A square, an angry crowd, banners, the bitter smell of burning, the grinding noise of manoeuvring tanks, blood: this time it's Cairo, but for the last three decades we have seen similar images from a range of autocracies under threat, from the Shah's Tehran, Deng Xiaoping's Beijing and Ceausescu's Bucharest to the uprisings of the last couple of years in Iran, Tunisia, and now Egypt.

• February 7, 2011

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousus Raza Gilani’s government recently managed to maintain a majority after hectic backroom bargaining with its coalition partners.

• February 7, 2011

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that North Korea's reported enrichment capacities would violate existing Security Council resolutions and require further international inquiry.

• February 5, 2011

A delegation from Turkmenistan’s state-owned gas company will be coming here on Monday for bilateral discussions on the gas sales purchase agreement (GSPA) for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) pipeline.

• February 5, 2011

India and Iran have resolved a dispute over how it pays for Iranian crude oil with New Delhi agreeing to set up a new mechanism that will route payments through a German bank, a finance ministry official said Friday.

• February 4, 2011

Turkey and Kyrgyzstan would establish a high-level council to develop bilateral relations, Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev said

• February 4, 2011

Israel has knowledge, technology; China has funds. Jay Young, an investor specializing in locating Israeli business opportunities for Chinese market, explains why two countries work together so well and how to overcome cultural barriers

• February 3, 2011

Pakistan Tuesday dismissed a New York Times report that Pakistan has steadily "expanded its nuclear arsenal" since President Obama came to office.

• February 2, 2011