A whirlwind tour
Pakistan has staked much on the visit of Washington's top South Asia official, but is its faith well founded? Iffat Idris reports from Islamabad

Kashmir's summer thaw?
At last there are signs of rapprochement in Indo-Pakistani relations, especially with respect to Kashmir. Sudhanshu Ranjan reports

Congolese conundrum
The Congolese peace accord rested on assumptions that are now being questioned because of the eruption of factional fighting in northeastern Congo, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Taking sides
The war in Iraq has exposed cracks in the Dutch image of a tolerant multi-ethnic society, writes Alistair Alexander in Amsterdam

Containing SARS
As SARS continues to haunt the globe, much work remains to be done before the world can breathe in peace, reports Hala Sakr

Briefs
A suicide blast in northern Chechnya shattered four months of calm in the troubled Russian province on Monday, casting a shadow over Russian President Vladimir Putin's scheduled address to the nation on Friday. At least 37 people died in the attack in Znamenskoye, north of the provincial capital of Grozny, and some 200 were injured...