Global Agenda articles from February 2007

Global Agenda archives from February 2007

The worries of Warsaw; A European Union diary; The strains of enlargement.
February 2, 2007... Our Europe editor prepares for a birthday Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday THERE have been many historic days for the European Union in its soon-to-be 50 years, but few to rival May 1st 2004, when it admitted...

And now the bad news; A setback in the fight against AIDS; A big AIDS-related clinical trial is halted in its tracks.
February 2, 2007... The collapse of a big trial of an idea to stop the spread of HIV FOR the second time in as many months, an AIDS-related clinical trial in Africa has been halted in its tracks by the organiser. But there the similarities between the two...

Heating up; A big UN report on climate change confirms that man is very likely responsible for some of it; The gloomy and uncertain science of climate change.
February 2, 2007... A UN-backed report on the science of climate change concludes that global warming is increasing and the sea level is up THE fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in Paris on Friday...

Power struggle; The next generation of hybrid cars; Cheaper batteries are the key.
February 2, 2007... The contest to make better hybrid cars CARS have never been quite the same since Toyota introduced its little hybrid, the Prius, a decade ago. By marrying the low-speed grunt of an electric motor to the zip of a petrol engine on full song,...

A year of Evo Morales; Bolivia's divided politics; Bolivia's president is popular, but his country is divided.
February 2, 2007... Boliva's president is popular, but his country is divided Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, completed one year in office on January 22nd with a robust popular rating of around 60%. His support rests on the nationalisation...

Power struggle; The next generation of hybrid cars; Cheaper batteries are the key.
February 3, 2007... The contest to make better hybrid cars CARS have never been quite the same since Toyota introduced its little hybrid, the Prius, a decade ago. By marrying the low-speed grunt of an electric motor to the zip of a petrol engine on full song,...

Auerbach's hour; The painting of Frank Auerbach; An undervalued artist attracts more notice.
February 3, 2007... A tale of two city landscapes "I HATE leaving my studio. I hate leaving Camden Town. I hate leaving London". So speaks Frank Auerbach, a German-born artist who came to London from Berlin as a boy on the eve of the second world war, and...

Implied complacency; Putting a price on volatility; The nervousness is showing, if you know where to look.
February 4, 2007... Nervousness lurks, if you know where to look THE price investors are paying to insure their portfolios is low. Therefore investors are complacent. That is the standard assumption. But it may not be right. The measure which attracts...

Heating up; A big UN report on climate change confirms that man is very likely responsible for some of it; The gloomy and uncertain science of climate change.
February 5, 2007... A gloomy UN-backed report is published THE fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in Paris on Friday February 2nd, is important, unsurprising and will probably be uncontroversial. It is...

Remember Pat Buchanan; Everyone and his dog is running for president in America; The crowd of also-runs in the race to be America's president.
February 5, 2007... Why so many are running for president in 2008 BEWARE of flying hats. The race to be America's president has never before started so early and with so many candidates. Almost without pausing for breath after the congressional elections late...

A cautious welcome; China's president visits Africa; Relations between China and Africa are getting more complicated.
February 5, 2007... China's relationship with Africa is growing more complicated ALREADY a seasoned visitor to Africa, Hu Jintao is back again. China's president is on a 12-day tour of the continent taking in eight countries that began on Tuesday January 30th....

Branching out; Investors are moving into timber; The returns are good and the environment benefits.
February 5, 2007... Timber as a growing asset class "HE PLANTS trees to benefit another generation" said Caecilius Statius, a Roman comic poet. The sentiment remains admirable, but modern investors are putting money into trees to reap benefits in the nearer...

Anything goes in Atlanta; A journey through the American South; The boheman side of Atlanta.
February 5, 2007... Our Washington correspondent ventures far beyond the Beltway Monday GEORGIA is "rural, Republican and a little bit backward," says Andrea, our waitress. But in Little Five Points, the bohemian district of Atlanta, "anything goes," she...

A gas OPEC; Why there will be no effective global gas cartel; Russian talk of a gas cartel may worry Europe.
February 5, 2007... Don't worry, there won't be an effective gas cartel Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has cautiously welcomed the idea of co-ordinating gas supplies with Iran and other major producers--but says it will not be a price-fixing cartel in the...

Puzzling over Iran; What to do about Iran; Fears of stumbling towards confrontation with Iran.
February 5, 2007... Fears that the West may stumble towards another messy military confrontation in the Middle East PESSIMISTS think they have seen something like this before. Iran has a nuclear programme that outsiders say is designed to produce a bomb, but...

Yes, we do wear shoes; A journey through the American South; Pork-barrel politics with real live pigs.
February 6, 2007... Our Washington correspondent goes beyond the Beltway Monday | Tuesday Tuesday IN THE 1930s a typical southerner earned about as much, in real terms, as a typical resident of Botswana does today. Now southern incomes are 91% of the...

Puzzling over Iran; What to do about Iran; Fears of stumbling towards confrontation with Iran.
February 6, 2007... Fears of another confrontation in the Middle East PESSIMISTS think they have seen something like this before. Iran has a nuclear programme that outsiders say is designed to produce a bomb, but which the Iranians insist is not. America is...

Let the bidder beware; Private equity and public companies; Critics of management-led buyouts misunderstand the market.
February 6, 2007... Private equity pays well for public companies THE backlash against the private-equity boom is becoming a tad hysterical. Take yesterday's Financial Times (of February 5th), in which John Gapper issues a "wake up call" about what he says...

Polishing the shop window; Are foreigners tempted by Iran's oil and gas? Iran wants more foreign investment in oil and gas.
February 6, 2007... Iran wants more foreign investment in its oil and gas industry The recent drive to attract international oil companies (IOCs) to commit themselves to major new investments in Iran's oil and gas sector has come after a prolonged period of...

Poland's troubled rulers; Poland's government loses its admired defence minister; There is no-one left to cheer in Poland's government.
February 6, 2007... An admired minister goes, further weakening the government POLAND'S defence forces, unlike those of most European countries, are tough, numerous and enthusiastic. So the resignation on Monday February 5th of Radek Sikorski, the country's...

Running out of steam? A slightly less rosy future for big oil firms; Profits are still gushing, but oil firms may see them slow.(Financial report)
February 6, 2007... Big oil companies are still making record profits, despite the lower oil price. But the future looks slightly less enticing WHEN oil companies report record-breaking profits the watchdogs of corporate morality find much to condemn. Huge...

Money and murder; A journey through the American South; The murder of Emmett Till.
February 7, 2007... Our Washington correspondent goes beyond the Beltway Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Wednesday IT IS nearly sunset in the Mississippi Delta, and I'm in a car with Jerome Little and Bobby Banks, two local politicians, both black....

Running out of steam? A slightly less rosy future for big oil firms; Profits are still gushing, but oil firms may see them slow.(Financial report)
February 7, 2007... The future for big oil firms looks slightly less enticing WHEN oil companies report record-breaking profits the watchdogs of corporate morality find much to condemn. Huge earnings are generally seen as a sign of wrongdoing; oil companies as...

Jakarta is flooded (with money); Fixing up a flooded Jakarta; The money is there, if only investment were easier.
February 7, 2007... The case for more and better public spending MUCH of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, was under water this week, after heavy rains overwhelmed drainage systems. At least 36 were left dead and around 340,000 homeless. The disaster underlined...

South Africa's president; South Africa politics: Choosy.
February 7, 2007... The ruling ANC prepares to pick a successor to Thabo Mbeki Although South Africa's presidential poll is still two years away, there is growing speculation--and controversy--over the candidate likely to be chosen by the ruling African...

Buona fortuna; Reforming Italian football, like the economy, will take time; Italy's fragile government may struggle to take on the powerful football clubs.
February 7, 2007... Cleaning up Italian football is a tricky task MESS with football at your peril in Italy. As the government meets on Wednesday February 7th to consider a package of tough measures to combat hooliganism, the prime minister, Romano Prodi, may...

Music wants to be free; Selling digital music without copy-protection makes sense; Steve Jobs of Apple wants digital music sold without copy-protection.
February 7, 2007... Everyone will benefit if digital music is sold without copy-protection IT WAS uncharacteristically low-key for the industry's greatest showman. But the essay published this week by Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple, on his firm's website under...

We may get to heaven; A journey through the American South; Change and the churches.
February 8, 2007... Our Washington correspondent goes beyond the Beltway Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday Thursday I VISIT a multi-racial church, the Redemption World Outreach Centre, in Greenville, South Carolina. It started small, with a...

Music wants to be free; Selling digital music without copy-protection makes sense; Steve Jobs of Apple wants digital music sold without copy-protection.
February 8, 2007... Selling digital music without copy-protection makes sense IT WAS uncharacteristically low-key for the industry's greatest showman. But the essay published this week by Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple, on his firm's website under the...

Boyars of Belgravia; The Kremlin and its critics; London plays host to their propaganda war.(Boris Berezovsky)
February 8, 2007... The Kremlin and its critics do battle in London THE weapons in this war are not high explosives, nor even gas pipelines, but stories about them. The battlefronts are seminars, think-tanks and dinner parties in the posher parts of London....

Wider still, and wider; A journey through the American South; Change and the churches.(Viewpoint essay)
February 9, 2007... Our Washington correspondent goes beyond the Beltway Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday AS I tucked into a huge plate of battered and deep-fried gherkins, I thought of my wife. She hates gherkins, and is none...

Gravedancer's delight; A battle over American property; Blackstone agrees to pay nearly $39 billion for EOP.
February 9, 2007... Blackstone, a private-equity group, pays $39 billion for EOP WHERE better to play out the final act of a hugely entertaining real-estate drama than Chicago's Civic Opera Building? That is where shareholders gathered on Wednesday February...

Rudolf's revenge; In praise of the diesel; Refined beyond recognition, diesel-engined cars beat hybrids hollow.
February 9, 2007... Diesels are the smart green choice LAST week this column pondered the potholes ahead for plug-in hybrid cars and hydrogen fuel-cells, and foresaw long delays. This week we turn to one of the less glamorous, but more plausible, candidates...

China's new trade horizons; China's trade with the world; China still cares most about exports to Europe and America.
February 9, 2007... But exports to Europe and America still matter most With protectionist tensions rising in China's traditional export markets and competition in the domestic market intensifying, the country's exporters have been expanding rapidly into new...

Two cheers for unity; A Palestinian unity government should help end violence; Fatah and Hamas have found something to agree about.
February 9, 2007... A Palestinian unity government should help end violence in Gaza and the West Bank, but it is unclear what it means beyond that HOW much difference does a week make? A few days ago the streets of Gaza were the scene of bloody battles between...

Mixed fates for two Magrittes; Two Magrittes go to auction; One sells, the other doesn't.
February 10, 2007... An okapi stumbles, a married priest ends happily THE season's biggest week of sales for Impressionist and contemporary art has been dominated by stories of overflowing auction rooms, frenzied bidding and shattered world records. Between...

Two cheers for unity; A Palestinian unity government should help end violence; Fatah and Hamas have found something to agree about.
February 10, 2007... A united government should help end violence HOW much difference does a week make? A few days ago the streets of Gaza were the scene of bloody battles between rival Palestinian gunmen and the talk was of the Palestinian Authority (PA)...

A painful choice; Portugal is expected to ease its laws on abortion; A referendum in Portugal on abortion.
February 11, 2007... Portugal's referendum on abortion should see the law eased THIS weekend, on Sunday February 11th, voters in Portugal are due to decide in a referendum whether to ease the country's strict laws on abortion. The latest indications are that...

High energy; Putting a price on climate change; Investors may be underpricing the risks facing power industry.
February 11, 2007... Investors may be too complacent about climate change THE scientific consensus in favour of man-made global warming seems clear. There is also evidence that voters are increasingly inclined to believe in the phenomenon, even in America. ...

Meet your new father; Turkmenistan's presidential election; A new leader is unlikely to change the country's course.
February 12, 2007... Turkmenistan's presidential election changes little ONE problem with dictators is that whatever earthly powers they wield they cannot live forever. And though they spare few thoughts for preparing a successor, another autocrat is often...

Rudolf's revenge; In praise of the diesel; Refined beyond recognition, diesel-engined cars beat hybrids hollow.
February 12, 2007... Diesels are the smart green choice LAST week this column pondered the potholes ahead for plug-in hybrid cars and hydrogen fuel-cells, and foresaw long delays. This week we turn to one of the less glamorous, but more plausible, candidates...

Clapped out in Qatar; Afghanistan diary; Our defence correspondent arrives, to his surprise, in Qatar.(Viewpoint essay)
February 12, 2007... Our defence correspondent passes a point of no return Monday NEVER more will I associate the word "military" with "efficiency". We are supposed to fly to Afghanistan care of Britain's Royal Air Force, but when we turn up at Brize...

Cold storage; The doomsday vault; An Arctic seed bank will save the world's agricultural heritage.
February 12, 2007... A garden centre for after the apocalypse AS SOON as the four-month-long Arctic night ends on the island of Spitsbergen, off the northern coast of Norway, construction will begin on a seed bank dubbed "the doomsday vault". The Norwegian...

Tackling high prices; Stanching inflation in Venezuela; Venezuela's government needs to act against inflation.
February 12, 2007... Venezuela's government needs to act against inflation January's inflation figure has confirmed fears of escalating prices in Venezuela, where inflation is already the highest in Latin America. A mix of interventionist policies--including...

India calling; Vodafone's growing Indian empire; Vodafone agrees to pay $13 billion for a share in an Indian mobile-phone firm.
February 12, 2007... Vodafone, the world's biggest wireless operator, takes over a leading Indian mobile-phone company FOR two decades Vodafone followed a simple strategy: become a global firm that offers mobile-phone services alone. And it worked. The British...

Taking a left turn; France's presidential election; Segolene Royal, Socialist candidate, shows her left-wing credentials.
February 12, 2007... The Socialist candidate to be president shows her credentials FOR the past month, the campaign of Segolene Royal, Socialist candidate for the French presidency, has been floundering. Once the darling of the polls, her ratings were beginning...

Infinite fields of fire; Afghanistan diary; Our defence correspondent is greeted by a suicide bomber.
February 13, 2007... Our defence correspondent finds NATO hard-pressed Monday | Tuesday Tuesday SOME people like driving when they travel abroad, others prefer cycling or even walking. I find there is no better way of seeing Afghanistan than from a...

India calling; Vodafone's growing Indian empire; Vodafone agrees to pay $13 billion for a share in an Indian mobile-phone firm.
February 13, 2007... Vodafone takes over a leading Indian mobile-phone firm FOR two decades Vodafone followed a simple strategy: become a global firm that offers mobile-phone services alone. And it worked. The British firm is the world's largest wireless...

Striking a deal; Hopes after six-nation talks on North Korea; Talks on North Korea's nuclear programme produce a tentative deal.
February 13, 2007... Talks in Beijing over North Korea's nuclear programme have produced something to smile about SIX-NATION talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear projects have produced so little since they began more than three years ago that even...

Planes, prizes and perfect PR; The Virgin Earth Challenge; Good PR, whether it pays out or not.
February 13, 2007... Virgin is brilliant on big things, slower on small ones THE cliche bears repeating: Richard Branson is a marketing genius. The bearded British entrepreneur has demonstrated yet again his gift for divining the public mood, announcing a prize...

Kenya's future; Kenya prepares for an election; Supporters of Kenya's president mull an early election.
February 13, 2007... An early election is possible, with the opposition split Kenya's president, Mwai Kibaki, has given his strongest indication to date that he will seek a second term in this year's presidential election, scheduled for December at the latest....

Tea, traumas and Taliban; Afghanistan diary; Our defence correspondent at the sharp end of the war.
February 14, 2007... Our defence correspondent at the sharp end of the war Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Wednesday THE Royal Marines decide to take us to the sharp end of the war, in a town called Kajaki in northern Helmand. Marines mutter cryptically...

Striking a deal; Hopes after six-nation talks on North Korea; Talks on North Korea's nuclear programme produce a tentative deal.
February 14, 2007... Some cheer over North Korea SIX-NATION talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear projects have produced so little since they began more than three years ago that even a hint of progress is enough to generate headlines. This time,...

Trouble with the neighbours; India and its dodgy neighbours; The main threat to India's rise may be regional conflict.
February 14, 2007... Regional instability could endanger India's rise COUNTRIES can choose their friends―but not, as Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, has noted, their neighbours. For India this inability is a matter of particular regret. For most...

Suffer the children? A UN report on children in rich countries; British and American children fare relatively badly, says the UN.(reports of United Nations)
February 14, 2007... A UN report suggests British and American children are faring badly compared with those in other rich countries JUDGING by the loud howls of concern this week, the lot of children in Britain and America is a rather terrible one. On...

Conversations with the general; Afghanistan diary; Our defence correspondent reaches Kabul.
February 15, 2007... Our defence correspondent reaches Kabul Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday Thursday AFTER two days of battle rations in Helmand, the canteen at NATO headquarters in Kabul is a bountiful feast. There are almost as many meals...

Suffer the children? A UN report on children in rich countries; British and American children fare relatively badly, says the UN.(reports of United Nations about child welfare)
February 15, 2007... Send them to the Netherlands, says a UN report JUDGING by the loud howls of concern this week, the lot of children in Britain and America is a rather terrible one. On Wednesday February 14th Unicef published a report comparing the...

Right question, wrong answer; Poland's prickly government; At times it seems bent more on revenge than reform.
February 15, 2007... The job of Poland's government is reform, not revenge GIGGLING at Poland's government for its incompetence, provincialism and narrow-mindedness is to miss the point. The crusty, prickly conservatives of Law and Justice--chiefly the...

Pulling apart; DaimlerChrysler may be heading for divorce; The woes of Daimler Chrysler.
February 15, 2007... If Daimler ditches Chrysler, whither Detroit? IT WAS supposed to be a "merger of equals", but has turned out to be just another disastrous car-industry takeover. Since Daimler-Benz swallowed Chrysler in 1998, it has brought the struggling...

Murder in the Maghreb; Bombs in Algeria; Who is responsible for the latest terrorist attacks in Algeria.
February 15, 2007... Islamists explode seven car bombs in Algeria The newly rebranded Islamist underground in Algeria has carried out its first operations, involving the simultaneous detonation of seven car bombs just before dawn on February 13th outside police...

Sunshine and light, mostly; America's economy is doing well, says Ben Bernanke; Ben Bernanke reassures Congress on the economy.
February 15, 2007... Ben Bernanke tells Congress the economy is doing well ONE could almost feel the breeze as Wall Street heaved a sigh of relief. On Wednesday February 14th, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, testified before Congress...

From Canada to Kandahar; Afghanistan diary; Our defence correspondent loses his shirt.
February 16, 2007... Our defence correspondent loses his shirt Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday IN THE crisp night air, some guys are playing hockey in a rink decorated with maple leaves, watched by an appreciative crowd armed...

Fighting fires; America's foreign policy looks increasingly ad hoc; More American troops for Afghanistan.
February 16, 2007... George Bush announces more troops for Afghanistan. Is America's foreign policy becoming increasingly ad hoc? "BUSH Commits One Additional Troop To Afghanistan" read a recent headline in the Onion, an online satirical American newspaper....

Pulling apart; DaimlerChrysler may be heading for divorce; The woes of Daimler Chrysler.
February 16, 2007... If Daimler ditches Chrysler, whither Detroit? IT WAS supposed to be a "merger of equals", but has turned out to be just another disastrous car-industry takeover. Since Daimler-Benz swallowed Chrysler in 1998, it has brought the struggling...

Mark my words; Machine translation; Once cheap and cheerful, soon it will be scientifically precise.
February 16, 2007... Soon, nothing need be lost in translation JUST as native English-speakers stumble with Japanese, the Japanese struggle mightily with English, not to mention Korean or Chinese. In the widely used TOEFL tests of English as a foreign language,...

Love and Haiti; Crime in Haiti; Haiti's government is popular, the crime is not.
February 16, 2007... Haitians love their president, but hate the crime rate The main challenge facing the government of Rene Preval in recent months has been an increase in violent crime, from already-high levels. In a society still deeply divided politically...

Fighting fires; America's foreign policy looks increasingly ad hoc; More American troops for Afghanistan.
February 17, 2007... Is policy increasingly ad hoc? "BUSH Commits One Additional Troop To Afghanistan" read a recent headline in the Onion, an online satirical American newspaper. The satirists nearly got it right: on Thursday February 15th, George Bush...

Dance your troubles away; Carnival time in Rio; Behind the glittering facade is a city troubled by violent crime.
February 18, 2007... Carnival and crime go together in Rio OSTRICH feathers and gold lame or sequins and a tiara? Every carnival brings important sartorial choices for millions of Brazilians. But lately a new fashion accessory has found its way to the streets...

Betting the farm; Global warming and commodity markets; Climate change may drive food prices higher.
February 18, 2007... Climate change may drive food prices higher WHAT would happen if pigs could fly? Bacon would go up. The old schoolboy joke springs to mind when one starts to think about some of the bizarre ramifications of global warming. To recast...

The week ahead; What may be in the news this week; A look at what may dominate the news.(Calendar)
February 19, 2007... A look at what may dominate the news in the coming days THREE stories to keep an eye on in the coming week: Airbus tries to solve its super-jumbo problems; renewed diplomatic pressure on Iran; gritty thrillers about Africa on Oscar night....

Feeling brighter; Europe's economies are doing well; Even when healthy, Europe struggles to keep up with America.
February 19, 2007... Why can't Europe's economies catch up with America? COMPETITION for the title of "sick man of Europe" has been stiff for the past few years. Contenders included Germany, still feeling the lingering effects of unification. Italy, seemingly...

Eminent Victorians; Pre-Raphaelite paintings and drawings; Christopher Wood's collection of Victoriana goes on sale.
February 19, 2007... The glory of pre-Raphaelite painting and drawing IT WAS rare, if not unthinkable, 50 years ago, to love Victorian painting. So far had the Victorians dropped from grace that Sir Edward Burne-Jones's London house was cheerfully allowed to...

Power-vacuum in Tokyo; Asia diary; A week in the travels of our former editor.
February 19, 2007... A week in the Asian travels of our former editor Monday AIRPORTS tell you something about their countries, as this newspaper's Moscow correspondent observed recently. Heathrow is London epitomised: bright, busy, thoroughly commercial...

Junk science; Junk in orbit; Man is filling space with hig-velocity garbage.
February 19, 2007... What goes up need not come down, unfortunately WE HUMANS are a dirty species, seemingly determined to cover our whole planet with our pollution. Even in Antarctica, where the population consists of a few thousand environmentally-conscious...

Bolivia's industry.
February 19, 2007... The government renationalises a big tin smelter In what has now become a hallmark of his presidency, Evo Morales stood before crowds of supporters on February 9th to announce the renationalisation of another former state asset, the world's...

Murder on the Friendship Express; The bombing of an Indian train will not derail peace talks; Indo-Pakistan peace talks should not be derailed by the bombing of an Indian train.
February 19, 2007... Although bomb blasts aboard a train in India will not derail the peace process, they may make success harder to achieve THE victims were as piteous as always: flames and smoke killed at least 66 poor people on Monday February 19th, after...

A peep at the prime minister; Asia diary; A week in the travels of our former editor.
February 20, 2007... A week in the Asian travels of our former editor Monday | Tuesday Tuesday ON THE second afternoon of our meeting, Shiozaki-san takes us to see his boss, Shinzo Abe, at the rather beautiful modern building that is the prime...

Murder on the Friendship Express; The bombing of an Indian train will not derail peace talks; Indo-Pakistan peace talks should not be derailed by the bombing of an Indian train.
February 20, 2007... The bombing of an Indian train should not derail peace talks THE victims were as piteous as always: flames and smoke killed at least 66 poor people on Monday February 19th, after bombs exploded in two carriages of a train passing through...

Broken-down Chrysler for sale; Daimler and VW hit some bad road; But most of German industry may already be past the worst.
February 20, 2007... All this bad news bodes well for German industry JUDGING by the headlines, German capitalism is having a rotten time. The most famous companies seem to be competing mainly to outdo each other with bad news. The latest is DaimlerChrysler,...

Turn back, huddled masses; The EU and immigration; Europe hopes to stem the immigration tide.
February 20, 2007... The European Union hopes to stem the immigration tide Immigration has become a complex and controversial issue for the EU, with economic benefits being weighed up against resistance from voters. The attempt by Franco Frattini, the EU...

Going nowhere; Miseryin Zimbabwe, until Mugabe goesls; Zimbabwe will not recover with Robert Mugabe in charge.
February 20, 2007... Robert Mugabe has run Zimbabwe for 27 years. It will only recover when he goes IT'S still there, and just as bad as ever. The outside world has all but forgotten Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe continues to preside over economic and...

Speaking too well of the dead; Asia diary; A week in the travels of our former editor.
February 21, 2007... A week in the Asian travels of our former editor Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Wednesday AN AMERICAN friend, Alex Kerr, who has long resided in Japan, and who combines business with authorship, told a tale in his book, "Lost...

Going nowhere; Misery in Zimbabwe, until Mugabe goes; Zimbabwe will not recover with Robert Mugabe in charge.
February 21, 2007... Zimbabwe will only recover when Robert Mugabe goes IT'S still there, and just as bad as ever. The outside world has all but forgotten Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe continues to preside over economic and political collapse. But the southern...

A marriage made in heaven? Religious mergers may make business sense; Merging Anglicanism and Catholicism may make business sense.
February 21, 2007... Amid talk of a merger between Catholicism and Anglicanism, a look at how the two businesses might fit together SCEPTICS are already casting doubt on suggestions, spread this week in parts of the British press, of a massive remerger in the...