POLITICS: Where Iran Fits in the Mideast Peace Puzzle

What is the relationship between the United States' policy towards Iran and its performance on Arab-Israeli peacemaking, including the crucial quest for peace between Israel and the Palestinians?

INDIA-US: Thorny Times Ahead Despite Nuclear Deal

Although Manmohan Singh, the man who steered through the landmark Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal, has been voted back to power, there is little sign that his second term as prime minister will see the same geniality between the world’s two major democracies.

EUROPEAN UNION: Losing Its Shine

In May 2004 eight East European states joined the EU, with their politicians and citizens harbouring high hopes of what accession would bring.

MIDEAST: Israel Prepares for North Korean Fallout

The tremors of Monday's North Korean nuclear test have been felt all around the world, no more so in a country seemingly not directly affected by whether or not North Korea is a full-fledged nuclear power. In Israel, there is deep concern, an existential fear even - over the implications that Iran will be next in the nuclear line.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Scoring Own Goals

While the U.S. appears to be optimistic about Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, inter-Palestinian rivalry, a recalcitrant Israeli government, and an international community with its own agenda could well scuttle a settlement.

MIDEAST: Showdown Looming Over Settlements

A showdown over Israeli settlements in the occupied West bank is looming between Israel and the United States barely a week after the encounter at the White House between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What's becoming increasingly clear is that the May 18 encounter was no friendly 'getting-to-know-you' meeting between a new President and a new Prime Minister of the Middle East's most enduring alliance.

POLITICS-US: Iran Hawks Push Obama on Deadline for Diplomacy

After an uneventful first meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that seemed to produce no real breakthroughs, hawks in the U.S. and Israel are seizing upon what they claim is a significant concession by Obama: his setting a "timetable" for negotiations with Iran.

AFGHANISTAN: Finding a Way Out of the Crossfire

The people of Afghanistan are increasingly caught in the cross-fire between a violent insurgency and a violent counter insurgency but does this mean the entire country is unravelling?

MIDEAST: Israel Slow to Recognise New U.S. Face

A ballistic missile, an anti-missile defence system and the transfer of nuclear technology - three inter-related issues addressed on the same day this week highlight the radical re-adjustment in U.S. priorities as the Obama Administration demarcates a fresh strategic outlook for the Middle East.

POLITICS: At East-West Crossroads, Turkey Presses Ambitious Agenda

Two soaring bridges link Asia and Europe in this historic city, which straddles the two continents.

EUROPE: EU Looks East, Again

The European Union's Eastern Partnership, promoting closer cooperation between the EU and former Soviet Republics, has been enthusiastically endorsed in Eastern Europe, ignored in the West, and criticised in Russia.

MIDEAST: Netanyahu Up Against a New U.S.

June 5 is a date that resonates powerfully in the troubled modern history of the Middle East. On that fateful day, 42 years ago, the seminal 1967 Arab-Israel war erupted. Six days later, Israel was in control of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Syria's Golan Heights and all of the Palestinian territories.

LITERATURE: Mario Benedetti, the Most Beloved of Uruguayan Writers

The literary oeuvre of Uruguayan author Mario Benedetti, who died Sunday night, is enormous and diverse, comprising dozens of books of poetry, songs, novels, short stories, chronicles, essays, plays and humour. As he himself used to joke: "The only thing I never wrote is an opera."

POLITICS-US: Pelosi-CIA Contretemps May Spark Wider Probe

Congressional Democrats and many Washington journalists are predicting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's current dispute with the Central Intelligence Agency may ultimately hasten the push toward the last thing Republicans want - a comprehensive investigation of prisoner detention and interrogation during the administration of former President George W. Bush.

POLITICS: What Happened to the Afghan Elections?

After a series of well-known Afghan politicians announced their candidacy, the up-coming presidential election was widely believed to be a turning-point in the country’s history. But most of the big names declined to register, leaving what critics allege is a weak opposition to President Hamid Karzai.

MIDEAST: Netanyahu Out of Step With Obama

A day before he enters what some Middle East analysts are calling not the Oval office but the lion's den, Benjamin Netanyahu, re-incarnated as Israel's leader, is determined not to be easy meat but also, on the other hand, not to become a bone in the throat of his host, President Barack Obama.

POLITICS: U.S.-Israel Balance Echoes Tensions of 1991

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Pres. Barack Obama in Washington next Monday, amid speculation that their two administrations may be heading for a confrontation worse than any they have known since 1991-92.

EUROPE: Still Preparing to Trip Up the Big Treaty

In spite of the Lisbon Treaty's approval by both houses of the Czech Parliament, President Vaclav Klaus is refusing to sign the document that many believe would allow the EU to deal effectively with the global economic crisis.

U.S.: McChrystal Choice Suggests Special Ops Strikes to Continue

The choice of Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal to become the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan has been hailed by Defence Secretary Robert Gates and national news media as ushering in a new unconventional approach to counterinsurgency.

POLITICS: Indo-US Nuclear Deal May Cost Congress Party Election

As the ruling Congress party casts about for allies, faced as it is with the distinct possibility of a splintered electoral verdict, its bosses may well be regretting the day it fell out with India’s communists over the contentious Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear deal.

KUWAIT: Election Promotes Democracy Amid Instability*

As Kuwaitis prepare to vote for a new parliament on May 16, trends suggest that while elections serve as a reminder of the Gulf country's democratic traditions, the exercise is unlikely to end the political chaos that it was meant to quell.