POLITICS-CAMBODIA: Hope, Fear Mix Ahead of July Election

Hope is mixing with fear in Cambodia's political atmosphere ahead of the July general elections, yet another phase in the country's tumultuous, and at times seemingly aimless, journey toward democracy.

NARCOTICS-PAKISTAN: U.S Pressure Forces Islamabad to Backtrack

Pakistan failed to win approval from the United States for its drug control programme, but that might have more to do with a 'sting' operation by the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), officials here say.

POLITICS-INDIA: Bigger Role for Military

India's new government plans to plug the country's long standing security gap by establishing a National Security Council to undertake the first ever defence review to evaluate military, economic and political threats and formulate a nuclear policy.

JAPAN: Worried Tokyo Steps Up Pressure on Indonesia

To optimists, Japanese premier Ryutaro Hashimoto's just-finished trip to Indonesia may just be the right Asian pressure needed to prod President Suharto into hastening economic reforms.

POLITICS-CHILE: Post-Pinochet Era Off to a Slow Start

After the retirement from the army of former dictator and now Senator-for-life Augusto Pinochet, a new era in civic-military relations has opened in Chile, one which does not point to fundamental political changes in the short to medium-term.

ELECTIONS-INDIA: BJP Piggy-backs to Power on Regional Allies

India's right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to form the new government, but its ability to last will be determined less by what the BJP does than by its allies' actions.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Crisis Puts Ethnic Chinese in Spotlight

South-east Asia has for years been proud of the rich fabric of its multi-ethnic societies, even presenting itself as a region that has found a formula for harmonious co- existence of various ethnic groups.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Crisis Puts Ethnic Chinese in Spotlight

South-east Asia has for years been proud of the rich fabric of its multi-ethnic societies, even presenting itself as a region that has found a formula for harmonious co- existence of various ethnic groups.

POLITICS-US: Power and the Glory?

The moment was among the most memorable in the latest showdown between the United States and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, beset by chanting hecklers in noisy Ohio gymnasium, aimed for the last word in what had been an unexpectedly stressful "town meeting" to build support for a military strike against Baghdad.

POLITICS-US: Power and the Glory? //REPEATING TO SOME POINTS//

The moment was among the most memorable in the latest showdown between the United States and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, beset by chanting hecklers in noisy Ohio gymnasium, aimed for the last word in what had been an unexpectedly stressful "town meeting" to build support for a military strike against Baghdad.

POLITICS-US: Power and the Glory?

The moment was among the most memorable in the latest showdown between the United States and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, beset by chanting hecklers in noisy Ohio gymnasium, aimed for the last word in what had been an unexpectedly stressful "town meeting" to build support for a military strike against Baghdad.

POLITICS-BURMA: Opposition Ponders Next Moves

Three years have passed since Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest. The drafting of a new constitution grinds on without a clear deadline, and the junta's hold on power remains firm.

POLITICS-IRAQ: Security Council Shows Wavering Unity

The U.N. Security Council had hoped to send Iraq a united and unambiguous message by approving a resolution which would insist on Baghdad's compliance with a deal on U.N. weapons inspections - but it only achieved half of that goal.

SRI LANKA: Kumaratunga Walks the Risky Language Tight-Rope

Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunga sent a powerful political message last month when she delivered her independence day speech in English.

POLITICS-CAMBODIA: Truce is not End of Drama

After months of international wrangling, renewed civil war and heightened tensions, the key antagonists in Cambodia's tragi-comic political theatre seem headed for reconciliation again.

POLITICS-CAMBODIA: Truce is not End of Drama

After months of international wrangling, renewed civil war and heightened tensions, the key antagonists in Cambodia's tragi-comic political theatre seem headed for reconciliation again.

INDONESIA: Australia Edgy Over Spreading Unrest

Australia faces one of its greatest diplomatic challenges as fears of unrest grow in Indonesia due to the economic crisis there and its possible impact on regional security.

POLITICS-NEPAL: Coalition Government Could Still Fall Apart

The five month old centre-right coalition government survived a crucial no-trust vote in parliament last week, but Nepal's Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa cannot guarantee political stability, say political analysts.

POLITICS-US: Washington’s Conflicting Foreign Priorities

The confrontation between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a striking illustration of difficulties encountered by Washington since the Cold War in sorting out foreign-policy priorities.

POLITICS-IRAQ: Clinton On The Fast Track To Middle East Instability?

As Washington completes its efforts to position its war machine in the Gulf, ready for battle, a likely outline of the Pentagon's plan to strike Iraq is emerging.

ASIA: Ailing Tigers May be Better Off with Homegrown Cures

Like paramedics rushing to the disaster scene, officials of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank began the year criss-crossing East Asia in a bid to stabilise the region's ailing casualties.