Between Myanmar and Thailand, a modest waterway and a gaping divide
On both sides of the Moei River, power has resided in the hands of the military. But the welfare of the Burmese has declined dramatically over the years, while the Thais have grown increasingly affluent.
- Australia imposes sanctions on junta in Myanmar

Russia seeks to derail election monitors
Russia has started a diplomatic effort to curtail the activities of the most influential election observers in the former Soviet Union.
- Russian food companies freeze some prices as elections near

Carmakers get a break from EU lawmakers on emissions
A less stringent proposal was adopted to allow carmakers like BMW and Porsche more time to design more environmentally friendly cars.

Free phone services are multiplying
Don't stop with Skype: The world is full of clever and free phone services riding on the coattails of the Internet to deliver your voice.

Merrill Lynch set to report $2.5 billion in added loss
Merrill Lynch is expected to report Wednesday that it will add about $2.5 billion more to the $5 billion in write-downs it has already announced, a person briefed on the situation said.

Spain undergoes wrenching awakening from 'amnesia'
Spain is stirring the ghosts of its past with a proposed law that will declare illegitimate Franco's military courts, expand reparations to victims of the civil war and increase funding for exhuming mass graves.

Israeli court checks Chief Rabbinate on special-year food
The court ruled on Wednesday that the Chief Rabbinate could not provide local autonomy to rabbis, arguing that otherwise there would be significant harm done to Israel's farmers and the public at large.

Pakistan sends more troops to lawless northwest
The Pakistani Army has sent 2,500 troops into a remote valley in the country's northwest to combat followers of a militant cleric calling for Taliban-style rule.

Wide range of sales in Africa buoys outlook for PPR
Income from Africa leaves the company better protected as demand for luxury goods slows, its chief says.

Hawkish handlers guide Giuliani on foreign policy
Tough-talking neoconservatives are finding welcome in the Republican candidate's camp.

State Department security chief to resign amid Blackwater scandal
The State Department's security chief announced his resignation Wednesday in the aftermath of last month's deadly Blackwater USA shooting incident in Baghdad and growing questions about the use of private contractors in Iraq.
- Use of contractors by U.S. State Dept. has soared

Iranian nuclear negotiators meet with European leaders
Iranians offer no details on session. The EU policy chief, Javier Solana, says negotiations had entered a "very intense phase that we must exploit to the fullest."
- Rice says two-state solution in the Mideast in jeopardy

Bush offers oddly timed attack on Cuba's Castro brothers
President George W. Bush issued a stern warning Wednesday that the United States will not accept a political transition in Cuba in which power merely shifts from one Castro brother to another rather than to the Cuban people.

Letter from Israel: Once a dump, next Ariel Sharon Park
The Hiriya dump, closed nine years ago, will serve as the centerpiece for what is to become a vast urban wilderness named for the Israel leader, who has lain in a coma since 2006.

Business Of Green: Going to the rooftops to stop climate change
In the past few years solar panels and wind turbines have become familiar friends, comforting images that give us hope for a greener future.