With fewer than two weeks to go before the French presidential elections, what might a Sarkozy victory mean for France's immigrant communities, asks David Tresilian in Paris

Pelosi's recent regional trip signals a new approach to Washington's Middle East, writes David Dumke

The first Guantanamo Bay detainee to stand trial before the controversial US military commissions is expected to be back home in Australia within weeks, and free within months, Tamam Ahmed Jama reports

Recent fighting between tribesmen and foreign militants has been presented by the Pakistani government as a vindication of its strategy in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions. The reality is more complex, writes Graham Usher in Islamabad

As Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov prepares to make his first visit to Egypt in 15 years, Eric Walberg reflects on the changing orientation of Central Asia