The capture of Kabul by troops of the US-backed Northern Alliance was greeted by rejoicing in the city’s streets. However, even in Washington, military observers are saying it is too early to predict how the coming weeks and months will develop. The Taliban have been driven further south opening up vital corridors for the transportation of food and other aid but with the harsh winter conditions settling in, famine and disease could still be just around the corner for thousands of long-suffering Afghans. Some say this is a war that — in its present form — nobody can win.

• Simple facts and contradictions
• The “new” terrorists
• New risks and opportunities
• Al Qaeda in Central Europe and the Balkans
• Iran: after a 20 year enmity — light at the end of the tunnel

• Tourism receipts take a nose dive
• How dot.Com is Cairo?
• Turkish farmers: fighting for survival
• Monitoring the oil market
• WTO in Doha
• Slow but steady progress in Syria

• Another approach
• Rai returns to London
• Another one bites the dust...
• One man’s junk is another man’s riches
• Arab artists in America