WASHINGTON, Jul 25 (IPS) - When Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani begins his first official visit here at the White House Monday, the welcome is likely to be a little warmer than he might wish.

DUBAI, Jul 25 (IPS) - The turnaround in Washington-Tehran ties is being viewed with relief on the one hand and anxiety and anger on the other by various quarters within the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 25 (IPS) - A key constituent of the opposition People’s Alliance coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim has opened secret talks with the ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) party of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in a move that threatens the stability of the fragile five-month-old opposition alliance.

BANGKOK, Jul 25 (IPS) - In their hour of despair, Burma’s beleaguered people continue to find comfort in humour. New jokes reflect new frustrations. The latest target is Ibrahim Gambari, United Nations special envoy for Burma.

PHNOM PENH, Jul 24 (IPS) - The armed standoff between Cambodia and Thailand over ownership of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear is the latest chapter in the neighbouring countries’ troubled relationship.

NEW DELHI, Jul 24 (IPS) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has won a bitterly contested motion of confidence in his government by 275 to 256 votes in Parliament, securing his government's survival for several months.

KABUL, Jul 24 (IPS) - Dozens of civilians were killed over the weekend in Afghanistan, the latest in the trend of spiralling violence that has engulfed the embattled nation. The civilian casualties, Taliban attacks and troop casualty numbers are putting increasing strain on the Western-led coalition, leading some to speculate that the war is unwinnable.

COLOMBO, Jul 23 (IPS) - On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom in Sri Lanka there are few signs that any positive lessons have been learnt from the gory events that changed this island nation’s history and sent a once booming economy into a downward trajectory.

MANILA, Jul 23 (IPS) - As World Population Day was being marked on Jul. 11, Tess and Andy were attending a family planning seminar as a requirement for their forthcoming wedding. It turned out to be window into one of the major problems besetting the Philippine population programme.

MELBOURNE, Jul 23 (IPS) - In this second of a two-part interview, IPS spoke with Julian Aguon -- whose homeland of Guam is soon to receive thousands more U.S. troops -- regarding the island’s economic problems, why Guam matters to Washington and the value of solidarity links between activists who are divided by oceans, yet united in a cause.

WASHINGTON, Jul 22 (IPS) - Two of Washington's most prominent foreign policy greybeards praised Saturday's direct participation in multinational talks with Iran by a senior U.S. diplomat but called on the administration of President George W. Bush to drop his demands that Tehran freeze its uranium enrichment programme as a precondition for broader negotiations.

PENANG, Jul 22 (IPS) - Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's de facto opposition leader, is locked in a political battle of wills with ruling coalition leaders and determined to wrest federal control despite fresh charges of sodomy brought up against him.

BANGKOK, Jul 22 (IPS) - Reacting to growing international pressure Burma’s military regime has said it will consider releasing the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in six months.

PHNOM PENH, Jul 22 (IPS) - Cambodia has entered the final week of its national election campaign shocked by the murder of a well-known journalist and facing an increasingly tense standoff with Thailand over a disputed 11th century Hindu temple.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 21 (IPS) - When Pierre Trudeau, a former prime minister of Canada, was once asked what it was like to share space with a "giant" neighbour like the United States, he said the Canadians always felt they were living next to a monstrous elephant.