Tina Wolfe

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A polarized Lebanese electorate goes to the polls this Sunday in a hotly contested general election that will determine Lebanon's cabinet and government for the next four years. It is a high-stakes race, with more than 15 political parties and over 700 candidates jockeying for power. The internal faultlines have become a proxy to geopolitical interests and regional turf battles.
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BEIRUT, Lebanon -- On the surface, the opening of the Lebanese embassy in Damascus last month and of the Syrian Embassy in Beirut in December is a historic milestone, signaling a new era in Lebanese-Syrian relations. But substantive progress in the relationship remains slow and observers say it is unlikely to gain pace until after June's parliamentary elections in Lebanon. more

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Vlade Divac, the retired NBA basketball player, is up against his toughest opponent ever in his quest to end the refugee problem in Serbia, home to the largest number of refugees in Europe, while distancing himself from the political stalemate that has gripped his native nation. More than 300,000 refugees and displaced persons from Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo remain in Serbia, of which 6,700 still live in deplorable conditions in various forms of temporary housing. more

BUCHAREST, Romania -- While heads of state and defense ministers prepare to hash out important issues related to NATO operations, enlargement and emerging security threats from Afghanistan and the Balkans to Iraq, Bucharest is undergoing a frenzy of logistical preparation and aesthetic transformation that is both energizing and stressing Romanians. This week, an estimated 6,500 visitors -- 3,000 delegates and 3,500 journalists -- will descend on Bucharest to attend the largest-ever NATO Summit. more

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Although it has received much less attention than the violence in Belgrade following Kosovo's declaration of independence last month, Bosnia-Herzegovina has also seen violence in the wake of the Kosovo declaration. In addition to containing sectarian tendencies, including the desire of some Serbs to see its Serb-majority Republika Srpska secede, Bosnia is struggling to create a government, civil society and economy worth of the European Union.
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PRISTINA, Kosovo -- Since NATO's 1999 intervention to end ethnic violence between Albanians and Serbs, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo has administered the province as a de-facto protectorate. Stability remains underwritten by KFOR's 16,000-strong international force and, apart from an upsurge of anti-Serb unrest in 2004, Kosovo is seen as an intervention success story. But life for ethnic minorities who venture out of their protected enclaves remains fraught with danger and uncertainty.
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MITROVICA, Kosovo -- At first glance, Mitrovica looks like an unremarkable post-industrial mining town. A cloud of smoke hovers over a sprawl of dusty roads dotted with Yugoslav-era apartment blocks and an unattractive monument to local zinc miners, both Serb and Albanian, who battled against the Nazis during World War II. Today, the city is divided by a river into two ethnic enclaves. As Kosovo leaders prepare to declare independence with our without Serbian agreement, is it possible to bridge Kosovo's ethnic divide?
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BEIRUT, Lebanon - Uncertainty about Lebanon's political stability in an atmosphere of increasing sectarian division and rumors that Hezbollah is beefing up for an offensive against Israel are testing the allegiances of women loyal to the paramilitary group. Given the influence of women in Hezbollah, their ambivalence has the potential to spread further and ultimately shake the foundation of its political support among Lebanon's Shiites. more