The administration of United States President Barack Obama has made no official response to an offer from the Taliban that they would give "legal guarantees" not to allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries by outsiders -

The conviction of the mayor of Kabul on corruption charges might be a small step in Afghanistan's reinvigorated anti-graft drive, but it cannot disguise the fact that efforts to improve a judicial system plagued by inefficiency, bribery and nepotism appear

The United States House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday that would sanction companies selling refined petroleum to Iran. The legislation is likely to be stalled, though, as President Barack Obama scrambles to gather international support over Tehran ahead

China and the United States are becoming closer, and there is pro-Beijing sentiment in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. If the new US policies allow Pakistan to increase its clout in Afghanistan, India could feel it is caught in a

There are many symptoms that the United States military, still involved in two distant, grueling wars, is stressed out - from its rising suicide rate and mental health crisis to its repeated tours of duty and falling standards. A retired

With his personal life falling apart after returning from duty in Iraq, Eric Jasinski sought assistance from the military to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder. He received short shrift, and chose to go absent without leave to receive the help

Expectations that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's resounding re-election would usher in much-needed reforms in the bureaucracy, security apparatus and economy are melting away as the political alliances he built after the vote crumble in the face of financial scandals.

Dynamic leadership and the modern infrastructure of Hyderabad have attracted leading companies from Microsoft to India's Infosys and Wipro and helped the city emerge as an emblem of modern India. It also now stands at the center of a newly

Moscow insists that the Turkmenistan-China pipeline is not of concern to Russia, which also looks to the Central Asian country for energy supplies. Yet the speed with which the pipeline was agreed to and built contrasts strongly with the Kremlin's

Run the currency changes correctly, and a wise tourist could enjoy free beer all holiday and return home with cash in hand. As the world watches speculators and bankers profit from central bank largesse, the question, as with the beer,

The days when buying a house in the United States was as easy as jumping on a bandwagon are long gone. Risk, not price, should now be a dominant consideration, tied in to a keen awareness of policymakers' bad habits.

Russia and China were the big winners in the latest auction of Iraq's oil rights, as was the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki; United States companies were conspicuous by their absence. If the oil starts to flow as now

The impression that the West would renew its dominance of the Iraqi oil extraction industry has been shattered with the latest auction of oil rights, with Russia's Lukoil leading the winning bids. Other successful parties include interests from as far

The banning of Turkey's Kurdish-based Democratic Society Party by a constitutional court has sparked violent protests across the country. The turmoil comes after the government had moved to broaden the rights of the 12-million-strong ethnic Kurdish minority in hopes of

A new report by the United Nations gives the impression that the Taliban are the main culprits behind Afghanistan's drug production. In fact, only 10-15% of Taliban funding is drawn from revenue generated by opiates. Over 70% of this money

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been in office three months and his method of handling the conflicting pressures of office is becoming only too evident. Whether he's waffling over a United States base location, flip-flopping over a Chinese dignitary's

A bleak Beijing jail is to become the capital's new center for executions, as part of a plan for all death sentences in China to be carried out by lethal injection, rather than by firing squad. Officials say the method

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, already under pressure over economic scandals, has lashed out at unnamed forces in Indonesia he says planned to topple him through anti-graft rallies. As Yudhoyono draws accusations of being increasingly self-centered and paranoid, his administration appears

The opening of a 1,833-kilometer pipeline from Turkmenistan to China this week ends Russia's grip on the Central Asian country's natural-gas exports. Backers of the proposed Nabucco pipeline to Europe will also gain heart from the success of the Turkmen-Chinese

Suolang Duoji, barely six months after listing his Lumena Resources in Hong Kong, is looking to partner Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari's KASB in strife-torn Pakistan, where China's interests are normally state-backed and as Western investors are packing their bags and