POLITICS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Electoral Code to Make Its Debut

Voters in Botswana go to the polls this week to elect a new parliament and local government. The diamond-rich nation will become the first to test a new electoral code of conduct adopted by the Southern African Development Community in August.

EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM: Different Paths Emerge

The third European Social Forum appears to mark the end of the "love story" between grassroots social movements and the international gatherings that are now in vogue. In any case, discontent in both camps - the activists and the official organisers - will leave a mark on future events.

ENVIRONMENT: Russia Eyes the Kyoto Market

Nobody stands to gain more than Russia through its move to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement to cut atmosphere-warming emissions and through that to contain climate change.

U.S. ELECTION: Fear of Military Draft a Growing Factor

With the presidential election coming down to the wire, the possibility of a revived military draft is looming as a potentially decisive factor in the outcome.

MIDEAST: Disengagement May Not Bring Peace

Israel has been gripped by disengagement fever since the opening of the winter session of Parliament last week; in a few days lawmakers will have to vote on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

MIDEAST: Disengagement May Not Bring Peace

Israel has been gripped by disengagement fever since the opening of the winter session of Parliament, the Knesset, last week. In a few days lawmakers will have to vote on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to withdraw the army from the Gaza Strip and dismantle all settlements there, as well as four in the north of the West Bank.

U.S. ELECTION: Faith Versus Facts – The Revolt of the Experts

Increasingly concerned about a ''faith-based presidency'' under President George W Bush, normally Republican or non-partisan experts on a range of national and international issues have decided to either publicly endorse his challenger, Senator John Kerry, or make clear their opposition to the incumbent.

ECONOMY-BENIN: Cotton Firm Treads a Tortuous Path to Privatisation

The privatisation of state-owned enterprises is often fraught with difficulties – witness developments at Benin’s National Society for Agricultural Advancement (Société nationale pour la promotion agricole, SONAPRA), a cotton-processing firm.

POLITICS-U.S.: So, Did Saddam Hussein Try to Kill Bush’s Dad?

Now that President George W. Bush's allegations about former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's ties to al-Qaeda and ambitious weapons programmes have been thoroughly discredited, another outstanding charge remains to be resolved.

INDIA: Congress Win in Maharashtra Seen as Triumph for Secularism

The resounding electoral victory of Congress and its secular allies in the provincial elections in western Maharashtra state is being seen as an endorsement of the party's brand of politics that champions the poor - one that saw it return to national power in May after an eight-year hiatus.

THAILAND: Ramadan Sees Hope, Fear and Brutality in the South

The start of Ramadan this Friday, when pious Muslims seek to cleanse their souls and come together in the name of peace, sees mosques in Southern Thailand taking a centre- stage in a region racked by recent violence and bloody killings.

THAILAND: Ramadan Sees Hope, Fear and Brutality in the South

The start of Ramadan this Friday, when pious Muslims seek to cleanse their souls and come together in the name of peace, sees mosques in Southern Thailand taking a centre- stage in a region racked by recent violence and bloody killings.

RIGHTS-BURMA: Europe, Asia Forsake Aung San Suu Kyi

A healthy mix of European passion for wealth and Asian comfort in repression have given a new lease of legitimacy and political life to one of South-east Asia's most brutal regimes, the military government in Burma.

DIPLOMACY: Iran’s Gas Pipeline May Turn South Asia’s Peace Pipe

Of the many initiatives undertaken to forge lasting peace between South Asia's squabbling neighbours, none can challenge the promise of Iran's proposed natural gas pipeline to India traversing through Pakistan.

EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM: Together Under an Iraqi Shadow

'People Power' had become another of those slogans until the rallies Feb. 15 last year against the imminent invasion of Iraq. Those rallies were not only the biggest Europe has ever seen, but everything since then proves that people were marching on the right path.

AUSTRALIA: Howard’s Senate Majority Rings Alarm Bells

Conservative Australian Prime Minister John Howard was returned over the weekend to his fourth term in office with an increased majority. But there are concerns that his party’s control of the upper legislature could have dire consequences for the country.

AUSTRALIA: Howard’s Senate Majority Rings Alarm Bells

Conservative Australian Prime Minister John Howard is set to embark on a further major deregulation of the economy and curtail the bargaining power of unions after being comfortably re-elected for a fourth term with his coalition party likely to win control of the Senate.

POLITICS-U.S.: Sidelined Neo-Cons Stoke Future Fires

Sidelined by their failed predictions for Iraq and U.S. President George W Bush's efforts to reassure voters he is not a warmonger, prominent neo-conservatives and their Christian Right allies are nonetheless trying hard to prepare the ground for future U.S. adventures in the Middle East.

U.S.-IRAQ: Bush’s Case for War Crumbles

Is there anything at all left of the Bush administration's case for going to war in Iraq or, for that matter, the way it has been fought?

POLITICS-U.S.: Bush’s Case for War Crumbles

Is there anything at all left of the Bush administration's case for going to war in Iraq or, for that matter, the way it has been fought?

POLITICS: Burma and EU Draw Lines in the Sand

The showdown between Burma's military regime and the European Union (EU) at this weekend's meeting of Asian and European leaders has propelled into one that could damage the EU's stature if Rangoon does not blink.