Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Iran Might Give Diplomacy a Chance

A rare meeting to include both American and Iranian officials brings a glint of optimism.

Iran Eyes Race Between Obama and McCain
Iran's Dissent Over Mixing Islam and Politics
U.S. and Allies Threaten Iran Sanctions
Election Season Wild Card: Covert Ops Against Iran, al Qaeda

Afghanistan

Jalaluddin Haqqani (R), the Talibanís Minister for Tribal Affairs, points to a map of Afghanistan during a visit to Islamabad, Pakistan, October 19, 2001 while his son Naziruddin (L) looks on. (Shabbir Hussain/Reuters/Corbis)

The CIA’s Ex-Allies Who Now Kill Americans

Afghan warlords formerly backed by the CIA turn on U.S. troops.

Afghan Couples Try Family Counseling
NATO's Afghan Force Lacks Resources
Where al Qaeda and the Taliban Hide Out

ASIA

A South Korean looks at a TV screen showing footage of the public demolition of North Korea's cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, at a railway station in Seoul on June 27, 2008. North Korea blew up the cooling tower to symbolize the communist state's commitment to scrapping its nuclear program. (Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)

Tough Tests for the North Korea Deal

The U.S. needs to confirm that Pyongyang has come clean on past bomb making.

North Korea Opens Up on Nuclear Program
Japan Cracks Down on Waistlines
Myanmar's Dictators Obstruct Assistance

Middle East

An Israeli hangs posters of the two Israeli soldiers, Eldad Regev (R) and Ehud Goldwasser (L), held by Hezbollah in Lebanon, during a demonstration outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office in Jerusalem. The Israeli cabinet gave its green light today for a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah, even though two soldiers captured by the Lebanese militia two years ago are known to be dead. The agreement was approved by 22 votes to three at a meeting of the Israeli cabinet, government officials said. (Menahen Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)

Bitter Politics of Prisoner Exchanges

For Israelis, the angst over paying a high price for the return of captured soldiers.

Anxiety Over the Golan Heights
Israel's Leader Struggles to Survive
Most Israelis Want Ehud Olmert to Resign
Inside the Air Force's Control Center for Iraq and Afghanistan

IRAN

A mollah and his wife on the esplande of Qom's mosque. (Guillaume Herbaut/Oeil Public)

Iran's Dissent Over Mixing Islam and Politics

The regime faces criticism from an unexpected source.

U.S. and Allies Threaten Iran Sanctions
Secret Christian Converts in Iran
Iran's Nuclear Program Advances
Rap Music Bedevils Authorities
U.S. Loses Leverage on Iran

SOUTH AMERICA

A soy bean harvest in the Mato Grasso region of Brazil. (Lalo de Almeida/The New York Times/Redux)

Brazil, the New Food Superpower

South America's agricultural giant steps up to feed a needy world.

U.S. Farmers Try Their Luck in Brazil
Brazil: Biofuels Not the Problem
Protecting the Amazon
Brazil's Rising Food Power

Pakistan

Pakistani tribesmen gather around of a burning oil tanker after a bomb blast in the Pakistani border town of Landi Kotal. A bomb ripped through an oil tanker carrying oil to US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, but it did not cause casualties. (AFP/Getty Images)

Bad Guys in the Border Badlands

Eliminating Pakistan's havens for insurgent groups is a goal for the next president.

U.S. Efforts in Pakistan Blasted
Pakistan Tries to Send Refugees Home
Voters Send Musharraf a Message
Gallery: Pakistan Election
Factors in the Election

AFRICA

Mourners for a murdered opposition activist. (Desmond Kwande/AFP/Getty Images)

Zimbabwe's Corrupt Ruler Uses Violence to Hold Onto Power

President Robert Mugabe tries all his tricks to crush a challenger.

Gorillas Massacred in Eastern Congo
Chaos in Kenya Has Many Roots
Kenyan Election Violence

EUROPE

This photo in Pessac, western France, shows Malta's freshly minted euro coins. (Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images)

The Shadow of the Strong Euro

As the dollar slides, Europeans see both pros and cons as their currency turns 10 years old.

Protest Against a U.S. Missile Defense Deal
French Turn Against President Sarkozy
Britain Moves Against Forced Marriages
Slow Economy Tests Spain's Views of Immigrants

CHINA

Family members hold pictures of loved ones, as they mourn students killed in the collapse of the Juyuan Middle School, during a protest in Dujiangyan, China, on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Most of the 900 students were killed when the school building collapsed in the May 12 earthquake. (Shiho Fukada/The New York Times/Redux)

China: Angry Over Schools' Collapse

Shoddy construction and corruption are blamed for the deaths of schoolchildren in the earthquake.

Reporting Bad News in China
Protests Meet Olympic Torch
Chinese Crack Down in Tibet

Russia

A Russian ultra-nationalist prepares to punch veteran British gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell (R) during a demonstration in Moscow May 27, 2007. (Maxim Marmur/AFP/Getty Images)