CHALLENGES 2004-2005: Old Conflicts Prepare for New Year

Yasser Arafat's death has liberated the Palestinians somewhat but not totally. Old habits and military occupation die hard. Too little has changed on the ground to speak about a possible breakthrough in the conflict and to hold out very much hope for the near future. Developments elsewhere, notably in Iraq, may be less predictable.

CHALLENGES 2004-2005: Bush Administration’s Homeland ‘Insecurity’

The Bush administration appears set to maintain the secrecy that has characterized its workings since 2001. The latest evidence is a directive from the department of homeland security (DHS) instructing its employees and contractors to share sensitive but unclassified information only with those having a need to know it.

CHALLENGES 2004-2005: U.S. to Take Bigger Bite of Iraq’s Economic Pie

The United States is helping the interim Iraqi government continue to make major economic changes, including cuts to social subsidies, full access for U.S. companies to the nation's oil reserves and reconsideration of oil deals that the previous regime signed with France and Russia.

CHALLENGES 2004-2005: U.S. Subservient Japan Ponders Security Role

Japan is securely poised to enter 2005 as a decisive power in global politics but analysts say the new path poses a lingering dilemma for the Japanese public.

IRAQ: Uncertain Quiet Descends on Syrian Front

There has not been any fighting lately near the desolate border village of Hiri as there used to be after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, inhabitants here say. Nor have any cars or people crossed the border from Syria into Iraq at the official crossing. It was closed by the Iraqi authorities and the Americans last month during the fighting in Fallujah.

RIGHTS-U.S.: Emails Reveal More Abuses in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) emails released Monday by a civil liberties group provide new details of abuses committed by U.S. military personnel in Iraq and at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, including one note that alluded, possibly incorrectly, to a White House order permitting a number of contentious techniques.

POLITICS-U.S.: Are They Serious About Syria?

Just when it appeared that Syria was complying in earnest with U.S. demands to secure its border with Iraq and even making unprecedented peace overtures to Israel, key neo-conservative opinion shapers are calling on President George W Bush to take stronger measures against Damascus, possibly including military action.

POLITICS: U.N. Reversal – More Staff Bound for Iraq

After long refusing to risk the lives of its workers in Iraq, the United Nations has reversed its stance and is planning to expand its international staff in the violence-ridden country in time for upcoming elections in late January.

POLITICS-U.S.: Rummy Back on the Rocks?

Despite being asked by President George W Bush to stay in his post, Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld appears to be in growing political trouble, and not just because of his cavalier reply last week to a question posed by a member of the Tennessee National Guard in Kuwait about the lack of armoured vehicles to protect U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

POLITICS: Iraq Disputes U.N. Over Legitimacy of Election

Despite U.N. reservations about the legitimacy of upcoming polls and warnings about deteriorating security in military-occupied, war ravaged Iraq, the government is determined to hold elections in January, a senior official told the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

IRAQ: U.S. Military Obstructing Medical Care

The U.S. military has been preventing delivery of medical care in several instances, medical staff say.

POLITICS: Japan Shifts to High Gear in Military Fast Lane

Despite public unease and questions of legitimacy under Japan's constitution, the Japanese cabinet agreed on Thursday the country's troops will stay in Iraq for another year. This comes Japan puts the final touches on a sweeping overhaul of its defense policy that will give its armed forces a greater role globally and could upset neighbours like China and North Korea.

POLITICS-U.S.: Bush Gets – Barely – Weak Intelligence Reform

While opinions are divided over whether the revamp of the U.S. intelligence community laid out in the compromise bill just approved by Congress will improve the performance of the relevant agencies, there is little doubt that the failure of President George W Bush to push the bill through would have badly damaged his political credibility.

CORRUPTION: Mishandled Money Plagued U.S.-Ruled Iraq

U.S. management of the Iraqi economy was plagued by irregularities, corruption, failures and mishandling of billions of dollars, according to analysts and multiple recent audits.

POLITICS: U.N. Chief Rejects U.S. Calls To Resign

Buoyed by strong endorsements from western and African leaders, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has refused to cave into demands by conservative U.S. forces seeking his premature ouster from office.

IRAQ: Healthcare Given A ‘New Look’

The Baghdad Medical City has begun to look nice in its new coat of paint.

IRAQ: Cost of Guards, Guns Deters Some Contractors

Somewhere between Halliburton and CARE, there is a cadre of contractors trying to help Iraq establish a working, private-sector economy. But the cost of securing their safety is frustrating many, as some firms report spending 25-30 percent of their contract revenues on armoured cars and small private armies.

U.S.-IRAQ: More Troops Mean More Trouble

The Pentagon's announcement this week that it is adding 12,000 more troops to the approximately 138,000 soldiers it already has in Iraq has put an abrupt end to the fleeting sense of triumph that followed November's ''victory'' by U.S. marines who regained control of Fallujah, the main Sunni rebel stronghold.

POLITICS: South Backs Beleaguered U.N. Chief

The largest political group at the United Nations is expected to pledge its ''strong support'' to beleaguered U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose resignation is being demanded by right-wing newspapers and neo-conservative politicians in the United States.

POLITICS: U.S. Soldiers Seek Asylum in Canada

Canadian leaders, not the country's refugee system, should decide the fate of soldiers who have deserted the U.S. military to apply for asylum in their northern neighbour, according to a support group.

IRAQ: Doubtful Democracy Will Not Inspire Others

While Cairo officially stands behind U.S. plans to hold elections in Iraq early next year, many observers here question the sincerity of Washington-style 'democratization', and the notion that legitimate elections can be held under occupation.