Global Agenda articles from June 2007

Global Agenda archives from June 2007

The white cap of hatred; Turkish diary; Nationalism is on the rise, in a nasty form.
June 1, 2007... Our Europe editor glimpses a nasty nationalism Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday BACK in Kars, we have dinner with the mayor, Naif Alibeyoglu. He is an AK Party man, and a progressive fan of modern sculpture,...

Sunny outlook; America's economy; Are the storm clouds gathering?
June 1, 2007... But the long-range forecast for America's economy is that the weather may turn THE primary job of any pundit is to forecast all the ways in which things could go wrong. So far, however, the American economy has stubbornly defied the dire...

Struggling to save the planet; America and climate change; George Bush proposes new measures to tackle global warming.
June 1, 2007... A new proposal on combating climate change UNLIKE all other rich countries bar Australia, the United States never ratified the Kyoto protocol, and formally withdrew from it in 2001. The United Nations' treaty on climate change restricts...

Sledgehammers and hard drives; Donating old computers; First, zap your personal files thoroughly.
June 1, 2007... Zapping files from computers is harder than it seems WITH money scarce, you would have thought public schools would be grateful to receive any computers lying unused around the office or home. Not so. On average, it costs them around $400...

Kosovan independence; Russia's politics; 'Nyet' to Kosovan independence.
June 1, 2007... Russia is preparing to say nyet Increasingly it is clear that Russia is poised to block Western plans to push through the UN a plan to grant independence to Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province. This poses a big dilemma for the EU which...

Sunny outlook; America's economy; Are the storm clouds gathering?
June 2, 2007... But the weather may turn THE primary job of any pundit is to forecast all the ways in which things could go wrong. So far, however, the American economy has stubbornly defied the dire prognostications of those expecting bad weather....

For the love of the game; Batter up; Two auctions of sports memorabilia.
June 2, 2007... Forget Gaughuin. Sotheby's has Gehrig's jersey LEE DUNBAR, a specialist at Sotheby's New York sale of sports memorabilia next week, has no doubt about the importance of the collections to be sold. "People have begun to have the same...

A white man's burden; Tony Blair's visit to Africa; Britain's departing prime minister has been good for Africa.
June 3, 2007... Tony Blair has been good for Africa "A SCAR on the conscience of the world" is how Tony Blair, Britain's departing prime minister, once described Africa. In an attempt, perhaps, to remind people that there is more to his legacy than Iraq,...

The week ahead; What may make the headlines this week.(Calendar)
June 3, 2007... World leaders, Russia's gas, French voters and Scooter Libby may make the headlines • LEADERS of the G8 countries meet on June 6th in Germany for two days of what are sure to be heated discussions. Protestors will ensure that the...

Heavy bondage; Yielding to pressure; What has caused bond yields to rise?
June 3, 2007... The cause and effect of higher bond yields ALTHOUGH the S&P 500 index has just recorded an all-time closing high, bond investors are not celebrating. The 30-year Treasury yield has moved above 5% for the first time since last August, and...

There's money in rotten carrots; Composting; Turning trash into garden mulch.
June 4, 2007... Your columnist visits the compost heap in Seattle AMERICA'S fabled rate of consumption, applauded by Wall Street, has a corollary: America generates more rubbish than any other country. From an environmental perspective this is mostly bad,...

There's a crisis here somewhere; Ukraine diary; Our Moscow correspondent meets the local riot police.
June 4, 2007... Our Moscow correspondent breaks a sweat in Kiev Monday ARRIVING in Kiev on a swelteringly hot day last week, I went walking in the city centre. I found myself exchanging pleasantries with three burly black-clad commandos, sporting guns...

How the mighty are falling; Charles Taylor goes on trial; The forward march of international justice.(Charles Taylor accused of planning and financing crimes committed during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war in the 1990s)
June 4, 2007... The end of impunity for once-powerful thugs across the world THEY are beginning to fall like ninepins. On Monday June 4th the trial began in The Hague of Charles Taylor, Liberia's former president and Africa's most famous warlord. He is...

Hey, big spender; Chinese business; The country looks beyond its borders for investment opportunities.
June 4, 2007... China's investments in the rest of Asia are booming China's outward investment drive has become the subject of growing media and political attention, as increasingly internationally minded Chinese companies have begun scouring the globe for...

For the love of the game; Batter up; Two auctions of sports memorabilia.
June 5, 2007... Forget Gauguin. Sotheby's has Gehrig's jersey LEE DUNBAR, a specialist at Sotheby's New York sale of sports memorabilia next week, has no doubt about the importance of the collections to be sold. "People have begun to have the same...

The quiet man of Kiev; Ukraine diary; Our Moscow correspondent meets President Yushchenko.(President Viktor Yushchenko )
June 5, 2007... Our Moscow correspondent meets President Yushchenko Monday | Tuesday Tuesday WHEN the call came from an assistant to President Viktor Yushchenko asking me to be at his office for 3pm, I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised. A...

How the mighty are falling; Charles Taylor goes on trial; The forward march of international justice.(Charles Taylor accused of planning and financing crimes committed during Sierra Leone's brutal civil war in the 1990s)
June 5, 2007... Impunity ends for once-powerful thugs THEY are beginning to fall like ninepins. On Monday June 4th the trial began in The Hague of Charles Taylor, Liberia's former president and Africa's most famous warlord. He is accused of planning and...

Jostling for position; The Republican candidates; A new man is set to join the field.(Fred Dalton Thompson)
June 5, 2007... The favourites reinvent themselves AS TEN Republican contenders prepared for a further round of TV debates on Tuesday June 5th another potential presidential candidate took a step closer to joining the throng. Just before the weekend Fred...

Political business; Corporate America; Chief executives want their voices to be heard in the coming presidential election.
June 5, 2007... Corporate America weighs in on the presidential race THE LAST presidential election was a miserable experience for corporate America, especially its bosses. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate, famously branded the chief executives of...

Trouble with Kurds; Turkey and the Kurds; Turkey's long battle with the Kurds has flared up again.
June 5, 2007... Tough talk raises fears of more conflict A SPATE of attack has raised fears that Turkey's long war with separatist Kurds in the country's south-east may heat up again. Since the capture of a Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who has been...

Mexico's economy; Mexico's tax system; The government will soon present its proposals for fiscal reform.
June 5, 2007... Fiscal reform is coming soon Mexico's government will soon present its proposals for fiscal reform, after weeks of discussion with political party leaders, governors and congressional representatives. The much-awaited initiative is not...

They think we are gangsters; Ukraine diary; Our Moscow correspondent heads east to Donetsk.
June 6, 2007... Our Moscow correspondent inspects Donetsk Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Wednesday THE politics in Kiev was all tactical manoeuvring, and I was getting lost in its complications. To discover more about the two Viktors, Yushchenko...

Putin takes aim; The G8 leaders get together; A row with Russia precedes the G8 meeting in Germany.
June 6, 2007... A row about missiles before the meeting GERMANY'S swish resort of Heiligendamm might escape addition to the Kremlin's list of new nuclear targets in Europe, given President Vladimir Putin's visit there. But that will provide little...

Spring in Frankfurt; Europe's improving economies; The ECB raises interest rates as European economies strengthen.
June 6, 2007... The European Central Bank raises interest rates again NOT long ago it was hard to know whether to laugh or cry about the euro zone's economies. Growth was low in most of them--notably Germany, the biggest; unemployment was high; and a...

Political suicide; Japan's government flounders; A downward turn for Shinzo Abe.
June 6, 2007... A miserable two weeks for Japan's prime minister EVERY journalist has made predictions that he has had the leisure to repent. Luckily, readers have usually long forgotten the original prediction by the time it is proven resoundingly wrong....

A terrorist hub? Caribbean terrorists; Are terrorists using the region as a base for attacks on America?
June 6, 2007... The Caribbean region comes under scrutiny In the wake of the arrests on June 2nd of several Caribbean nationals in an alleged plot to attack John F Kennedy airport in New York, questions are swirling over the threat of terrorist cells...

Mysteries and histories; Ukraine diary; Our Moscow correspondent heads west to Lviv.
June 7, 2007... Our Moscow correspondent explores Lviv Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday Thursday FROM Donetsk my plan was to fly to Lviv, the spiritual heart of western Ukraine, where speaking Russian is considered in bad taste. But to my...

A Czechered meeting; Food for thought; A meeting of dissidents and politicians in Prague.(Conference news)
June 7, 2007... A conference in Prague gives food for thought ASSEMBLING a bunch of the world's most famous dissidents in Prague to discuss security and democracy with top politicians and think-tankers should have been a sure-fire success. Among the heroes...

Checking the engine; Mixed feelings about America's economy; Is it back on track?
June 7, 2007... Is the worst already past for America's economy, then? A QUICK break, then back on track. To many on Wall Street, America's slowdown looks more like a pit-stop than a protracted stall. Yes, the economy ground to a halt in the first three...

The final frontier; African financial markets; Sub-Shahran investments are enticing foreigners.
June 7, 2007... African financial markets are looking more attractive Africa's financial markets are, at long last, becoming globalised. Low interest rates and saturated financial markets in OECD economies are pushing developed-world investors to look...

Humming, steaming honeycomb; Ukraine diary; Our Moscow correspondent goes walking in Kiev.
June 8, 2007... Our Moscow correspondent goes walking in Kiev Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday I TAKE my leave of Ukraine on this occasion with a long walk through Kiev--which Mikhail Bulgakov, in "The White Guard", called,...

A Czechered meeting; Food for thought; A meeting of dissidents and politicians in Prague.
June 8, 2007... A conference in Prague gives food for thought ASSEMBLING a bunch of the world's most famous dissidents in Prague to discuss security and democracy with top politicians and think-tankers should have been a sure-fire success. Among the heroes...

Tuning in; Digital radio; Americans may finally say goodbye to the hisses and whistles of analog.
June 8, 2007... Digital radio comes belatedly to America WHILE Americans have been quick to dump their analogue cameras, phones, record players and other geriatric devices, they have put up with the hisses and whistles of analogue radio longer than most....

Friendly environment; The G8 summit; Agreement on climate change, Africa and a thaw between Russia and America.
June 8, 2007... The G8 countries agree on climate change, and more besides DESPITE the row over Russian missiles that preceded it and the mob of angry protestors outside, the G8 meeting probably helped in the quest for global stability. The top industrial...

Checking the engine; Mixed feelings about America's economy; Is it back on track?
June 8, 2007... Is the worst over for America's economy? A QUICK break, then back on track. To many on Wall Street, America's slowdown looks more like a pit-stop than a protracted stall. Yes, the economy ground to a halt in the first three months of the...

Kazakhstan's powerful president; Kazakhstan's politics; President Nursultan Nazarbayev tightens his grip on power.
June 8, 2007... Nursultan Nazarbayev won't tolerate rivals Rakhat Aliyev, the Kazakh president's son-in-law, is facing extradition from Austria on charges of kidnapping and extortion. Mr Aliyev's precipitous fall from grace is the second event to shake...

The Russians are coming; Russian art; Three sales in London.
June 9, 2007... From Faberge to Leon Bakst ON TUESDAY Sotheby's will hold its largest-ever sale of Russian art in London. With a staggering 625 lots, from a marble bust of Catherine the Great to 19th-century Romantic landscapes to an exquisite Faberge...

Friendly environment; The G8 summit; Agreement on climate change, Africa and a thaw between Russia and America.
June 10, 2007... Agreement on climate change, and more DESPITE the row over Russian missiles that preceded it and the mob of angry protestors outside, the G8 meeting probably helped in the quest for global stability. The top industrial countries ended their...

Trunk routes; Deforestation in Africa; A new study shows how the continent's forests have changed.
June 10, 2007... Studying logging roads and deforestation THE world's forests are disappearing and Africa's are vanishing faster than those of any other continent. A report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation published in March reckoned that...

Yielding to pressure; Going for broke; A dramatic sell-off of bonds.
June 10, 2007... Will a bond sell-off be a turning point for the markets? THE DRAMATIC sell-off in the Treasury bond market on Thursday and early Friday could have a number of causes. The speed of the shift suggests the remaining bond bulls have thrown in...

The week ahead; What may make the headlines this week.(Calendar)
June 11, 2007... What may be in the news this week • ISRAEL'S Labour party, the junior partner to Ehud Olmert's Kadima in the ruling coalition, chooses its new leader on Tuesday June 12th. Ehud Barak, a former prime minister, and Ami Ayalon, a former...

Lies and leather coats; Albanian diary; Our correspondent welcomes the leader of the free world.
June 11, 2007... Our correspondent remembers a bizarre dictatorship ALBANIANS adore America. Tirana, the capital, was in a frenzy of anticipation for weeks before President George Bush's visit on Sunday. Not many foreign statesmen pass through here, to put...

Toothless; Marine conservation; Europeans should strengthen their laws to protect sharks.
June 11, 2007... European laws are failing to protect sharks EUROPEANS like to think of themselves as green global citizens. They have taken climate change seriously for ages. (It took a recent film to convince many Americans.) Europeans recycle. They stay...

Riding the wave; Sarkozy does well at the polls, again; Success for Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of French parliamentary voting.
June 11, 2007... Nicolas Sarkozy's party takes a commanding lead in France's parliamentary elections NICOLAS SARKOZY'S hold on power in France now looks complete. In the first round of the French parliamentary elections held on Sunday June 10th the new...

Saudi Arabia; A row over arms and Saudi Arabia; Will a row over an arms deal affect Saudi politics?
June 11, 2007... Will a row over a British arms deal affect Saudi politics? The fresh allegations with respect to the Al-Yamamah weapons deals signed with the UK in the mid-1980s have potentially important implications for the balance of power within Saudi...

In praise of big brother; Albanian diary; Our correspondent explains the love affair with America.
June 12, 2007... Our correspondent recounts a public love affair Monday | Tuesday Tuesday TIRANA reverberates still from an American presidential visit that went as well as it could possibly have done, for all concerned. George Bush was met by a...

Riding the wave; Sarkozy does well at the polls, again; Success for Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of French parliamentary voting.
June 12, 2007... Nicolas Sarkozy's commanding lead NICOLAS SARKOZY'S hold on power in France now looks complete. In the first round of the French parliamentary elections held on Sunday June 10th the new president's centre-right party, the Union for a...

Congress's new voice; Assessing the first half year of the Democrat-controlled Congress; What have the Democrats achieved in Congress?
June 12, 2007... What have the Democrats achieved? ROUGHLY half a year after the Democrats seized Congress, nobody could deny that politics has grown more interesting. Judging from the newspapers today it is Capitol Hill, not the White House, where the...

Taken to the cleaners; The public image of private equity.
June 12, 2007... Can private equity polish its public image? WILL one of Gordon Brown's first acts as prime minister be to tax the fat cats of private equity more heavily? Certainly, his past talk about "justice and integrity" in this area would suggest as...

Letting the cat out of the bag; Ford ponders a sale of Jaguar and Land Rover; Will Ford sell Jaguar and Land Rover?
June 12, 2007... Ford thinks about selling Jaguar and Land Rover THE decision that the fancy car in the driveway is a luxury you can't afford is a hard one to make. Ford, which has problems with its less exalted runabouts seems, at last, to have decided...

China's food safety; China seeks safer food and drugs; A new sort of five-year-plan for China.
June 12, 2007... A new plan to improve standards of food and drugs When pet cats and dogs in the US started dying in April, few would have thought that the deaths would have much relevance for the Chinese export juggernaut. But the issue looks like...

The easy-going kind of Islam; Albanian diary; Our correspondent encounters a model of religious tolerance.(Travel narrative)
June 13, 2007... Our correspondent is urged to climb a minaret Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Wednesday AS ANYONE who has tried it will know, unrequited love is no formula for happiness. Albania loves America--but does America love Albania? It...

Letting the cat out of the bag; Ford ponders a sale of Jaguar and Land Rover; Will Ford sell Jaguar and Land Rover?
June 13, 2007... Ford may sell Jaguar and Land Rover THE decision that the fancy car in the driveway is a luxury you can't afford is a hard one to make. Ford, which has problems with its less exalted runabouts seems, at last, to have decided that its...

Dam the consequences; Laos; Big, dubious dam projects are back.
June 13, 2007... Big, bad dams return to South-East Asia TWO years ago the World Bank returned, after a decade's absence, to the business of financing giant hydroelectric dams. This was in spite of a damning (pardon the pun) report in 2000 from the World...

Wounded, but still dangerous; Stopping Indonesia's terrorists; A success in the fight against Indonesia's terrorists.
June 13, 2007... Indonesia cracks down on terrorists WHEN Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a South-East Asian Islamist group, bombed nightclubs in the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002, killing 202 tourists and locals, the poor state of the country's anti-terrorist...

The road to Hamastan; On the verge of civil war in Gaza; More violence between Hamas and Fatah.
June 13, 2007... Hamas and Fatah are on the verge of a civil war that could split the putative Palestinian state BY THE end of this week, the Islamists of Hamas will have either destroyed the secular-minded Fatah in the Gaza Strip, or at least shown that...

South Africa's exodus; South Africa's painful skills shortage; South Africa needs more skilled workers.
June 13, 2007... A painful shortage of skilled workers South Africa's economy is in danger of overheating as spending grows faster than productive capacity. With skills shortages the binding constraint there is no quick-fix remedy. Strong economic...

The week ahead; What may be in the headlines in the next days; The news ahead.(Calendar)
June 14, 2007... What may make the headlines • THE Paris Air Show, the aviation industry's big annual jamboree, begins on Monday June 18th. Commercial and military aircraft will jostle, wing to wing on the ground and in the air, to attract buyers....

Blame it on the Turks; Albanian diary; Our correspondent weighs the Ottoman legacy in government.
June 14, 2007... Our correspondent weighs the Ottoman legacy Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday Thursday ALBANIA'S Ottoman heritage has fostered an easy-going Islam, but centuries of rule by the Sublime Porte also have a downside. The "Sultan...

Past and present; The German Democratic Republic; A film illuminates the past and provides lessons for the future.
June 14, 2007... A film illuminates communism's horrors and aftermath IF YOU ever lived in the grim communist prison camp that called itself the German Democratic Republic, or have friends or family who did, it is easy to flinch at "The Lives of Others", a...

The road to Hamastan; On the verge of civil war in Gaza; More violence between Hamas and Fatah.
June 14, 2007... On the verge of civil war BY THE end of this week, the Islamists of Hamas will have either destroyed the secular-minded Fatah in the Gaza Strip, or at least shown that they can. The relative quiet after a deadly burst of violence between...

The campaign's brightest star; Who is Barack Obama? Crowds love Barack Obama, but he lacks crucial experience.
June 14, 2007... Crowds love Barack Obama. But can the charismatic young senator from Illinois lead? LIKE a movie star, he is late, but that only whets his fans' appetite to see him. Thousands stand under the vicious midday sun in a park in Reno, Nevada....

Japan's politics; A pensions scandal in Japan; Japan's ruling party suffers from a pensions scandal.
June 14, 2007... Mess with grey-haired voters at your peril A pension-records scandal that has seriously embarrassed the Japanese government has increased the likelihood that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will suffer major losses in this...

How to lick a polar bear; Canadian Arctic diary; Our correspondent learns how to lick a polar bear.(Arctic Winter Games)(Travel narrative)
June 15, 2007... Our correspondent learns about life, and golf, on ice Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday Thursday IN A back corridor of the Arctic Winter Games arena, teenage girls perch nervously on a row of orange plastic chairs. They are...

North of everywhere; Canadian Arctic diary; Our corespondent learns to distinguish many fish from dumb asses.
June 15, 2007... Our correspondent falls off the edge of the map Monday IF YOU want to talk to Paul Okalik, the premier of the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut, his press secretary will suggest that you first take Nunavut 101. This is a...

Addressing the image problem; Albanian diary; Our correspondent wonders how Albania can improve its image.(briefs)
June 15, 2007... Our correspondent holds on to his wristwatch Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday ON BUSY Elbasanit Street in downtown Tirana you can find, amid the shops and cafes, some of the main actors shaping Albania's...

Snatching power; Now Hamas is in control; Hamas gets the upper hand over Fatah.
June 15, 2007... Hamas seizes control BY FRIDAY June 15th, the Islamists of Hamas had largely wrested control of the Gaza Strip from their secularist rivals, Fatah. The relative quiet that had reigned after a deadly burst of violence between the rival...

The campaign's brightest star; Who is Barack Obama? Crowds love Barack Obama, but he lacks crucial experience.
June 15, 2007... But can the charismatic youngster lead? LIKE a movie star, he is late, but that only whets his fans' appetite to see him. Thousands stand under the vicious midday sun in a park in Reno, Nevada. No other presidential candidate could pull...

Paper chase; E-paper; Move over, iPhone. Sony may soon have a cooler gadget.
June 15, 2007... Electronic paper is catching up with the real thing AN INVENTOR meets a venture capitalist in a bar. He pulls out of his pocket something that looks like a grubby handkerchief, straightens it out on the bar top, and begins his pitch for...

Blackstone's blues; Transatlantic grumbles about private-equity firms; Trouble ahead for private equity?
June 15, 2007... More transatlantic gripes about private-equity firms PRIVATE-EQUITY firms have never lacked for critics. In general the industry has shrugged off the insults, which ranged from "barbarians" in earlier days to "locusts" more recently. The...

The emerald isle; Ireland's new government; Ireland's Bertie Ahern teams up with the Greens.
June 15, 2007... Ireland's Bertie Ahern forms a coalition with the Greens Ireland's new parliament confirmed Bertie Ahern as prime minister for a third successive term on June 14th, after his Fianna Fail party agreed a coalition deal with the Green party...

Blackstone's blues; Transatlantic grumbles about private-equity firms; Trouble ahead for private equity?
June 16, 2007... More transatlantic gripes PRIVATE-EQUITY firms have never lacked for critics. In general the industry has shrugged off the insults, which ranged from "barbarians" in earlier days to "locusts" more recently. The firms assumed that a record...

Artist of the floating world; The surge in impressionist and modern art; Monet is the star in a big week for London auctions.
June 16, 2007... Monet is the star in a big week for London auctions THE coming week marks the hectic high-point of the summer auction calendar in London, timed by tradition to coincide with the summer "season". Sotheby's, Christie's, and, now, Phillips de...

Pay as you grow; The Democrats want fiscal responsibility; Is the economy safer in Democratic hands?
June 17, 2007... Getting back in shape? IF DEMOCRATIC politicians had a theme song, it would be "Those Were the Days". After years of war, budget deficits, and middle-class wage stagnation, Democrats are promising a return to the sunny Clinton years, when...

Carry over; The carry trade; A possible change in trend.
June 17, 2007... Time may be running out for the carry trade IT IS amazing how many people follow a strategy that, in theory, does not work. They do so, of course, because practice outranks theory. And the carry trade, the borrowing of low-yielding...

Burning bodies better; The Hindu way of death; How to make funeral pyres more energy-efficient.
June 18, 2007... How to make India's funeral pyres more energy-efficient A SWEET whiff of burning flesh hangs over India's open-air cremation grounds. The reason is that the traditional funeral pyres preferred by Hindus are extremely inefficient. On a...

After the showdown; What next for the Palestinians? Palestinian politics remains impossibly difficult.
June 18, 2007... The dust settles after last week's violence among Palestinians revealing a changed political scene SINCE last week's violent showdown in the Gaza Strip, which left the Islamist group Hamas in effective control of the territory and the more...

Russia's booming economy; Russia's strong economy; Russia's strong economy is driven by more than oil.
June 18, 2007... It's not about just oil and gas Russian economic growth hit a six-year high of 7.9% year on year in the first quarter, propelled by strong growth in construction, manufacturing and trade. The result is particularly impressive in light of...

No business like snow business; Canadian Arctic diary; Our correspondent finds a global-warming boom town.(briefs)
June 19, 2007... Our correspondent finds a global-warming boom town Monday | Tuesday Tuesday THE first English-speaker to savage the Inuit tongue was a privateer called Martin Frobisher, who sailed into what is now Frobisher Bay, looking for a...

Burning bodies better; The Hindu way of death; How to make funeral pyres more energy-efficient.
June 19, 2007... How to make India's funeral pyres more energy-efficient A SWEET whiff of burning flesh hangs over India's open-air cremation grounds. The reason is that the traditional funeral pyres preferred by Hindus are extremely inefficient. On a...

After the showdown; What next for the Palestinians? Palestinian politics remains impossibly difficult.
June 19, 2007... A new political scene SINCE last week's violent showdown in the Gaza Strip, which left the Islamist group Hamas in effective control of the territory and the more secularist Fatah licking its wounds, events have moved on with astonishing...

Pink papers and white knights; News Corp's bid for Dow Jones; Not perfect, but better than the alternatives.
June 19, 2007... News Corp is the best buyer in sight for Dow Jones THE Wall Street Journal's reporting of the battle for its parent company, Dow Jones, and thus of its own fate, has been consistently excellent, well ahead of competitors' efforts. This...

Closing in on Boeing? Airbus and Boeing at the Paris Air Show; Airbus gets a lift.
June 19, 2007... Airbus dreams of brighter days ahead AS BEFITS an event in its back yard, the Paris Air Show has brought good cheer for Airbus. As the show opened on Monday June 18th, the European jetmaker announced a raft of new business. It says it has...

Croatian crackdown; Croatia's fight against corruption; Will tackling corruption help Croatia join the EU?
June 19, 2007... A fight against corruption is designed to please the EU Croatia's government is set to abolish the state privatisation fund after the arrest of six of its officials, in what President Stipe Mesic calls the country's biggest-ever corruption...