Manjit Bhatia

Australia is gung-ho about Asian economic integration again, but it will partner Asean's myriad political hubris and farce.

With the Australian election looming, public distrust in politicians is at a high as Prime Minister John Howard continues to lie about wide-ranging issues

However the presidential poll turns out, Indonesia will still be the loser.

With the help of improved political and economic ties with the West, PM Abdullah may yet be able to cajole a much needed boost for Malaysia's economy.

Circling Iraqi skies like a vulture, Malaysia hopes to pick up the scraps that Washington, London and the United Nations may throw its way as they attempt to rebuild Iraq.

India may be in a hurry to expand economic growth, but it cannot dither over pro-poor reforms either.

Prime Minister John Howard and his mate, treasurer Peter Costello, claim their economy is one of the world's best performers. But for millions of poor workers and jobless Australians, it's not all a fairy tale.

China, the new whizz kid on the economic block, may be providing all the excitement that global investors are seeking, but its growth fetish is hiding several problems.

Pak Lah is now in charge. So what has changed in Malaysia? Effectively, nothing. What will change in Malaysia? Almost assuredly nothing.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took his time picking his deputy when his former boss had decided that earlier in a political deal on leadership change

As experts grapple with the Avian flu outbreak, one fact is certain: Asia is a breeding ground for animal-borne diseases that can spread to humans.

The Afghan leader needs a simple majority to pass a version of the constitution that is suitable to him. But if he pushes it too hard, he can expect life to turn ugly and violent.

Or will he, like his former boss Dr Mahathir Mohamad, continue to bail out highly inefficient and unprofitable firms?

US troops said they got him, but there are reports that Qusrat Rasul Ali, a high-ranking Kurdish Patriotic Union member, had led a special intelligence unit that found Saddam near the former dictator's birthplace.

As the Coalition of the Willing exults that ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is in their custody, analysts are rushing to define what this means for the US in particular and the world in general.

His works are 'full of inconsistencies, contradictions and distortions'. Almost everything is 'asserted and little or nothing is proven'.

Malaysia's fifth prime minister will struggle to overcome inherited risks even as he tries to stamp his political and administrative authority over the country.