World - The Christian Science Monitor

Sanna, Yemen - The LandCruiser snaked along a desert road driven by a suicide bomber toward his target – unwitting tourists. "God is great," he shouted before carrying out the destructive mission.

Umm Qasr, Iraq - As Iraqi dockworkers unload rice from the Yichanghai, a Thai freighter, the boat's captain recalls the last time his company sent a ship to Umm Qasr, Iraq's only port city, in 2004. Boats had to wait one to two months outside the port before authorities allowed them to dock, and local militias often extorted extra duties.

Washington - When Russian forces crossed into South Ossetia and Georgia, Syria was one of the few countries to voice support for Moscow's actions in the Caucasus as the West was busy condemning the invasion.

Paris - In the wake of Russia's recognition of two separatist Georgian republics Tuesday, Moscow is moving swiftly in another war – how to define and present its legal case to the world. One chief area of this battle is Kosovo, the Serbian province that declared its independence in February – something Moscow had long warned would "legitimize" the separation of territories such as South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia.

Colombo, Sri Lanka - After 25 years of fighting and 70,000 casualties, Sri Lanka's military has won a hard-fought upper hand against separatist Tamil Tigers – and now vows to break their northern stronghold by year's end.

Tel Aviv, Israel - Nine months since President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted the much touted Annapolis Conference on Middle East peace – at which all sides pledged to work toward a settlement by the end of 2008 – Ms. Rice is once more pushing in person for some kind of deal before the administration leaves office.

Diepsloot, South Africa - The coach's whistle bleats, and the two young players, both 8 years old, square off and run full speed toward each other. One boy carries the oblong ball, juking to the left to avoid the inevitable crunch of a rugby tackle. When the defender brings down his man, a field of young enthusiasts cheer.

Paris - Russia thirsts to once again be a great power – a lesson the West is learning in Georgia. On Monday, Russia's parliament voted unanimously to recognize the independence of Georgian rebel regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia – the flashpoints of recent fighting. Also, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired a warning shot about another frozen ethnic conflict in Moldova.

Basra, Iraq - On his first tour here in 2006, British Army Lance Bombardier Frank Shaw says that three of his unit's interpreters were kidnapped, a local Iraqi shopkeeper on his base helped insurgents direct mortar attacks on British barracks, and even the Iraqi police used to shoot at his unit occasionally.

Since agreeing to a cease-fire deal with Georgia Aug. 15, Russia has been under close scrutiny. Is it pulling troops out or not? Is it protecting smoldering villages or pillaging them?

Beijing - The Beijing Games have established a new Olympic order. To win these games, China made a massive investment in its sports system. If it continues, the dominance could continue for years to come.

Bratislava, Slovakia - Before the 1989 photo of a Chinese man confronting tanks in Tiananmen Square, there was the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia captured by Ladislav Bielik's iconic image of a protester in Bratislava baring his chest to the barrel of a Soviet tank – 40 years ago Thursday.

Paris - Two weeks into the Georgia crisis, Russia maintains leverage, adroitly playing a great game of obfuscation and tit-for-tat – both militarily and diplomatically – with a disunited West struggling to determine whether this is a new cold war.

Dongola, Sudan - Ask Abbas Adam Ibrahim whether he is Arab or African, and he does not quite know how to respond. "Both," the Sudanese man says, after slight hesitation.

Sanaa, Yemen - Two months ago, at the start of the school vacation, 12-year-old Reem was forced to marry her 30-year-old cousin.

Katmandu, Nepal - In the past four months, Nepal has seen its longtime Maoist rebels come to power and its 240-year-old monarchy abolished.

Cairo - A string of suicide bombings in Algeria this week has intensified concerns that the country's Islamist militancy is rising, guided by insurgents who have been trained in Iraq and are now waging their fight in North Africa.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Khalid al-Hubayshi's career as an Islamic warrior came to an end with the siege of Tora Bora in Afghanistan. Ordered to retreat, he walked through snow for six days. He was captured by Pakistani forces, delivered to the Americans, and relocated to a cage in Cuba.

Paris - The 10 French paratroopers killed and 21 wounded in Afghanistan – nearly an entire platoon and the highest French casualties since 1983 in Lebanon – were from a battalion that took control of Kabul only two weeks ago. The event hit Paris hard enough to cause French President Nicolas Sarkozy, fresh from negotiating the Georgian dispute in Moscow, to leave for Afghanistan Tuesday evening to visit the troops.

Gori, Georgia - Two days after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that his country's troops would begin withdrawing from Georgia, there's little evidence of a pullout, with Georgians in occupied territory struggling to stay safe and get food.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Abdulhadi al-Marri spoke firmly into the phone, reassuring the man US officials say is a "sleeper" Al Qaeda operative that a family member was doing well.

Jerusalem - First there were one or two on restaurant windows here or propped up near cash registers there. The signs beckoned: "Eat here, this establishment has a kosher 'social seal.' "

Kabul, Afghanistan - Naseer Fayaz, one of Afghanistan's most famous television presenters, is used to fans and other well-wishers coming by the office. The host of a popular weekly program, "The Truth," his expos??s of government malfeasance have won him awards as well as a devoted following. But after a recent episode of the show that was especially critical of the government, Mr. Fayaz received unexpected visitors: members of the Afghan secret police.

As Russia's flash war with Georgia winds down, two distinct – and contradictory – stories about what happened and why are taking shape.

Lahore, Pakistan - The United States lost a stalwart ally in its war on terror Monday when Pervez Musharraf resigned as president to avoid a looming impeachment battle.

Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation Monday, ending a nearly nine-year tenure that opponents said was hampering the country's shaky return to democracy.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - In the wake of setbacks suffered by Al Qaeda in Iraq, Afghanistan is becoming the preferred destination for Muslims, particularly from Arab nations, seeking to wage jihad against the West.

Warsaw - They live in a historically battered region between West and East, the Rhine and the Volga, Berlin and Moscow. Now, as Russian tanks rumble in Georgia, the states of "new Europe" are urging the West to rethink its relationship with Russia and are pushing for new security and strong measures against an aggressive Moscow they say they know all too well.