a Luxury as a Necessity

Social protection is emerging as a policy option among governments and donors in Southern Africa, as poverty and unemployment persist despite economic growth in the region.

POLITICS: N. Korean Blast May Hit Indo-US Nuclear Deal

How is North Korea's atomic explosion, signifying the latest breakout from the global nuclear restraint regime, likely to affect the preceding two breakout cases, India and Pakistan?

POLITICS: The Baker Saviour?

For the many, many foreign policy experts who have reached an advanced state of despair over the ever-plunging image and influence of the United States after nearly six years of the presidency of George W. Bush, the name James Baker III has an almost talismanic quality.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Fighting Hunger May Not Always Require Food

Several studies in Southern Africa show that the direct transfer of cash to people living on or below the breadline not only prevents hunger, but also further impoverishment.

MIDEAST: Peacemaking Goes Into Deep Coma

The Qatari foreign minister proposing a six-point plan for a Fatah-Hamas government of national unity, including a two-state solution to the Mideast conflict. The U.S. Secretary of State visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a bid to revive long-moribund peace talks. Leaks to the press regarding a meeting between Olmert and a "very senior" figure in the Saudi regime, just as the Saudis are said to be actively trying to renew peace talks in the region.

HUNGARY: Socialist Government Survives Political Turmoil

The leaking of a tape with governmental admissions of deceit, three days of anti-government rioting, and a crushing defeat in last week's municipal elections have not been enough to force Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány to resign.

TURKEY: Between Two Worlds, It Can Be Uncomfortable

The month of October has begun with an epidemic of headache that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could definitely have done without.