(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Nicolas Sarkozy continues to fare poorly with the French public, according to a poll by LH2 published in Libération. 59 per cent of respondents have a negative opinion of their president, down one point since late May.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in the Evergreen State, according to a poll by SurveyUSA. 55 per cent of respondents in Washington would back the Illinois senator in this year’s United States presidential election, while 39 per cent would vote for the Arizona senator.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Democrat Barack Obama is ahead of Republican John McCain in the Beaver State, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 46 per cent of respondents in Oregon would vote for the Illinois senator in this year’s United States presidential election, while 37 per cent would back the Arizona senator.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More than a third of adults in Jamaica want Bruce Golding to remain in office as prime minister, according to a poll by Market Research Services Ltd. published in The Jamaica Observer. 37 per cent of respondents think Golding is the best person to lead country at this time, while 27 per cent would prefer former prime minister Portia Simpson Miller.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Less than one-fifth of people in Britain think Gordon Brown is doing a good job, according to a poll by YouGov. 19 per cent of respondents say the prime minister is doing well as head of government, while 77 per cent believe he is doing badly.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Paraguay think the administration of outgoing president Nicanor Duarte has been the most corrupt of the past five decades, according to a poll by GEO and Transparencia Paraguay. 53.2 per cent of respondents rate Duarte’s government as the most corrupt, up 15.5 points since last year.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The governing party is the most popular political organization in Iceland, according to a poll by Gallup published in Morgunbladid. 33 per cent of respondents would vote for the Independence Party (SSF) in the next general election.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Almost half of adults in Belarus are opposed to opening the country’s many state-owned companies to private enterprises, according to a poll by the Independent Institute for Social, Economic and Political Studies (IISEPS). 48.2 per cent of respondents think the majority of the country’s large-scale enterprises should remain in the government’s hands, while 39.7 per cent would agree with privatizing most of them.

Mario Canseco - The next G-8 summit will be held at the Sardinian town of La Maddalena. Silvio Berlusconi will much likely be the host next year, but some of the faces that were seen in Japan earlier this month might not make it to Italy.

Gabriela Perdomo - Turkey’s promising democracy is facing a major challenge as a battle to defend the country’s secular mandate is turning into an almost-religious crusade. The Asian country standing at the door of the European Union (EU) faces a tough question: is radical secularism the only way to prevent Turkey from becoming an Islamist state?

Gabriela Perdomo - It is hard to find out. Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration has delivered on some of his campaign promises, but nobody seems to know that. For most of his first year at the Élysée, all eyes were too set in the president’s personal soap opera to care about policy decisions. His family life has stabilized now so there is no more media craze left. Now Sarkozy must face the fact that this operetta has harmed both his persona and his mandate to make decisions as France’s head of state.

Gabriela Perdomo – Call it the Iraq war effect. With no doubt left that the coalition effort to topple Saddam Hussein has turned to be the biggest military mess of our time, people in various Western nations with troops in Afghanistan are now turning their eyes to the war on terror and wondering, is Afghanistan the next Iraq?

Gabriela Perdomo - Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, called it an opportunity to "re-found" the nation. With the final draft now ready, Bolivia’s constitution looks more likely to split the nation in two.

Mario Canseco - Robert Mugabe will seek a new term in office this Saturday, in the "harmonized" election that will see voters choose a president, select a new House of Assembly, renew a Senate that has been in place for just 26 months, and pick the members of their local councils.

Gabriela Perdomo - It is hardly a fringe movement. The voices calling for a boycott of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing are growing in number by the minute. It would be naïve to think they will succeed, but one can guess that their accusations will continue to resonate well after the spectacular games are over.

Gabriela Perdomo - Forty-nine years after leading a triumphant revolution, Fidel Castro has told Cuban legislators he will not stand for president again. The speculation from now on will be endless. Some will say the United States is ready to ship Miami Cubans into their motherland in a matter of days. Others will say Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has been handed the baton of Cuba’s future.