Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh failed to realize the main objective of his visit to the United States - the "operationalization" of the US-India civilian nuclear deal. India and the US were more successful in other areas, including on defense

Beijing is actively promoting that the Communist Party should build a "study model of Marxism". Coupled with the visit by a senior party official to Taiwan to discuss - for the first time ever - political models, the signs are

According to data published by the US Defense Department, one in every four combat soldiers quit the Afghan National Army during the year ending in September. This high desertion rate not only flies in the face of US officials' long-time

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's vague response to an alleged attempt to take down a popular anti-corruption body raises fears of a return to Suharto-era impunity for top-level officials. Yudhoyono's belated reaction also leaves unanswered questions about his own possible

First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia, not joining United States President Barack Obama's swing through Asia may have been a mistake. While Obama's town-hall session broke new ground, the beguiling sight of the first family mingling and

The fists are already flying in the lead-up to next year's Philippine presidential vote. According to opinion polls, popularity is now on the side of 49-year-old opposition Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino. His rivals aren't giving up that easily though, and

Negotiating With Iran by John W Limbert The author, the Barack Obama administration's newly-appointed point man on Iran, shares a wealth of insights and recommendations in the cognitive map of Iranian negotiators. A major fault of the book is an

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's warm embrace of visiting Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said it all - this is how to make progress between countries. And as Lula made clear his support of Iran's stance over nuclear power,

Russia has made clear that the Nord Stream and South Stream pipelines will not be used to divert gas from Ukraine's transit pipelines to Europe, a change of stance that will be welcomed by Moscow-friendly parties in Ukraine before January's

The United States Congress next week has the opportunity to question the wisdom of President Barack Obama's decision to keep Ben Bernanke - who played a key role in bringing about the global financial crisis - as Federal Reserve chairman