Ashish Kumar Sen

WASHINGTON - Buoyed by the mandate of his people, Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's first democratically elected president, now faces some of the biggest tests of his leadership.

WASHINGTON - The ink had barely dried on a document laying out ambitious civil nuclear cooperation between the United States and India when Washington's entrenched non-proliferation lobby raised its head.

WASHINGTON - Humanitarian aid groups blame the Pentagon for "blurring the lines" between their staff and US-led coalition troops, which has resulted in an unprecedented number of aid workers being targeted by terrorists in Iraq.

WASHINGTON - On the eve of the 20th anniversary of India's deadly Bhopal gas disaster, a leading human-rights group has lambasted the Indian government and Dow Chemical Co for failing to ensure that the survivors of the tragedy received adequate compensation and medical assistance.

WASHINGTON - As Afghans prepare for their first presidential elections on October 9, President Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun, is being challenged by over a dozen factional leaders, but most Afghans and international officials expect him to win.

WASHINGTON - On a September morning just over three years ago, as hijackers piloted airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, few would have guessed the catastrophic consequences for Saudi Arabia.

WASHINGTON - Drawing on the success of the first intifada of the late 1980s, Palestinian groups are launching hunger strikes and mass rallies across Israel in an effort to protest Israeli oppression peacefully.

WASHINGTON - For the second time in less than two years, an in-depth recent report has been released providing in detail links between charities based in the West and militant Hindu organizations in India.

WASHINGTON - President George W Bush's intention of building a "strategic partnership" with India runs the risk of being consistently undermined by Washington's powerful non-proliferation faction.