CHINA/US: Rivals, Partners in Asia

With the Six Party Talks to denuclearise North Korea once again on the ropes and the world reeling from a deepening financial crisis, the United States is looking to China for help.

MIDEAST: Truce Beginning to Crack

Ten days of intensive fighting broke out between Israel and the Islamic resistance organisation Hamas last month despite a ceasefire.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Chasm Widens Between Science and Policy

The roof of our house is on fire while the leaders of our family sit comfortably in the living room below preoccupied with "political realities" - that was essentially the message from 1,000 scientists from around the world along with northern indigenous leaders gathered in Quebec City for the International Arctic Change conference that concluded last weekend.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Poznan Produces a ‘Vision Gap’

The United Nations climate change conference ended on a bitter note in the early hours of Saturday.

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Inching Away From Confrontation

Even though their armed forces remain on high alert, India and Pakistan appear to be inching away from confrontation over the Mumbai terrorist attacks, which have precipitated a major crisis in their bilateral relations.

MEDIA-DR CONGO: Journalists Murdered Near Police Stations

Since the November 2004 murder of Frank Kangundu, journalist with the Congolese daily ‘La Référence Plus’, and his wife, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has entered a sad cycle of killings of media professionals.

ECONOMY-CHINA: Yuan’s Slide No Power Game

Recent downward movements of the Chinese yuan have been interpreted here as political statements aimed at the incoming administration of United States president-elect Barack Obama to respect China’s sovereignty rights on the currency issue.

SOUTH ASIA: Concern for Zardari's Civilian Gov't Stays India

After United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to New Delhi and Islamabad, in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, India has added a new rationale for stepping up pressure on Pakistan for taking decisive action against jehadi extremists operating from its soil.

INDIA: Mulling Tough Options Against Pakistan

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in the Indian capital Wednesday to try and soothe nerves frayed by last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, but is likely to face an uphill task in defusing mounting suspicion and tension between India and Pakistan.

LATIN AMERICA: Indigenous Reporting – Between Activism and Professionalism

Indigenous journalism would seem to be in a stage similar to what environmentalism experienced a few decades ago: born of necessity and protest, it is caught in a constant state of tension between activism and professionalism.

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Pleas For Sanity as Sabres Rattle Over Mumbai Mayhem

The pattern is all too familiar. Every time India and Pakistan head towards dialogue and detente, something explosive happens that pushes peace to the backburner and drags them back to the familiar old tense relationship, worsened by sabre-rattling war cries from both sides.

INDIA: Empathy, Grief in Pakistan at Mumbai Mayhem

The terrorist attacks unleashed in the Indian port city and financial hub of Mumbai continue to reverberate through Pakistan at a personal level and on the media.

INDIA: Caught Unprepared for Mumbai Terror

More than 24 hours after a group of armed men mounted a series of coordinated attacks on Mumbai, India's main port and financial hub, leaving more than 125 people dead, it has become painfully apparent that this country is woefully unprepared for terrorist attacks of this type.

POLITICS-US: JFK Episode Suggests Obama’s Iraq Plan at Risk

The decision by President-elect Barack Obama to keep Robert M. Gates on as defence secretary has touched off a debate over whether Obama can pursue his commitment to rapid withdrawal from Iraq even though Gates has defended George W. Bush's surge policy and opposed Obama's 16-month timetable for withdrawal.

US-IRAQ: Kurds Anxious Over Security Pact

Kurds are divided over a security pact between Iraq and the U.S., approved by a large majority in the Iraqi Parliament Thursday, in what appears to be a potential heavy blow to their major gains since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003.

POLITICS-US: Realists to Reign

Less than two months before taking office, President-elect Barack Obama is making clear that realists - some more identified with Republicans and the military than with Democrats - are likely to rule the incoming administration's foreign policy roost, at least at the outset.

POLITICS-DR CONGO: The Devil You See…

Few Congolese believe Laurent Nkunda is the man with whom to negotiate peace in North Kivu. The crux of the matter is economics and geopolitics - both greatly influenced by Western interests.

POLITICS-US: Right-Wing Lobby Group Loses Its Angel

The right-wing U.S. advocacy group Freedom's Watch is reportedly shutting down as its main funder, Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, becomes one of the high-profile casualties of the global economic downturn.

UKRAINE: War Brings Elections, Crisis Postpones Them

The Georgian-Russian war has detonated a political war in Ukraine. The governing coalition has collapsed, and new elections loom in a country struck by a grave economic crisis and facing accusations of trading illegal arms with Georgia.

VENEZUELA: Opposition Win Key Districts

The followers of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez are celebrating a sweet and sour victory, because while they won 17 of the 22 states up for grabs in Sunday’s regional elections, the opposition took the most populous and politically and economically important states.

POLITICS-US: The Second Coming of Newt Gingrich

Ten years ago, Newt Gingrich was forced to resign as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now, in a desperate search for leadership, Republican National Committee members are debating whether to turn back to the past and tap the ever-ready Gingrich.