The world at a glance . . . International

Moscow

Medvedev eases up: Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said this week he hoped for better U.S.-Russian ties once Barack Obama becomes president. With Bush, he said, “we can’t find common ground.” But with Obama, “I think we can create in principle a new framework, a partnership between the U.S. and Russia.” Medvedev’s remarks, made during his first visit to Washington as president, were in marked contrast to his tough talk just after the U.S. presidential election, when he said that if the U.S went ahead with its missile defense program in Europe, Russia would put missiles in its European territory of Kaliningrad. Medvedev now sounds more conciliatory, saying he thinks he and Obama would be able “to agree on a global system of protection against rogue states.”

Delhi

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Decriminalizing homosexuality: The U.N. last week called on India to decriminalize homosexuality by overturning a law that has been in place since British colonial rule. Homosexual activity by men or women in India carries a prison sentence of 10 years to life. Domestic human-rights groups mounted a challenge to the law last month, and the Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of the year. The prohibition has long been a boon to blackmailers, who routinely extort money from Indian gays and lesbians by threatening to denounce them to the police. “Being gay is hard all over the world,” computer technician Khaleel Syed told The Washington Post. “But try it in India, where being blackmailed is every boy’s fear.”

Somewhere in Pakistan

Al Qaida insults Obama: Al Qaida’s second-in-command this week called President-elect Barack Obama a “house negro” who had betrayed his Muslim roots. In an audiotape released to Islamic militant websites, Ayman al-Zawahri said that Obama’s willingness to pray with Jews in Israel “in order to climb the rungs of leadership in America” was a disgrace. He also said that the election of Obama, whose Kenyan father was Muslim, did not mean that the U.S. would soften its stance toward Muslims. “America, the criminal, trespassing crusader, continues to be the same as ever, so we must continue to harm it in order for it to come to its senses,” al-Zawahri said. Analysts say al Qaida is apparently alarmed that Obama could improve relations with the Muslim world and undercut support for the jihadists.

Kabul

At odds over Mullah Omar: Afghan President Hamid Karzai angered the U.S. this week by offering Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar a guarantee of safe passage for peace talks. Karzai said his government would talk with any insurgent faction except al Qaida, and that if the U.S. didn’t like that idea, it could “remove me, or leave.” The U.S., which lists Mullah Omar on its roster of most-wanted terrorists and is offering $10 million for his capture, dismissed Karzai’s offer. “We’re going after the Taliban and that includes Mullah Omar,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. Omar himself rejected Karzai’s overture. “The Taliban will pursue jihad against foreign forces and the Afghan government,” Omar said through a spokesman.

Baghdad

Paying the Sunni fighters: The Shiite-dominated Iraqi government has begun paying U.S.-backed Sunni fighters, as promised. The U.S. military had been paying some 100,000 Sunnis, known as the Sons of Iraq or the Awakening Councils, to fight against al Qaida in Iraq. When jurisdiction over the fighters passed last month to the Iraqi government, some U.S. analysts worried that the Sunnis would not get paid and would revert to insurgency. But U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Zamzow confirmed this week that some 35,000 of the remaining 51,000 Sons of Iraq in the Baghdad area had already been paid, and the rest would soon get their stipends. The Sons of Iraq, Zamzow said, are “fundamental to maintaining the remarkable security gains we have seen now and will see in the future.”

Eyl, Somalia

Big booty: In one of the boldest displays of piracy in modern times, hijackers this week captured a massive Saudi oil tanker in deep water in the Arabian Sea. The Sirius Star is three times as large as an aircraft carrier and carries more than $100 million worth of crude oil. “This is unprecedented,” said Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. “It’s the largest ship that we’ve seen pirated.” Pirate activity has long been rampant off the coast of lawless Somalia. But now that many countries have sent naval ships to the region, the pirates are moving into deeper waters. The hijackers were taking the Sirius Star and its 25 hostages to the Somali port of Eyl, where they are expected to issue their ransom demands. The port has become a pirate haven, with several ships already being held there.