By Kadhim al-Attabi - IRAQIS say they are tired of the country’s circular and inconclusive political debate and their politicians’ banter, six months after Iraqis headed to the polls for the promises of a better future. Instead, they say, the lack of services in the country is worsening and violen

By Erik Kirschbaum - GERMANY’S Greens, the world’s most successful environmental party, have surged to record highs in opinion polls as voter frustration over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right government climbs to new heights. The Greens, who have doubled in strength to around 20 per cent in

By James Mackenzie - ITALY’S political crisis looks set to worsen when parliament resumes this week after a bitter exchange between Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his rival Gianfranco Fini brought the prospect of early elections closer. Berlusconi said he would appeal to the head of state, P

By John Whitesides - AN unrelenting sour mood among US voters has steadily eroded support for President Barack Obama’s Democrats, putting the party’s grip on Congress at growing risk two months before the November 2 election. Worries about the economy and plummeting confidence in Obama have Democr

By Ahmad Pathoni - HADI Mulyono said nothing would stop him from returning to his hometown to celebrate Eid al Fitr, not even a police ban on carrying children on motorcycles. “I have to take my son, and motorcycle is the only means of transport that is efficient,” said food vendor Mulyono, who pl

By Sanjeev Miglani - TRADE between India and China is booming but diplomatic ties have become increasingly fraught over an unsettled border, the disputed Kashmir region and the competing global aspirations of the world’s most populous nations. China is seeking to expand its influence in South Asia

By Sid Astbury - TWO independents have decided that Australia’s first female prime minister should stay in the job beyond a couple of months and that her government should not be the first since 1931 denied a second term. Labor was hammered at the August 21 parliamentary election and only scraped

THE relaunched Israel-Palestinian peace talks will begin by discussing the issue of borders and security, before moving on to other topics, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying yesterday. “If we want to start negotiations, then we will start with borders and then move to security

By Olivier Thibault - BASQUE independence fighters ETA, limping after the arrests of scores of senior leaders, were pushed by their political wing into announcing a ceasefire on Sunday, analysts said. But the ceasefire seemed to be a minimal response to the demands so as to allow ETA’s banned poli

By Tim Gaynor - Threats, shuttered polling centres and fears of fraud are clouding hopes for Afghanistan’s September 18 parliamentary election, observers have warned. With the poll less than two weeks away, the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission said it has received 1,503 complaints, rangin