Epstein Secrets

• Duterte Defiant As UN Considers Investigation Of Violence In The Philippines. • "Militant Buddhism" Rising In Response To Conditions In Burma And Sri Lanka. • US Agency For Global Media Facing New Scandals. THE BIG PICTURE • Headlines From Today's Front Pages. WASHINGTON'S SCHEDULE • Today's Events

r." EFTA00147501 NYTimes Analysis: West Bank Calm Rooted In Despair, Not Optimism. The New York Times (7/8, Kershner, 18.61M) reports that though the West Bank has become calmer in recent months, for many Palestinians there "the lull in grass-roots protests has less to do with economic optimism than despai

Such concerns are most evident in matters relating to India's near abroad. Mr Singh is hesitating over whether to attend a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka next month because of Tamil opposition in the south. Similarly, his government, despite promises to Bangladesh, will not present a bill to parliame

ntly the issue of Palestine has been pushed aside, so Israel continues to promote its policy of building new Jewish settlements in Jerusalem and in the West Bank. Gingrich, who was supported by the neoconservatives, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and many other pro-Israel lobby groups in Amer

ian countries as full members, with Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia holding "observer" status. Today Turkey—along with Belarus and Sri Lanka—rates as a "dialogue partner." Certainly Russia and Central Asia are important markets for Turkish construction, food and tourism industries. Its t

ry's inaugural foreign trip as secretary of state will be to the Middle East, where he will lay the groundwork for a presidential visit to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan in mid-March. The administration is at pains to lower expectations for these trips. "The president is not prepared, at this point in ti