CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Growth and Redistribution, Lula’s Big Tasks

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva began his second term in office on Monday, postponing the final answer as to whether he will successfully live up to the challenge of going down in history not merely as the former steelworker who won the presidency in 2002 and was reelected in October by a wide margin.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Defining Latin America’s Leftist Governments

The wave of governments that identify themselves as leftist in Latin America and which have risen to power in the last few years represent neither a regional movement nor a homogeneous phenomenon.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Corruption Allegations and Score-Settling in Chile

The rightwing opposition in Chile has been reveling in the allegations of corruption in the financing of election campaigns by the centre-left governing coalition, but it may now find itself in the dock as accused, rather than accuser.

MIDEAST: Abbas Gambles with Another Election

Frustrated with the impasse in unity talks with Hamas, the usually unadventurous, risk-averse Mahmoud Abbas is embarking on what can only be described as the biggest political gamble of his long career - his decision to call early Palestinian elections.

POLITICS: Blair’s Mideast Message Echoes Past Failure

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been touring the Middle East with one clear message - to make peace in the Middle East, Iran must be isolated.

UKRAINE: Another Election? No, Thanks

The pro-Western parties in Ukraine, uncomforted by their opposition status, are attempting to regain power through early elections or a constitutional reform. But most Ukrainians, fed up with power struggles, have distanced themselves from their plans.

SOUTH AMERICA: US Military Presence, the Issue No One Talks About

In the debate on regional integration in South America, the question of militarisation is not even mentioned.

POLITICS-ASIA: China’s Multilateralism or US’ Bilateralism?

China has embarked on a vigorous policy of engagement with regional institutions in Asia. From the steppes of Central Asia to the resource-rich waters of Southeast Asia, Beijing has implemented its own version of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "good neighbor policy."

IRAQ: U.S. Weighed Sunni Offer to “Clean Up” Militias

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad negotiated with Sunni armed groups for several weeks earlier this year on an agreement that would have supported Sunni forces in attacking pro-Iranian Shiite militias, according to accounts given by commanders of armed Sunni resistance organisations.

POLITICS: U.S. Weighed Sunni Offer to “Clean Up” Militias

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad negotiated with Sunni armed groups for several weeks earlier this year on an agreement that would have supported Sunni forces in attacking pro-Iranian Shiite militias, according to accounts given by commanders of armed Sunni resistance organisations.

CHALLENGES 2006-2007: Will New UN Chief Stand Up to Big Powers?

When South Korea's former foreign minister Ban Ki-moon assumes duties as the new U.N. secretary-general on Jan. 1, he will succeed Kofi Annan of Ghana who spent over 44 years in the U.N. system, serving the last 10 years (1997-2006) as the chief administrative officer of the 192-member world body.

CHILE: Pinochet, Never Convicted in Court, Dead at 91

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who died Sunday afternoon in Santiago at the age of 91, will be remembered in Chile as one of the key figures of the 20th century, leaving behind a legacy in which human rights crimes and corruption overshadowed the status of statesman to which he once aspired.

CHILE: Pinochet, Never Convicted in Court, Dead at 91

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who died Sunday afternoon in Santiago at the age of 91, will be remembered in Chile as one of the key figures of the 20th century, leaving behind a legacy in which human rights crimes and corruption overshadowed the status of statesman to which he once aspired.

POLITICS-US: ISG Report Faces Uncertain Future

One day after its official release, the package of 79 recommendations on U.S. Iraq and Middle East policy released Wednesday by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) faced a very uncertain future.

AFGHANISTAN: ‘Moderates, Not Military, May Win War on Terror’

NATO's struggle to defeat a rising insurgency in south and south-east Afghanistan along with its failure to secure additional troops at its summit in Riga are being promoted by many foreign policy experts as a failure for the grouping and a victory for the Taliban and other Islamic extremists.

POLITICS-FIJI: Bainimarama a Hero but Coup a Mistake

Fiji's military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama's vision of a multi-racial country and his bold and frank criticism of the pro-indigenous Fiji government - that he finally ousted this week - as corrupt and inefficient, has received appreciation by many citizens.

POLITICS-US: Neo-Cons Move to Preempt Baker Report

To have read the neo-conservative press here over the past month, one would think that former Secretary of State James Baker poses the biggest threat to the United States and Israel since Saddam Hussein.

TURKEY: New Pitfalls on the Road to EU

On its long and winding road to becoming the first Muslim nation of the European Union, Turkey's accession talks are heading towards a breakdown. The question is whether there will be a minor collision or a major crash that could eventually derail its membership bid.

POLITICS-CANADA: Low-Key Dion Walks Away With Surprise Win

Stephane Dion, a bookish political science professor, walked away from Canada's Liberal Party convention as the leader of his party after a lengthy year-long battle reminiscent of the 1968 contest which propelled a young Pierre Trudeau to the same position.

POLITICS-US: Rice’s Iran Strategy Fizzles, Cheney Waits in Wings

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's months-long diplomatic effort to get five other powers to agree to a tough United Nations Security Council resolution on sanctions against Iran now seems certain to fail, because of Russian and Chinese resistance.

POLITICS-US: Conservative Evangelicals Stayed the Course

Top shelf conservative Christian evangelicals, Republican political leaders, and a host of right-wing pundits, columnists and radio and television talk show hosts have just about finished hashing out the whys and wherefores of election 2006's "thumpin'."