PAKISTAN/UNITED STATES: President Obama telephoned Pakistani President Zardari Dec. 4 to offer his condolences for the deaths of more than two dozen Pakistani soldiers mistakenly killed in a NATO airstrike — but stopped short of the formal apology that was requested.  (New York Times)
 
IRAN/UNITED STATES: Iran’s Fars news agency announced the country downed an unmanned U.S. drone Dec. 4 in Eastern Iran.  (Washington Post)
 
LATIN AMERICA: Thirty-three hemispheric leaders met in Bogota last week to form the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The group intentionally excludes the U.S. and Canada.  (Miami Herald)@@oh, snap!!!@@
 
BELGIUM: Nearly 18 months without a federal government, politicians appeared close to forming a coalition agreement and allocating cabinet positions.  (Wall Street Journal)
 
SOUTH AFRICA: Thousands of demonstrators marched in Durban Dec. 3 to urge faster action on climate change during the annual UN Climate Change Conference hosted this year by South Africa.  (BBC)