The US has despatched to Cairo a veteran diplomat with close ties to the Mubarak government.

BBC: Egypt unrest: John Kerry says Mubarak should step aside

Vacheslav Nikenov(ph) is an analyst in Moscow with close ties to the Russian government.

NPR: Bush to Praise Democracy in Georgia During Visit

He established close ties to the Cuban government of Fidel Castro.

BBC: Hugo Chavez death: Thousands march with coffin

The police will also look again into unexplained assaults on journalists and the shooting of a businessman with close ties to the Czech government.

ECONOMIST: A Czech scandal

The same story is broadly true in the government, though Mr Berezovsky himself denies the close ties widely assumed to link him to such top figures as Mikhail Kasyanov, now tipped to be promoted from finance minister to prime minister.

ECONOMIST: Boris Berezovsky, puppeteer or future victim?

Iran, which has close ties to the Shiite parties controlling Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, has repeatedly denied the allegations.

CNN: Officials: Hezbollah agent played deaf before confessing

Russia, which has close ties to Syria, is considered likely to veto any resolution that mentions specific action against the Syrian government.

NPR: U.S., France to Urge Syrian Help with U.N. Probe

The most recent Malaysian offers come from a pair of listed companies: Telekom Malaysia, in which the government has a controlling stake, and United Engineers Malaysia, which has close ties to Dr Mahathir's party.

ECONOMIST: Malaysia��s stockmarket

Mr Kiguel joins the government from his present job as head of mortgage bank Banco Hipotecario, has close ties to foreign banks and international lenders and is known to favour Argentina adopting the dollar as the country's sole currency.

BBC: Daniel Marx with Domingo Cavallo

Shell, which discovered and started the country's oil well in the late 1950s, has been heavily criticized by activists and local communities over oil spills and close ties to government security forces.

NPR: Dutch Court Rejects Most Of Shell Spill Case