One Week Later...

Musharraf wins huge victory

In Musharraf: borrowed time? we said that the Pakistan president's prospects of re-election on Saturday October 6 hinged on the imminent decision of a nine-member Supreme Court bench.

• Last week, Musharraf won a presidential election by a huge majority – but only after boycotts and abstentions by most opposition members of the national and provincial assemblies.
• He cannot be sworn in until the Supreme Court rules on petitions challenging his decision to contest the poll without giving up his army post. (see also Bhutto: returning hero).

Deadlock over Kosovo

In Kosovo: dialogue of the deaf? we wrote that top Serbian and Kosovo Albanian delegations have little chance of achieving anything on the vexed issue of Kosovo.

• Last week, Serbia accused the United States of "obstructing" the Kosovo talks by promising independence to the breakaway province.
• Kosovo will unilaterally declare independence within days of a December deadline to wrap up talks if international negotiators fail to reach a deal on the status of the disputed province.
• Belgrade and Pristina will remain deadlocked on the issue.

Judgement day for Lebanon

In Avoiding civil war in Lebanon, we wrote that the chances of finding a consensus candidate for the Lebanese presidency have evaporated, given that negotiations to end the standoff over the issue dragged on for months.

• A parliamentary session has been postponed until October 23 to allow more time for talks.
• If a consensus candidate is not nominated by then, the majority parties will elect a candidate relying on a simple majority. This outcome would be extremely problematic, as it would likely lead to the rejection of the presidential nominee by the opposition parties.

Swift crackdown in Burma

In Burma: imminent crackdown, we thought the junta would move quickly to restore order in the next few days and any suppression will be heavy handed.

• Ten people died in the crackdown and about 1,000 are still being held, the government says, but analysts fear both figures are far higher.
• At the United Nations, some Security Council members are drafting agree a statement condemning the military crackdown and calling for prisoners to be released.
• But international pressure being brought to bear on the regime lacks teeth, with opposition to further sanctions widespread and little prospect of formal censure being secured at the UN.

News to us:

Blackwater gets sued

Pressure mounts on private security firm Blackwater as a US human rights group sues it for war crimes and wrongfully killing Iraqi civilians.

Experts arrive in North Korea

A US-led team of experts arrives in North Korea to monitor the dismantling of the country's nuclear programme.

And finally…

UK author Doris Lessing has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize for Literature. The Peace prize will be awarded this week.