Astonished by the uprising in Egypt, Western countries anxious to be on the right side of history have started to reassess ties to army-backed Arab strongmen stubbornly opposed to democracy.
The United Nations on Sunday drove home the warning from Western nations that a transition to democracy in Egypt should not be rushed to avoid worsening the crisis and destabilising the entire Middle East.
Egypt's new vice president, Omar Suleiman, has long sought to demonize the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in his contacts with skeptical U.S. officials, leaked diplomatic cables show, raising questions whether he can act as an honest broker in the country's political crisis.
Ugandan police said they believe terrorists are targeting Kampala before national elections this month, the latest in a series of threats since twin bombs killed 79 people in the capital last year.
Egypt tried to get the nation back to work on Sunday with banks reopening, and the vice president held unprecedented talks with a banned Islamist group and other opponents about their demand that President Hosni Mubarak quit.
The dissolution of Egypt's ruling party on Saturday was a strong attempt by the country's National Democratic Party to placate the thousands of protestors demanding an end to the current Mubarak regime.
The civil unrest roiling the Middle East may have spilled over into Europe as tens of thousands of Serbian nationalists staged a massive anti-government rally in the capital, Belgrade.
Egypt's ruling VP, Omar Suleiman, has recently survived an assassination attempt although it left two of his bodyguards dead, a media report said.
A war of words between Uganda's main presidential candidates escalated on Friday, sparking fears of Egypt-style street violence should the opposition say the poll was rigged.
U.S. employment rose far less than expected in January, partly the result of severe snow storms that slammed large parts of the nation, but the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since April 2009.
Palm oil output and stocks, already lagging robust demand due to rains in top Southeast Asia producers, could be made worse should the cooking ingredient become the next target for emerging markets seeking to buy big and dampen adverse effects of booming world food prices.
Among the issues raised by the recent outbreak of civil unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is the rapidly growing population in some of these countries. This subject has particularly stark implications for Israel.
With protesters set for a tenth day of demonstrations in Cairo on Friday, Egyptian leaders were seeking for opportunities - without success - for talks with opposition members.
As popular protests are bring down governments or seriously compromising rulers in the Middle East, one person looking at the turn of events uneasily is the Saudi Arabian King Abdullah.
India's efforts to calm inflation by allowing easier imports and restricting exports of key foodstuffs are disappointing farmers who are keen to exploit global high prices and say structural reforms are the way ahead.
Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, said on Thursday it is seeking shareowner support for its proposal to require a majority vote to elect unopposed candidates to the board of Apple Inc.
Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, said on Thursday it is seeking shareowner support for its proposal to require a majority vote to elect unopposed candidates to the board of Apple Inc.
U.S. Sen. John McCain R-AZ said on Thursday that the United States had develop a new policy and needed to do a better job of encouraging democracy amid a wave of protests in Middle Eastern countries.
Haiti on Thursday heeded foreign pressure and amended the results of its November first-round elections, setting up a presidential run-off excluding a government-backed candidate hit by fraud allegations.
Sitting on the dusty steps of his local chief's house, Cyrus Edo is spending his third consecutive day trying to register to vote in Nigeria's upcoming elections.
Supporters in Haiti of exiled former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide demonstrated for his return on Wednesday as the country nervously waited to hear who would contest the presidency in a March run-off election.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, eying protests that threaten to topple Egypt's long-time ruler, indicated on Wednesday he would leave office when his current term ends in 2013, after three decades in power.
