THAILAND: A New Political Mask in a Pantomime?

It is becoming an act of courage in Thailand to fire a volley of criticism at Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, or the wealthy empire that his family presides over.

VENEZUELA: U.S. Set to ‘Grin and Bear’ Chavez Victory

Just days before Venezuelans vote on whether to recall Hugo Chavez, U.S. officials and analysts appear increasingly resigned to at least another two and a half years of a government headed by the fiery populist.

VENEZUELA: U.S. Set to ‘Grin and Bear’ Chavez Victory

Just days before Venezuelans vote on whether to recall Hugo Chavez, U.S. officials and analysts appear increasingly resigned to at least another two and a half years of a government headed by the fiery populist.

POLITICS-U.S.: Prisoner Abuse Scandal Rocks Legal, Medical Worlds

The scandal surrounding the torture and abuse by U.S. soldiers of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and in other theatres of the Bush administration's ''war against terrorism'' is producing unexpected aftershocks in the legal, medical and reporting professions.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Trial of Ex-Steel Boss, Just a Showcase?

The unusual sight of a once high-riding businessman being hauled to court, to answer charges related to the most spectacular corporate collapse in Malaysia's history, has revived interest in newly-elected Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's much-publicised anti-corruption drive.

ELECTIONS-U.S.: Hegemony Yes, Empire No in a Kerry Foreign Policy

If one were to reduce U.S. foreign policy under John Kerry - should he defeat President George W Bush in the November elections - to a four-word motto, it would probably be, ''Hegemony Yes, Empire No''.

POLITICS-U.S.: Hegemony Yes, Empire No in a Kerry Foreign Policy

If one were to reduce U.S. foreign policy under John Kerry - should he defeat President George W Bush in the November elections - to a four-word motto, it would probably be, ''Hegemony Yes, Empire No''.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Malaysia’s Abdullah Now Region’s Darling

With pragmatism and his own style of leadership, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has succeeded in laying the groundwork to overshadow his contemporaries as the most significant political figure in South-east Asia, under current circumstances.

POLITICS-U.S.: Losing Arab Hearts and Minds – It’s the Policy, Stupid

If U.S. President George W Bush thinks his ''war on terror'' is winning Arab hearts and minds, he should think about conducting it much differently than he has over the past two years...

POLITICS-US: Losing Arab Hearts and Minds – It’s the Policy, Stupid

If U.S. President George W Bush thinks his ''war on terror'' is winning Arab hearts and minds, he should think about conducting it much differently than he has over the past two years...

RIGHTS: Pressure Builds on Burma from All Fronts

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had South-east Asia's premier diplomatic grouping in sight when he released a press statement on Burma, one of its member countries, at the sidelines of the just-concluded International AIDS Conference.

RIGHTS: Pressure Builds on Burma from All Fronts

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had South-east Asia's premier diplomatic grouping in sight when he released a press statement on Burma, one of its member countries, at the sidelines of the just-concluded International AIDS Conference.

HIV/AIDS: Once Marginalised Issues Now in the Forefront

While the lack of major medical breakthroughs might have been the hallmark of the just concluded 15th International AIDS Conference, a radical shift that has occurred on another front, however, is hard to ignore.

POLITICS-U.S.: CIA Becomes Political Football

The imminent choice by U.S. President George W Bush of a new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), blasted Friday for ''groupthink'' and incompetence by a key Congressional committee, is fast becoming the major new battleground between the administration's hawks and realists.

HEALTH: A New Inclusive Community for AIDS to Be Born?

When the 15th International AIDS Conference (IAC) begins here Sunday, this biennial event will lay the foundations for a new relationship between people living with HIV, grassroots groups and the scientific community.

POLITICS-U.S.: Cheney In the Balance?

Now that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has chosen Senator John Edwards as his vice-presidential running-mate, the capital's attention has shifted to the fate of Vice President Dick Cheney.

POLITICS: Cleaning Up Africa’s Image

Conflict resolution and poverty reduction will dominate the annual summit of the African Union (AU), to be held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this week from Jul. 6 to 8.

POLITICS: Cleaning Up Africa's Image

Conflict resolution and poverty reduction will dominate the annual summit of the African Union (AU), to be held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this week from Jul. 6 to 8.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Burma Still Regional Grouping’s Cross to Bear

While a recent decision by South-east Asian governments makes it appear that Burma's military regime may have won a diplomatic victory, two approaching deadlines should give Rangoon's junta a reason for discomfort.

POLITICS: NATO Seeks To Re-Invent Itself

Created against a Soviet-dominated eastern European communism that has since gone capitalist, NATO is trying to re-invent itself amid questions whether it can succeed or even survive.

POLITICS-U.S.: Realism Sprouts More Buds

Two weeks after compromising with its traditional allies on the wording of a key U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraq, U.S. foreign policy under George W. Bush appears to be moving further toward the more-realist policies of his father in other areas as well.