BANGLADESH: Long Break From Party Politics

While the head of the military-backed interim government in Bangladesh has announced that rescheduled polls may be held only by the end of next year, he has offered no timetable for a return to party politics and democracy in this country that is home to world's third largest Muslim population.

POLITICS: Wolfowitz’s Allies Regroup but Leave Questions Unanswered

Paul Wolfowitz, the embattled World Bank president, is receiving new support from conservative politicians and right-wing publications that previously backed his notorious role as an architect of the war in Iraq, but missing from the regrouping attempts are answers to two important questions.

COLOMBIA: Low Expectations for New Round of Talks with ELN

Contradictory declarations and low expectations surround the sixth round of exploratory talks that begins Thursday in Cuba between the Colombian government and the insurgent National Liberation Army (ELN), which have been engaged in dialogue with a view to formal peace talks since December 2005.

CHINA/JAPAN: Ghosts of the Past Won’t Rest

Former war enemies China and Japan have embarked on forward looking diplomacy to sustain the recent thaw in their frosty bilateral ties. But differing interpretations of history and harsh perceptions of each other are holding the two neighbours back from diplomatic rapprochement.

POLITICS-US: Heroes or Cowards? Neocons Weigh In on Sailors

Name, rank, serial number and sign on the dotted line. No sooner had Britain's 15 "kidnapped" sailors and marines returned from their harrowing "hostage" experience at the hands of Iran than some were lining up to sell their stories to the British press.

POLITICS: Elliott Abrams and Deja Vu All Over Again

It has an all too familiar ring to it: A crisis area - in this case, the Middle East - finds itself in desperate need of a peace process capable of tamping down the forces of violence and destabilisation which the United States itself has played a central role in unleashing.

IRAN: In Catch-22 Over Release of British Mariners

A week after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the release of 15 British mariners, detained on charges of trespassing into Iranian waters, it is still unclear if he got any mileage out of an incident that may well have sparked off a new war in the Middle East.

POLITICS: Elliott Abrams and Deja Vu All Over Again

It has an all too familiar ring to it.

SOUTH ASIA: Regional Cooperation Finally in Sight

South Asia, home to more than one-sixth of humanity, and situated at the junction of three important sub-regions of the Asian continent, has made cautious moves towards mutual cooperation and greater integration.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Surviving Informal Work – and Politics

While informal work is insecure and low-paying, it has become the primary way in which most Southern Africans earn a living. Without such work, the meagre livelihood options in the region dwindle even further, as shown by a number of recent studies.

POLITICS: Bush’s Bluster on Iran Was Cover for Direct Talks

When the George W. Bush administration launched a high-profile campaign in January and February accusing Iran of exporting armour-piercing bombs to Shiite militias in Iraq, seizing Iranian officials in Iraq, threatening cross-border raids against Iran and sending a second carrier battle group into the Gulf, it seemed that it was entering a much more aggressive phase of Middle East policy.

POLITICS-IRAN: Lessons in Capture, Release of Britons

The drama surrounding the release of 15 British sailors and marines after 12 days in Iranian captivity was designed to convey two key messages that the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush would do well to heed, say experts here.

POLITICS-IRAN: Lessons in Capture, Release of Britons

The drama surrounding the release of 15 British sailors and marines after 12 days in Iranian captivity was designed to convey two key messages that the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush would do well to heed, say experts here.

FINANCE: Questions Linger About Bushes and BCCI

Now that the U.S. Congress is investigating the truth of President George W. Bush's statements about the Iraq war, they might look into one of his most startling assertions: that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

FINANCE: Questions Linger About Bushes and BCCI

Now that the U.S. Congress is investigating the truth of President George W. Bush's statements about the Iraq war, they might look into one of his most startling assertions: that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

POLITICS-MIDEAST: Syrian Lion Back in the Arab Fold?

When Democratic Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced last week that she would visit Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, the White House called the trip "a really bad idea".

BRAZIL-US: A Giant Shadow Over Ethanol Politics

The friendship between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and George W. Bush of the United States was of little consequence while it was purely personal. But everything has changed, now that ethanol binds them together in an alliance with global effects on economics, geopolitics and the environment.

NORTHERN IRELAND: Opponents Sketch a Blueprint for Peace

The photographers clicked madly away when Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland sat down at the same end of the table as Gerry Adams, leader of the Sinn Fein party in a new power sharing agreement.

POLITICS-US: Tough Week for Bush Middle East Strategy

To the extent the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has a coherent Middle East policy, it took some serious hits this past week.

POLITICS-US: Tough Week for Bush Middle East Strategy

To the extent the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has a coherent Middle East policy, it took some serious hits this past week.

POLITICS-TURKEY: Rediscovering Eastern Roots

With full European Union (EU) membership on hold, the Middle East the focus of global attention, and both China and India on the rise, Turkey has begun to turn to the East.