Indonesia's Detachment 88 counter-terrorism teams are seen by some critics as too willing to kill suspects and so do away with the need for long trials of suspected jihadis. Yet the training of these crisis response teams, and their weaponry,

Afghan warlords are earning millions of dollars from North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces to guard forward operating bases and supply convoys. These ruthless private armies are reviled by much of the public, and are likely to turn their rifles on

The contents of Iran's response to a fuel-for-fuel draft proposal from the International Atomic Energy Agency for Tehran's low-enriched uranium have not been officially disclosed. Already, though, both inside Iran and in the United States, the initiative is under attack.

A recently released report by Taiwan's Defense Ministry stating that China has increased the number of missiles targeted at the island demonstrates that despite unprecedented warming relations, the potential for war between the long-time rivals still very much exists. -

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's sprightly appearance in a spate of public appearances since he reportedly suffered a stroke, including meetings with China's Premier Wen Jiabao and former United States president Bill Clinton, has re-ignited rumors there is a troupe

When she steps down in eight months, ending her constitutional immunity, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could face charges ranging from corruption and electoral fraud to arranging extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances. Arroyo would, though, dodge any bullets by winning a

The Reverend Sun Myung Moon, nearing 90, has been meeting movers and shakers in the rarified heights of Washington to promote his autobiography, illustrating the political power and influence both in the United States and abroad of his World Unification

High returns and high risks is the name of the game as never before in China's stock markets, with values of companies listed on the world's newest exchange, the small-market ChiNext based in Shenzhen, doubling on its opening day on

The ruling by the European Union Commissioner for Competition that Dutch bank ING Groep should sell its insurance unit and US banking arm demonstrates that the Europeans, unlike their US counterparts, are taking the right route regarding stewardship of the

An end-of-week revival in prices put a positive sheen on recent trading that might survive for a few more days. The longer prospect is for more or less generalized declines. R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and

Microsoft has maintained its reputation for delivering fierce headaches along with its new software offerings. Many would-be users of Windows 7 are discovering that the company's new operating system fails to install satisfactorily and their computers then refuse to restore