POLITICS-PAKISTAN: End Game For Musharraf?

Throwing a serious challenge to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf the two main victorious parties in the Feb.18 general elections have jointly pledged to reinstate all 63 senior judges, sacked for refusing to recognise his Nov.3 emergency order.

MIDEAST: An Uneasy Calm Descends

Israeli troops and tanks have left Gaza and are poised on the border of the coastal strip. Hamas militants have largely ceased bombarding southern Israel with their rockets.

COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: Why Did Chavez Mobilise Troops?

When Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez ordered the movement of troops to the Colombian border, newspaper offices in Caracas immediately began to be flooded by phone calls from people who talked about a repeat of the "Malvinas syndrome". But there may be many reasons for the leftwing president’s decision, which could be more political than military.

ECONOMY-INDIA: Neoliberal Gov’t Tries Budget Populism

When Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram presented his fifth and last full budget last week, it was widely expected that he would attempt to correct policy course and seriously address issues of equity -specifically, growing income inequalities, sectoral imbalances and regional disparities.

TRADE-AFRICA: Why Food Import Surges Are an Issue at The WTO

Food import surges have had devastating consequences for the rural poor and local economies in Africa. Such surges have taken place with alarming frequency in the past decade or two.

JAPAN/US: Pacific and Not-So-Pacific Oceans

The seas both divide and unite Japan and the United States. Caught between countering threat and promoting maritime cooperation, the two countries have worked together to build regional approaches to terrorism and piracy.

INDIA/US: Now or Never For Nuclear Deal

Is the Indian government heading for a showdown with the domestic opposition on the controversial issue of the nuclear cooperation deal with the United States before the presidential election timetable closes that opportunity?

WOMEN’S DAY-IRAQ: Surviving Somehow Behind a Concrete Purdah

Iraq, where women once had more rights and freedom than most others in the Arab world, has turned deadly for women who dream of education and a professional career.

DEVELOPMENT-ASIA: Mekong Meet May Assess Regional Integration

An opportunity to review the balance sheet of the benefits and burdens of regional integration and opening borders lies ahead, at the Third Mekong Summit to be held in Laos at end-March.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Ostrich Brigades

Colder than usual January temperatures in the United States have brought the climate change deniers out of hibernation, flooding websites, and opinion and letters pages about the "great global warming hoax". They even organised their own conference on denial in New York City this week.

PAKISTAN: Musharraf Stalling Gov’t Formation – Political Parties

The leaders of Pakistan’s two main political parties, that emerged victorious in the Feb. 18 general elections, are accusing President Pervez Musharraf of trying to subvert the formation of a coalition government.

POLITICS: Sunni Insurgents Exploit U.S.-Sponsored Militias

For months, U.S. President George W. Bush and Gen. David Petraeus have been touting the programme of recruiting tens of thousands of Sunnis into U.S.-financed "Awakening Councils" as a master stroke of Iraq strategy which has weakened al Qaeda in Iraq and helps reduce sectarian conflict through "bottom up reconciliation".

EAST TIMOR: &#39Joint Police-Military Action On Rebels a Mistake&#39

A joint police and military operation mounted against renegade soldiers, following the Feb. 11 shooting of President Jose Ramos-Horta, has been condemned as a ‘mistake’ and one that could compound the serious dissensions that plague the two forces.

TRADE-AFRICA: Make or Break for WTO Doha Round

The World Trade Organisation’s beleaguered Doha Round could either be wrapped up in the next two to three months or be stalled for an indefinite period of time.

TRADE: Proposed Tariff Cuts Will ‘Destroy’ Industrial Development

The Doha Round negotiations on industrial products have once again come under fire at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), with developing countries such as South Africa saying that the proposed tariffs cuts will spell the end of their industrial development.

PAKISTAN: Suicide Bombers – Chickens Coming Home to Roost

The assassination on Monday of the surgeon-general of Pakistan’s armed forces in the garrison town of Rawalpindi has brought home the enormity of the threat posed by suicide bombers - once nurtured by the establishment to fight the enemies of Islam in Afghanistan and Kashmir.

POLITICS-PAKISTAN: Moderates&#39 Poll Victory Can Brake Extremism

Is the landslide election victory of liberal political parties likely to stem the tide of religious extremism and ‘Talibanisation’ that has engulfed Pakistan’s frontier areas bordering Afghanistan?

TRADE: EU Aims to Rope in African States Resisting EPAs

The European Union is determined to get those African countries on board which have so far kicked against the economic partnership agreements (EPAs). At the end of 2007, only 35 out of 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries had initialled EPAs.

TRADE-AFRICA: EU Still Pushing Offensive Interests in EPA Talks

The European Union (EU) has an ambitious agenda for the economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations. It is pushing for the conclusion of full agreements in the next one to three years, covering everything from services to ‘‘trade-related’’ issues such as investment, competition and government procurement.

RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Apology To Stolen Generations – A Good Start

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s recent apology to indigenous Australians, for the wrongs and injustices inflicted upon them by the policies of past governments, was momentous. But other indigenous issues are yet to be resolved.

POLITICS-BURMA: UN Envoy’s Next Visit May Turn Farcical

The next visit of a special U.N. envoy to military-ruled Burma is in danger of turning into a farce.