Unfolding is the big picture on India-China relations, the impact of two gigantic Sumo wrestlers joining hands to rewrite the economy landscape, rather than compete with each other as imagined over the years.—Economic Times

John A. Shaw is a curious example of Washington politics gone mad, says Charles Smith.

This is the second time since 9-11 aliens get passes to the most secure areas at Logan.

By offering nuclear-capable F-16 Falcon fighters to Pakistan and the even more advanced F-18 Hornets to India, Washington has shown a cynical readiness to profit from the long-standing rivalry between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors, say analysts -Ranjit Devraj/Asia Times

Iraq's parliament erupted in acrimony at only its second sitting on Tuesday and journalists were thrown out after legislators berated leaders for failing to agree on a new government, two months after elections.As the meeting grew heated, the interim speaker ordered journalists to leave and Iraqi television abruptly switched to Arab music.Allawi walked out of the session shortly afterward

The Chinese economic juggernaut and its thirst for minerals and markets has increasingly brought it to Africa, including here to Zimbabwe.But lately the Chinese are digging on a different front, one that could complicate the Bush administration's efforts to promote democracy here: African politics -Christian Science Monitor

As she prepares for a groundbreaking legal battle against one of the country's most powerful conglomerates, a 31-year-old Thai woman is gaining prominence as a heroine for democracy.On Sunday, Anand Panyarachun, one of Thailand's most respected elder statesmen, became the latest to endorse Supinya Klangnarong's courageous stand for the right of free expression -Marwaan Macan-Markar/Asia Times

Now, before people think that I am too mean, I must start by stating that Zapatero has good reasons to let himself be bought by Chavez.He has labor problems with some of his shipyards so any naval construction order put down by Chavez can earn Zapatero some social respite while he retrains shipyard workers.Also Spain has very, very large interests in Venezuela and surely he must avoid jeopardizing them -Daniel Duquenal/VCrisis

Spanish government plans to sell military equipment to Venezuela have been branded a "monstrous error" by political opponents.The deal involving ships and transport planes worth 1.3bn euros ($1.7bn; £1bn) was denounced by Spain's conservative opposition leader Mariano Rajoy -BBC

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe sought international help Tuesday to end 40 years of civil war in his country, telling the leaders of Venezuela, Brazil and Spain that the violence is too fierce to confront without their aid.The appeal came during a daylong summit aimed at deepening political alliances and coming up with common approaches to problems from drug trafficking to poverty

Recent days have seen a spate of copycat protests launched by opposition groups that were perhaps hoping their own local authorities might fold and flee under pressure, as did Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev when demonstrators stormed his Bishkek complex last week.Some argue that it's only a matter of time before the revolutionary tide sweeps over Russia -Christian Science Monitor

Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, yesterday argued that the independent inquiry into the scandal-ridden oil-for-food programme had cleared him of any wrongdoing surrounding the hiring of an inspection company to oversee Iraqi goods imports.But critics were quick to seize upon a host of compromising and sometimes contradictory details, which left open as many questions as they answered -Financial Times UK

In an unusual "signaling" move, Secret Service admits White House suppresses free speech at Bush events financed by taxpayers.