Southeast Asia

Burma: will ceasefire wind down opium war?

Burma’s regime signs a "national ceasefire" with ethnic rebels in the opium-producing north ahead of historic elections—but the biggest rebel armies didn’t sign on.

The Andes

Ecuador: victory for Kichwa sovereignty

Ecuadoran border authorities allowed an indigenous leader to enter the country on a passport issued by the Kichwa Nation, hailed as an "historic precedent" for the hemisphere.

Greater Middle East

Syrian Kurds as pawns in Turko-Russian game?

With tensions high between Turkey and Russia, Moscow's intervention risks drawing the Kurds into the geopolitical game and escalating divisions within the Syrian resistance.