Daily Update

Indecision and Apathy: New polls reflect Israel's mood regarding the election

President Obama continues campaigning for economic stimulus package

Russian President Medvedev is slowly beginning to establish an independent profile, distancing himself from Putin, the man in whose shadow he has always stood

During his recent tour of Mogadishu, Somalia's newly elected president extended an olive branch to Islamists in an effort to bring peace to the nation

A Sri Lankan suicide bomber kills 28 and injures dozens as Tamil Tiger rebels continue causing turmoil

Venezuelans campaign for limits to Chavez's term as tension mounts

Cultures clash in India as a new generation of women is stepping outside traditional social boundaries

Daily Update

In Sri Lanka, more than 10,000 civilians have fled in the past few days from rebel-held Tamil-Tiger territory in the north, the government says.

Despite UN peacekeeping efforts, a massacre occurs in Congo

Death toll rises to 84 in Australian bushfires

Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip has yet to get off the ground, with political battles worrying aid workers that the work may never get done.

How to contain a nuclear Iran

Uprising to continue in Madagascar

Insecurity increases for jobless in Japan

Sarkozy defends his plans to revive France's economy

Political unrest occurs in Malaysia after chief minister forced out of office

Daily Update

Wildfires in Australia kill 35, government suspects arson

Lessons from Japan's "Big-Works" stimulus package

Iran's domestically-produced satellite raises ballistic missile fears; country celebrates the 30th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution

Iraq holds peaceful elections - but Afghanistan is "chaos central"

Europe strangely silent on China's "manipulated" currency

Madagascar protest turns violent, 23 killed

U.N. suspends aid shipments to Gaza, sends humanitarian mission to Zimbabwe

Daily Update - Special Focus on Russian Diplomacy

- Poland is "ready" for America's missile defense shield, but the Russians remain wary, and appear to seek a detente with the U.S. and its new administration, especially by pursuing mutual nuclear disarmament. Russia has reported that it will deploy Iskandar short-ranged nuclear missiles in Kalingrad in response to an extension of the U.S. nuclear shield over Poland - the missile shield issue will be a focus at the Munich Security Conference this Saturday, where the U.S.'s policy of re-engaging European allies will be put to the test.

- Russian interest and influence in removing U.S. forces from Kyrgyzstan are noted in addition to Kyrgyzstan's own complaints. Russia has offered the U.S. an alternative supply route to Afghanistan through Russian territory, but the U.S. still needs an airforce base capable of deploying combat missions to Afghanistan

- Russian media ignores accusations by opposition leaders that Putin is "Russia's main economic problem" - the Russian stock exchange has fallen by 80% and the rouble has been devalued by 35% since last summer

- A.Q. Khan, Pakistani nuclear scientist who admitted selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya, and North Korea five years ago, has been released from house arrest. Khan's leading role in Pakistan's development of atomic weapons makes him immensely popular in Pakistan, and Pakistan has denied U.S. and IAEA inquiries into how Khan was able to evade international proliferation controls.

-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gives an interview to The Hindu on Pakistan, Terrorism, the Kashmir Issue, other Indian concerns

Interesting Stories

China Declares Drought Emergency

Iraqi Prime Minister Dominates Votes

Somali Pirates Said to be Leaving Ships

Tamil Tiger Base Falls

The Unthinkable Option: Bombing Iran

Kristof: Myanmar

U.S. Searches for Alternative Base in Central Asia

In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism

- U.S. President Obama dispatched George J. Mitchell as Special Envoy to the Middle East yesterday, and gave a televised interview with a major Arabian news network outlining a more cooperative approach to problems in the region

- Iceland's government collapses under the weight of the "credit crunch;" the country's new government must endeavor repay $10 billion in bailout stabilization loans from the IMF and other foreign countries

- The New York Times Magazine has published an article on "Obama's Worst Pakistan Nightmare," a detailed and often worrisome account of how Pakistan manages its nuclear weapons stockpiles. While Pakistan rejects foreign technical assistance for its program on the grounds of maintaining its sovereignty over the weapons, spectators fear the potential that the weapons - or weapon designs and bomb-making material - could fall into terrorist hands.

- Two men belonging to a U.S. branch of the Tamil Tigers plead guilty to charges of "conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization." One of the men had attempted to purchase surface-to-air missiles for the LTTE.

Today's Update

- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Gaza on Tuesday, as Israel pledged to withdraw all its forces in the area before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Obama. Total Palestinian casualties from the war were reported at 1,300, with at least 700 civilians among the dead.

- Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement over natural gas flows through the latter nation, allowing gas supplies to flow to the rest of Europe after a 2-week energy impasse

- Negotiations over a power-sharing arrangement between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai are being mediated by the South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, while the nation-wide cholera crisis continues