POLITICS: U.S. Silent About Taliban Guarantee Offer on al Qaeda

The Barack Obama administration is refusing to acknowledge an offer by the leadership of the Taliban in early December to give "legal guarantees" that it will not allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries.

MIDEAST: Occupation Eats Away Israel’s Heart and Soul

After Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank torched a mosque and desecrated copies of the Quran in the Palestinian village of Yasuf, last Friday morning, they ran into a wall of condemnation.

ELECTIONS-CHILE: Presidency in Sight for the Right

The right in Chile has not come so close to winning the presidency since Gen. Augusto Pinochet stepped down in March 1990, bringing a 17-year dictatorship to an end.

ASIA: China’s PR Problem Rears Head at Mekong Forum

Powerful neighbour. A rising power. Old friend. Big, secretive investor. Big boy of the region. These were some of the terms participants at the just-finished Mekong Media Forum here used, when asked to share the images of China they get from the media.

US: Nobel Speech Places Obama Within Realist-Liberal Tradition

In formally accepting the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama enunciated a worldview that places him squarely within the realist and liberal internationalist thinking that dominated post-World War II U.S. foreign policy - at least until his predecessor's "global war on terror."

FRANCE: Sarkozy – Unlikely Champion of Environmental Action

For a centre-right politician, best known for his law-and-order stance and tough immigration policies, French President Nicolas Sarkozy would seem an unlikely champion of environmental issues

MIDEAST: In a Muddle Over Mixed Signals

"Get your hands off the Land of Israel and the people of the Land of Israel - that's what we need to tell Mr. Obama - get on the phone to the White House each and every one of you!"

MIDEAST: Europe Steps In to Pressure Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Palestinian counterpart Salam Fayyad have both been scrambling earnestly to win the backing of European leaders in advance of what could be a major EU policy shift that aims at creating new impetus for Palestinian-Israeli peace prospects.

TRADE: A Lost Decade for the WTO?

Ten years ago, the Seattle Ministerial of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) flashed over into a ‘Battle of Seattle' before the eyes of a startled world.

CHINA/INDIA: ‘Business as Usual’ for Carbon Emission Targets

China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has stolen a march over the rest of Asia in unilaterally declaring its carbon intensity cuts a day after President Barack Obama did late last month for the U.S.

PHILIPPINES: Will Blood-soaked Election Change Maguindanao? – Part 2

"Young and old, whether you’re against them (the Ampatuans) or not, were (forcibly) taken from their homes and brought to a place somewhere in Maguindanao, where they were tortured and later killed," recounted a resident of Cotabato City—a major city bordering Maguindanao in southern Philippines— who declined to be named out of fear for his life.

PHILIPPINES: Maguindanao Massacre Has Some Familiar Roots – Part 1

In an instant the Philippines emerged as the world’s most dangerous place for journalists, effectively displacing Iraq, which, until the massacre in an impoverished town in southern Philippines, held that dubious distinction.

TRADE: U.S. Wants Its Way, But So Do Others

Three minutes to speak about the world trade situation was a little more than U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk needed to sum up his country's position on trade; after eight years of talks to thrash out a single trade deal, he needed less time than that.

U.S.: Obama Had Rejected His Own Speech’s Surge Rationale

President Barack Obama presented a case Tuesday for sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan that included both soaring rhetoric and a new emphasis on its necessity for U.S. national security.

CLIMATE CHANGE: India Plays Guessing Game Ahead of Copenhagen

With one week left before the start of the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen, there is still no reliable word as to whether Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend, or whether or how much the South Asian state will commit itself to emission cuts.

INDIA: Towards an AIDS-Free Society, But at What Price?

As the global community observes World AIDS Day today, India is caught in a rancorous debate about a government scheme which mandates that all pregnant women in the country be tested for HIV so that its 1.2 billion people can have "an AIDS-free generation".

US-IRAN: Moving Again Toward Confrontation

Iran's announced intention to build 10 new nuclear enrichment plants has been deemed "unacceptable" by the administration of President Barack Obama, which warned Monday of increased pressure on Tehran if it does not soon accept Western proposals to curb its nuclear programme.

MIDEAST: One Palestinian Prisoner Could Change the Balance

The fate of one prisoner locked in an Israeli jail could release the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process from its own jail - provided the timing is right.

POLITICS-CAMBODIA: Duch Defence Pushes Self-Destruct Button

"I would ask the chamber to release me. Thank you."

INDIA: Mumbai Attacks One Year Later

"A bullet whizzed past us smashing the window to smithereens! My terrorised daughter slid under the nearest table. Everybody ran helter-skelter to save their lives. Just then three menacing-looking youths dressed in black exploded into the wedding hall, brandishing AK-47s. They started shooting indiscriminately, and soon our wedding venue was transformed into a battleground for dead bodies."

CHINA: Postscript to Obama Visit: When Beijing Blinked

The jury is still out on what Beijing and Washington achieved during President Barack Obama's first state visit to China last week. But one trait has emerged more strongly than anything else.