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Latin America’s worst diplomatic crisis in years appears to be over.Colombia’s cross-border raid into Ecuador to kill Farc rebels sparked a furious week-long row which saw Ecuador and Nicaragua cut diplomatic relations with Colombia.Venezuela, meanwhile, expelled Colombia’s ambassador, sent thousands of troops to its border and interrupted bilateral trade.While the confrontation has been diffused at a summit of regional powers, tensions remain.What is the real picture regarding US-backed Colombia and Latin America’s leftist nations?Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, investigates.

Latin America’s worst diplomatic crisis in years appears to be over.

Colombia’s cross-border raid into Ecuador to kill Farc rebels sparked a furious week-long row which saw Ecuador and Nicaragua cut diplomatic relations with Colombia.

Venezuela, meanwhile, expelled Colombia’s ambassador, sent thousands of troops to its border and interrupted bilateral trade.

While the confrontation has been diffused at a summit of regional powers, tensions remain.

What is the real picture regarding US-backed Colombia and Latin America’s leftist nations?

Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, investigates.

It has emerged that the Bush administration caught off-guard by the rise of Hamas, embarked on a secret plan to overthrow its democratically-elected government.

The magazine Vanity Fair reports in its April edition that President Bush and Condoleeza Rice, the US secretary of state, signed off on a plan for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to quash the Hamas authorities.

The plan involved Washington’s allies in the region channeling arms and cash to Fatah fighters, who would rise up against Hamas.

But the plan backfired spectacularly, with Hamas apparently anticipating the move and taking over in Gaza.

How and why did Washington fail in its aims? What were its true motives, and where will its policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict head now?

Sami Zeidan of Inside Story investigates.

The results are in, and Vladimir Putin’s hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, has won the Russian presidential elections in a landslide.

Medvedev has promised to carry on Putin’s legacy. He says he wants Putin to be his prime minister, but just how much power the president will retain once he leaves office is unclear.

Other candidates in the race are protesting the results, claiming they were not allowed equal media coverage before the vote.

Election monitors are also saying the vote was not fair.

Has the election and results been a blow to Russian democracy? And how will Medvedev tackle the big issues facing the country?

Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, looks at the man who will be president and his vision for Russia.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has suspended peace talks with Israel, demanding that it ends its offensive on Gaza.

Israel’s five-day offensive on the Gaza Strip has so far killed more than 100 Palestinians, many of them civilians.

Israel claims it is acting in self-defence in response to cross-border rocket attacks by Hamas.

But Israel has been strongly criticized by the European Union and United Nations, who have condemned its use of “excessive” and “disproportionate” force.

Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, examines the possible outcomes.