The U.S. has put a hold on delivering tanks and fighter jets to Egypt, officials said Wednesday in an apparent show of Washington’s disapproval of a violent crackdown of protesters by its traditional Middle East ally. In a statement, the U.S. Department of State said certain “large-scale military systems” would not be sent to Cairo “pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections.”

Relentless diplomatic pursuit is needed in seeking solutions to global challenges, from achieving peace and security to advancing social progress and economic prosperity, says Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. Addressing the 68th UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, Marty underlined that Indonesia had an enduring belief in the efficacy and effectiveness of diplomacy, maintaining peace and security, advancing social progress and economic prosperity, and in promoting democracy, human rights and tolerance.

The responsibility to protect is a bad idea. But it could be worse. President Obama’s speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday hinted how. At the conclusion of remarks that focused heavily on the Middle East, the president offered a strong endorsement of the doctrine.

Another day, another calamity: thirty killed by a suicide bomber at a funeral in Quetta; the commanding General in Swat blown up by Pakistani Taliban; renewed Indo-Pakistani fighting along the Kashmir border threatens to torpedo fragile reconciliation efforts. These events—all in the past six weeks—reinforce recent disclosures in the Washington Post confirming deep-seated official US doubts and fears about Pakistan.

The U.S. spent roughly $25 billion last year on what’s loosely known as security assistance—a term that can cover everything from training Afghan security forces to sending Egypt F-16 fighter jets to equipping Mexican port police with radiation scanners. The spending, which has soared in the past decade, can be hard to trace, funneled through dozens of sometimes overlapping programs across multiple agencies.

Despite the Canadian government shutting down CIDA, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made clear that he strongly supports Canada focusing on maternal and child health worldwide. The need is clear: more than 7 million children and mothers die every year from largely preventable or treatable causes. But what is needed to make an actual difference to the world’s poorest citizens?

With the Australian elections over, the development community is now concerned with one question: Which programs will be cut first from the Australian aid budget? Most probably it will be projects that have no signed contracts and agreements yet with AusAID, according to World Vision Australia. The real risk here, however, is the shift of the country’s aid focus, cutting funding due to logistical and administrative reasons rather than development priorities.

Australia's new government-elect prepared for a tranfer of power Sunday, with policies to cut foreign aid and roll back greenhouse gas reduction measures in moves the new leaders say will help balance the nation's books. Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott also plans to visit Indonesia soon in part to discuss controversial plans to curb the number of asylum seekers reaching Australian shores in Indonesian fishing boats.