Chirac backs ban on veil
French President Jacques Chirac last week announced his support for a ban on the wearing of the Muslim veil in French public institutions, including schools, writes David Tresilian from Paris

National cohesion versus the veil
The problem is not the Islamic headscarf, it is how to preserve France's national cohesion, a leading French politician told Omayma Abdel-Latif

Unveiling France
The French president rules out the veil, leaving France's Muslim women in a quandary, writes Jeremy Landor from Paris

The spoils of war
War as an engine of economic growth? It all depends on who is doing the cost-benefit analysis, writes Faiza Rady

Food for thought
The world has enough resources to support all six billion inhabitants. The problem is that these resources remain unevenly distributed, reports Samia Nkrumah from the FAO convention in Rome

The United States: Costs of empire
Reviewed by Ramsey Al-Rikabi

South and Central America and the Caribbean: Democracy, à la America Latina
Reviewed by Jaideep Mukerji

Russia and former Soviet republics: The going gets tough
Reviewed by Gamal Nkrumah

Europe Old and new
Reviewed by David Tresilian

East and Southeast Asia: Threats without and within
Reviewed by Nyier Abdou

Africa: Blazing a trail
Reviewed by Gamal Nkrumah

South Asia: Hope amid uncertainty
Reviewed by Jaideep Mukerji