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He’s been called a terrorist, an extremist, and the mastermind behind the recent chaos in Gaza. The state of Israel has even tried to assassinate him. But Khaled Meshaal, the political leader of Hamas, insists he is a moderate man in search of peace for the Palestinian people.

It may sound like science fiction, but it’s only a matter of time before the world’s militaries learn to wield the planet itself as a weapon.

From Abuja to Islamabad, autocratic regimes have become adept at manipulating “free and fair elections” to stay in power. Here’s how they do it—and how to stop them.

This week, something extraordinary happened. When the Israeli government closed off the Gaza Strip in an effort to stop militants from firing rockets into Israel, Palestinians took matters into their own hands.

Is the global economy headed for a rough patch? With the world’s stock markets in turmoil, FP spoke with distinguished Harvard economist Martin Feldstein on what a U.S. recession would mean for America and the world.

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and the Russia left in its wake has long since moved past the bad old days. Or has it? Rare survey data from the four main universities that feed Russia's Foreign Ministry reveals that the next generation of Russian diplomats may not turn out to be as “post-Soviet” as you think.

With the Cold War long over, the CIA no longer faces any real competition, right? Wrong. The world’s top espionage agencies are as busy as ever.

Iraq's parliament has finally passed a long-awaited new law aimed at allowing former Baathists to return to government jobs. Amb. Feisal al-Istrabadi, one of the “founding fathers” of the new Iraq, is optimistic about the legislation and says Iraqis are just undoing mistakes made by the United States.

With scant notice from environmentalists, the Bush administration has quietly put in place a bold, unorthodox strategy for halting global warming. Now, it is time to take the next logical step.

With scant notice from environmentalists, the Bush administration has quietly put in place a bold, unorthodox strategy for halting climate change. Now, it’s time to take the next logical step.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have made the world seem like a small place after all. But even on the Internet, persistent language barriers and cultural differences mean that the planet may not be quite as interconnected as you think.

George W. Bush is getting a hero’s welcome in Israel, where he hopes to breathe life into stagnating peace talks. But the U.S. president’s popular appeal, says Zalman Shoval, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States, might not be enough to overcome Israelis’ deep doubts about his mission.