EUROPE: U.S. Seeks the Peaceful Way for Military Base

NATO countries have given cautious support to U.S. plans to extend its missile defence system to Eastern Europe, just as Washington is working hard to fulfil Russia's conditions to agree to its construction.

GLOBALISATION: New Curbs on Investment From the South

Germany's decision to introduce controls on investments from the South in strategic domestic sectors is yet another indicator of growing protectionism in European and other industrialised countries against the neo-liberal globalisation they once masterminded.

POLITICS: Not Easy to Come in From the Cold War

NATO and Russia made little progress in settling their disputes during the alliance's summit in Bucharest this week. But the two sides insisted the Cold War is over and that they are open to compromise.

AFGHANISTAN: More, But of What

At the Bucharest summit, NATO adopted an undisclosed "comprehensive" security strategy in Afghanistan, which combines military with civilian efforts. The publicised discussions on Afghanistan, however, were focused on the numbers of troops.

US-MEXICO: Border Wall Condemns Jaguars to Extinction

Jaguars have no place in the United States, although a handful still roam the southwest. Environmentalists suspect the real reason U.S. officials are allowing the jaguar to become extinct is the "security" wall being built along the Mexican border.

POLITICS: Security Council Loses Credibility Over Iran, Israel

The 15-member U.N. Security Council (UNSC) is set to lose its credibility once again as it prepares to impose a third set of sanctions on Iran while failing to pass any strictures on Israel for its continued heavy-handed repression of Palestinians in Gaza.

CHALLENGES 2007-2008: U.N. Remains Impotent as Captive of U.S.

As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon begins his second year in office, he has refused to claim any tangible successes during 2007, nor has he laid out any clear-cut strategy to meet the political and economic challenges facing the United Nations in 2008.

DEVELOPMENT: U.S. Key to Balanced Carbon Budget, UN Says

Calls for profound change in the environmental behaviour of the United States are on the rise as world leaders prepare to attend a major summit on climate change in Bali, Indonesia next month.

POLITICS-US: The Nuclear Cowboys

What do the current Pakistani political crisis, Israel's September air strike against Syria, and Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear enrichment all have in common? All three events reflect the aggressive policies adopted by the George W. Bush administration to deal with the growing threat of nuclear proliferation.

MIGRATION: 35 Countries Agree to Regulate Flows Across Mediterranean

Everyone agrees: migration flows from the developing South to the industrialised North must be regulated to curb the appalling trafficking of human beings across the Mediterranean sea.

POLITICS: Iraqi MPs Challenge Coalition Mandate

The United Nations Security Council has been warned by Iraqi parliamentarians of a potentially "serious" constitutional and political crisis if it decides to renew the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational force (MNF) beyond December 2007, without approval from lawmakers.

DEVELOPMENT: IBSA Summit a “Political Endorsement” for Future Plans

A slew of co-operation agreements emerged from the second IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) summit in Pretoria, South Africa, this week.

TRADE: Possibilities and Pitfalls for India, Brazil and S. Africa

Enthusiasm tempered with notes of caution has characterised the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Business Forum, held in Johannesburg in the run up to the latest heads of state summit of the three countries.

DEVELOPMENT: India, Brazil, South Africa – the Power of Three

Brazil, India and South Africa will intensify their campaign for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council when their leaders meet in the South African capital, Pretoria, on Oct. 17. President Luiz Inácio da Silva of Brazil, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will discuss U.N. reforms and other issues of common interest at the second IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) summit later this week.

US-LATIN AMERICA: Next President Must Pursue “Fresh Approach”

With Washington's image in Latin America at its lowest ebb in memory, President George W. Bush's successor must pursue a "fresh approach" to the region - one aimed, in particular, at reducing poverty and the yawning gap between rich and poor , according to a new report by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) released here Tuesday.

ENVIRONMENT: U.S., U.N. Stage Dueling Climate Meets

Are the United Nations and the United States trying to outdo each other by hosting two parallel summit meetings on the same subject - climate change - during the same week at the end of September?

IRAQ: Report Calls on U.N. to End “Complicity of Silence”

The U.S. Coalition is the principal cause of Iraq's current woes, charges a report released Wednesday by the Global Policy Forum (GPF), a New York-based watchdog group.

US-IRAN: New War Rhetoric Undercuts Iraq Talks

U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman's call for cross-border raids into Iran appears to be the culmination of a two-week long campaign by proponents of war to put the military option centre-stage in the U.S. debate over Iran once more.

POLITICS: Is U.S. Eyeing U.N. as Dumping Ground for Iraq?

Faced with an unwinnable five-year war in Iraq, the United States may be looking towards the United Nations to extricate it out of the growing military quagmire, according to diplomats and political analysts.

POLITICS: U.S. Ramps Up Missile Tests in the Pacific

Earlier this year, when China blasted one of its satellites into thousands of little floating pieces, it was condemned by Washington as a provocative act.

US/IRAN: Duel for Leverage Fuels Conflict, Not Diplomacy

As the dispute over Iran's seizure of British sailors continues to twist and turn, what may have been an isolated incident at the outset is quickly developing into yet another move in the geopolitical chess game between the West and Iran.