As the booming capital undergoes its massive makeover, remote areas wither with decrepit infrastructure, crimping national economic growth
KAMENKA, Russia — The van moves only a few feet every 15 seconds. Gear teeth sound as if they’re being ground into bumps. With every lurch forward, passengers inside tighten their grips on seat cushions, an armrest, a [...]

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For months, economists have debated whether the United States is headed toward a recession. Today, there is no doubt. President George W. Bush can tout his $150 billion economic stimulus package, and the Federal Reserve can continue to cut shortterm interest rates in an effort to goose consumer spending. But those moves are unlikely to [...]

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A senior Saudi official was directly involved in the assassination of top Hizbullah commander Imad Mugniyah, the Iranian news agency Fars reported Tuesday.
According to the report, the man, who works at the Saudi embassy in Damascus, contacted a Syrian woman who purchased two cars under her name, which exploded during the assassination.
The report [...]

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Jane’s Proliferation editor Avital Johanan said analysis of the Iranian site indicated that Teheran may be about five years away from developing a 6,000-km range ballistic missile. This would tie in with American intelligence estimates and underlines why US President George Bush wants the Polish and Czech components of the US missile defense system to [...]

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North Korea and the U.S. agreed to exchange a secret memorandum of understanding on the agreement, it said.
The radio station said North Korea agreed to make a complete and correct declaration of its nuclear weapons program “in the coming weeks.”
In a 2007 deal at the six-nation negotiations, North Korea agreed to disclose full details [...]

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