POLITICS-MALAYSIA: Preparing for Snap Polls

While Malaysia's parliament is due to be dissolved only in May 2009, election fever is already gripping this racially divided nation following speculation that the stumbling administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi may prefer to face the voters before economic and social conditions worsen.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Kidnapping Motivated by ‘Press Freedom’?

The Taliban, the Islamist movement that dominated Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 and now is an outlawed rebel force, showed a new political facet when it kidnapped an Italian journalist this week.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Kidnapping Motivated by ‘Press Freedom’?

The Taliban, the Islamist movement that dominated Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 and now is an outlawed rebel force, showed a new political facet when it kidnapped an Italian journalist this week.

POLITICS-US: End of Cowboy Diplomacy, Part II?

It was just nine months ago when Newsweek spoke for the conventional wisdom at that moment when it pronounced "The End of Cowboy Diplomacy".

POLITICS: Rice Picks Neo-Con Champion of Iraq War as Counselor

In a move that has surprised many foreign policy analysts here, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has appointed a prominent neo-conservative hawk and leading champion of the Iraq war to the post of State Department Counselor.

ECONOMY-INDIA: Inflation Spiral Mars High Growth Rates

Although India's economy has been growing at an impressive clip of nine percent a year, the federal government is under fire from the opposition as well as its allies for failing to control inflation.

AFGHANISTAN: ‘Mines Help Pakistani Claims on Disputed Border’

Afghanistan's long and rugged frontier with Pakistan is being mined and fenced by Islamabad in response to mounting criticism from Kabul and its Western allies that Islamabad is not doing enough to stop the resurgent Taliban and al-Qaeda from crossing the porous border.

POLITICS: Pentagon Meet Discussed Escalating Pressure on Iran

Two weeks ago, Pentagon officials discussed a strategy to escalate U.S. pressure on Iran with the intention of creating the impression that the U.S. is ready to go to war, according to an account by one of the participants.

POLITICS: Will Surge Hurt US More Than Sanctions Hurt Iran?

The winds of fortune in the Iranian nuclear stand-off seem to have shifted, judging by the U.S.'s new confidence. But in Washington's apparent quest to get an upper hand, misreading the causes of the backlash against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran may cause the U.S. to lose rather than gain leverage.

FINANCE: Corporate Profits Take an Offshore Vacation

Last week, Merck, the pharmaceutical multinational, announced that it will pay 2.3 billion dollars in back taxes, interest and penalties in one of the largest settlements for tax evasion the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has ever imposed.

US/MIDEAST: Rice Faces Formidable White House Foe

If, as she insists, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is determined to make concrete progress toward achieving George W. Bush's vision of a two-state solution, one in which Israel would be required to make major territorial concessions, it appears that she faces a major foe in the White House.

US/MIDEAST: Rice Faces Formidable White House Foe

If, as she insists, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is determined to make concrete progress toward achieving George W. Bush's vision of a two-state solution, one in which Israel would be required to make major territorial concessions, it appears that she faces a major foe in the White House.

AFGHANISTAN: More Funds for Development, Less for Security

In the lead up to an anticipated Taliban spring offensive against the Afghanistan government, international assistance to the war-torn country has increased.

ENERGY-SOUTH AMERICA: Dependency, Not Integration

Energy production and distribution does not necessarily encourage integration between poor countries in South America, but rather a relationship of dependency marked by disputes, resentments and greater distance between its peoples.

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Train Bombing as Peace Opportunity

Horrific as it was the fire-bombing of a speeding India-Pakistan train, killing 68 civilians from the two countries, is being seen as opportunity for their governments to cooperate on anti-terrorism operations and reconceptualise security issues.

POLITICS-NEPAL: People Drag Leaders to Democracy

Many residents of Nepal's capital spent their weekend holiday in their vehicles in hours-long queues for petrol, fearing a flare-up of a general strike that closed the main highway in this landlocked country earlier this month, leading to fuel rationing.

ENVIRONMENT: Plans to Halt Desertification in Africa a Work in Progress

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) requires signatories to create national action plans for dealing with this scourge that allow sustainable development - and encompass participation by communities, amongst others.

POLITICS-US: The Neo-Con Dog That Isn’t Barking

For several weeks now, Washington has been abuzz with rumours that U.S. President George W. Bush is preparing to attack nuclear and other sites in Iran this spring - rumours deemed sufficiently credible that lawmakers from both parties are hastily preparing legislation precisely to prevent such an eventuality.

POLITICS-US: The Neo-Con Dog That Isn’t Barking

For several weeks now, Washington has been abuzz with rumours that U.S. President George W. Bush is preparing to attack nuclear and other sites in Iran this spring - rumours deemed sufficiently credible that lawmakers from both parties are hastily preparing legislation precisely to prevent such an eventuality.

IRAN: Field Day for Militarists as Standoff with U.S. Continues

Whether or not the military posturing by the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman actually results in armed hostilities, militarists in this country are having a field day.

NORTH KOREA: Nuclear Roulette Spins – No Regime Change

Perhaps more than anything else, the deal on denuclearising North Korea, drafted by China and agreed to by all six parties in Beijing, has scuttled the United States’ intentions of engineering a ‘regime change’ in the ‘Hermit Kingdom’.