POLITICS-US: Rice&#39s 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.

TURKEY: Pope Belies the Non-Believers

Despite controversy and fears for his safety, the first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to a Muslim nation ended with a series of conciliatory gestures toward Islam, and towards Turkey.

POLITICS-US: Bush Seems Determined to Stay the Course

Despite a growing and virtually universal consensus both here and abroad that the United States must engage Syria and Iran if it hopes to stabilise Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush appears determined to ignore Baghdad's two key neighbours as long as possible.

IRAN: Is the World Getting Ahmadinejadised?

"The world is becoming rapidly Ahmadinejadised, if I'm allowed to make a joke," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told journalists last week. Given his habit of grabbing world headlines, such as with his "letter to the American people" released at the United Nations on Wednesday, that may not be an empty boast.

MIDEAST: Fragile Calm Takes Shape

After five months of trying to outlast one another, Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to stop killing each other - for now. By 6 am on Sunday, the last Israeli soldier had left the Gaza Strip. That was also the time at which Palestinian militants had agreed they would cease firing rockets into Israel as part of a mutual ceasefire.
A few rockets landed in Israel shortly after the truce went into effect. On Monday, there were a few more, but nothing like the barrage of previous days.

MIDEAST: Fragile Calm Takes Shape

After five months of trying to outlast one another, Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to stop killing each other - for now. By 6 am on Sunday morning, the last Israeli soldier had left the Gaza Strip. That was also the time at which Palestinian militants had agreed they would cease firing rockets into Israel as part of a mutual ceasefire.

EASTERN EUROPE: EU No Instant Paradise

Nationalism, corruption, populism and violence are terms increasingly associated with some of the events seen in the Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union (EU) in May 2004. But whether there are reasons for concern is still open to debate.

LEBANON: Assassination Leaves Govt Gasping

The assassination of Christian Maronite leader Pierre Gemayel does more than strike a blow to a fragile Lebanese government just trying to survive: it raises fears of sectarian violence with painful memories of a devastating 15-year civil war still fresh.

LEBANON: Chaos Appears On the Horizon

The assassination of Pierre Gemayel in Beirut on Tuesday has interrupted an 18-month relative safety for anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and intellectuals, and signals the kick-off of a series of events aiming at totally destabilising the ailing national government and dividing the Christian community in the country - and possibly plunging the entire region into chaos.

POLITICS: Argentine Report Casts Doubt on Iran Role in &#3994 Bomb

The report by Argentine prosecutors in support of the arrest warrants just issued for seven former Iranian officials for the 1994 terror bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires reveals that Argentina was continuing to provide Iran with low-grade enriched uranium and the two countries were in serious negotiations on broader nuclear cooperation when the bombing occurred.

CHILE: Corruption Scandals Contrast with Clean Reputation

Most Chileans have a very poor opinion of politicians and acknowledge that corruption is firmly rooted in their government and a number of State institutions, according to surveys.

BURMA: UN Envoy’s Visit Brings Hope, Exposes Limitations

Turning the heat on Burma, the United Nations is discovering that it has limitations in trying to pressure the country's ruling junta into giving up its dream of creating a military utopia.

POLITICS: Argentine Report Casts Doubt on Iran Role in ’94 Bomb

The report by Argentine prosecutors in support of the arrest warrants just issued for seven former Iranian officials for the 1994 terror bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires reveals that Argentina was continuing to provide Iran with low-grade enriched uranium and the two countries were in serious negotiations on broader nuclear cooperation when the bombing occurred.

NEPAL: Deal Done or Just Discussed in Delhi?

"Back off!" Nepal's civil society told the international community after diplomats appeared on the doorsteps of senior politicians Apr. 22 urging them to accept the embattled king's first offer to end his direct rule by naming a new prime minister.

POLITICS-US: Iran Is Key to Course Change on Iraq

Two political earthquakes hit the United States this week. On Tuesday, the Democrats took control of Congress, and the following day, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was replaced by Robert Gates, a member of the senior Bush's foreign policy team.

POLITICS: US Election Verdict Imperils India Nuclear Deal

The Democratic Party's strong showing in the United States Congressional elections has enlarged the question-mark which hangs over Washington's nuclear cooperation deal with India. But no major change in U.S.-India relations appears to be on the cards.

POLITICS: US Foreign Policy Set to Change Dramatically

The abrupt replacement of Pentagon chief, Donald Rumsfeld, by former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Robert Gates, combined with the Democratic sweep in Tuesday's mid-term elections, appears to signal major changes in United States foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East.

ELECTIONS-US: Democrats Drub Republicans, Face Own Tests

Come January, Democrats will control one and possibly both houses of the U.S. Congress for the first time in more than a decade after voters snubbed President George W. Bush's Republican Party and prompted Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to quit his embattled post.

POLITICS-US: Democrats Drub Republicans, Face Own Tests

Come January, Democrats will control one and possibly both houses of the U.S. Congress for the first time in more than a decade after voters snubbed President George W. Bush's Republican Party and prompted Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to quit his embattled post.

POLITICS: North Korea Wins Nuclear Poker Round

By announcing that it would return to the negotiation table and address the major powers' concerns about its nuclear programme, North Korea may have scored an unlikely but impressive diplomatic victory.

POLITICS-US: Neo-Con Nadir?

Less than a week from mid-term elections that are expected to bring at least one house of Congress under Democratic control, neo-conservatives, whose foreign policy ideas dominated most of the first half of the administration of U.S. George W. Bush, are having a hard time.