POLITICS-US/CHINA: Springtime for the Blue Team

Just one week ago, the consensus here was that President George W. Bush, worried about further aggravating growing tensions with Beijing, would give Taiwan only partial satisfaction later this month when he must decide on what new weapons systems to sell to the island for its defence against Beijing's fast-growing missile arsenal.

POLITICS: Plane Incident Comes at Critical Moment in US-China Relations

The apparently accidental collision of a Chinese fighter jet and a US spy plane over the South China Sea Sunday comes at a delicate moment in ties between the two countries.

POLITICS: US Contra Backers Now Target China

Ten years after their coalition began falling apart over the Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, various strands of the right-wing alliance behind the Nicaraguan Contras in the 1980s are coming back together to mobilise public opinion against a new enemy: China.

POLITICS-US/KOREA: Foreign Policy Establishment Presses Bush

Alarmed by the surly pose struck by President George W. Bush toward North Korea, the traditional US foreign- policy establishment is urging the new administration to show greater openness toward a quick resumption of talks with Pyongyang on ending its missile programme.

POLITICS-AUSTRALIA: Economic Liberalisation Feeds Voter Frustration

The impact of globalisation and environmental policies on rural communities are shaping up as key election issues, with the potential to unseat the government of Prime Minister John Howard in a federal poll before the year's end.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Racial Clashes Show Rise of New Underclass

This week's ethnic violence did not erupt in the upper-class, multi-ethnic residential area of Damansara near the capital Kuala Lumpur, or in its trendy Bangsar neigbourhood with its posh nightspots and watering holes.

DEVELOPMENT: International Financial Institutions Eye Public Services

Anti-privatisation protestors are expected to descend on the streets of Johannesburg this month as they demand a reversal of the sale of their municipal water supply to French multinational Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux.

POLITICS-US/ASIA: Trouble Ahead

While US President George W. Bush focuses initially on Washington's closest foreign relationships, storm clouds appear to be massing steadily in Northeast Asia.

POLITICS-CUBA/US: The Absurdity of the Tail Wagging the Dog

Hassan Havana, a lovely example of an Afghan hound, saw her participation in Cuban canine expositions threatened by the official interrogation of one her owners, Vicki Huddleston, head of the United States Interests Section in the island's capital.

POLITICS-IRAQ/US: Is There a Strategy?

Four days after US warplanes bombed radar stations and air-defence command centres around Baghdad, Washington's strategy for dealing with its old nemesis, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, is little clearer than it was before.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Supreme Judge’s Early Retirement Raises Eyebrows

Following a series of crucial judgments against the government and threats of violence against him, Zimbabwe's Chief Justice may not have jumped, but pushed, when he announced his early retirement from the bench recently.

POLITICS-MIDEAST: Sharon Victory Poses Major Challenges for New US President

Israeli rightwing leader Ariel Sharon's smashing defeat of Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Monday's elections poses major challenges to the new administration in Washington D.C., which has not even assembled its Mideast policy team.

TRADE: New US Trade Representative Faces Obstacles

Robert B. Zoellick won confirmation as US Trade Representative Tuesday and now faces the task of securing controversial 'fast track' negotiating authority for his boss, President George W. Bush.

POLITICS-US: Latent Differences Muffled as Bush Team Settles In

''In the early going of any Administration, there's a process of settling in,'' the new US Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill, said in the latest edition of Business Week magazine.

POLITICS-IRAN: Reformist Retreat Threatens Stability

Has Iranian President Mohamad Khatami finally given up trying to loosen the nearly quarter century-old stranglehold of Islamic religious conservatives on social and political life in this country?

POLITICS-US: On Foreign Policy, Clinton Mostly Timid

Despite his enduring popularity and the unparalleled global influence achieved by the United States during his term, President Bill Clinton's eight years of foreign policy-making were marked mostly by timidity and the persistent fear of offending powerful domestic interests.

POLITICS-US: Contending Factions in Bush Administration Could Muddy Waters in Crisis Areas

If you thought that President Bill Clinton's foreign policy suffered from incoherence, wait until the administration of George W. Bush takes over Jan. 20.

POLITICS-US: Can Bush Govern? Is Bi-partisanship Possible? Washington Wants to Know

When George W. Bush is sworn in as the next US president here Jan. 20, he will move into the White House in probably the weakest political position of any incoming president in more than a century.

POLITICS-US: The Return of Realpolitik?

US foreign policy under President-elect George W. Bush is likely to be more unilateralist and more defined by traditional notions of "national interest" and power politics than that which has prevailed over the last eight years under President Bill Clinton.

ECONOMY: Suriname Reflects on 25 Years of Independence

For most of the past week, the people of Suriname put aside their differences to reflect on the state of the nation after 25 years of independence from the Netherlands. Judging from what key officials say and what economic indicators show, Suriname is worse off now than then.

POLITICS-YUGOSLAVIA: Can Milosevic’s Socialists Survive?

The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), headed by former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic, held a special congress over the weekend, dedicated to the future role of the once longest ruling party in this part of Europe.