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Spy agencies face political, legal battles
Parliaments, tech leaders and privacy activists are working to bring the surveillance complex to heel.
‘Bring Snowden in from the cold’
‘The civilian rights of the US whistle-blower, who exposed secret internet surveillance, must be respected’.
Robocops should rest
Like most heraldry, the global tour of the Olympic torch is a modern invention, stretching back no further in the mists of time than the last Games in Athens. After London, Paris…
In search of a mission
The Casa Poporului is the unfinished work of one of Europe’s last megalomaniacs, Nicolae Ceausescu. Much of historic Bucharest was levelled to create a building that the Romanian…
Bloodshed in Basra
Thirteen months have passed since British Prime Minister Tony Blair described Britain’s military operation in Basra as "successful" and "complete". Like United States President…
Speedo slows down
Ten months after he came barnstorming to power, Nicolas Sarkozy is in some trouble. The tactician who sapped the strength of the French left by offering right-wing socialists a…
Olmert survives, for now
Retired justice Eliyahu Winograd, who headed the panel investigating Israel’s 34-day war in Lebanon in 2006, said recently what everybody already knew. The ground offensive…
A society in pieces
If you bottle up 1,5-million people in a territory 40km long and 10km wide, and turn off the lights, as Israel has done in Gaza, the bottle will burst. This is what happened on…
Gold, oil at new highs
Gold prices soared to new records trecently, on the back of oil’s surge, helped by geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. The oil price hit $100 a barrel in trading last…
Putin’s man gets Putin’s job
The beauty of Russia’s political system is that you do not need an election to know the name of the next president. No primaries, no caucuses, no real campaigning and…
Putin’s man gets Putin’s job
The beauty of Russia’s political system is that you do not need an election to know the name of the next president. No primaries, no caucuses, no real campaigning and…
Four-course meal
After a week of uncharacteristic silence, Nicolas Sarkozy vowed there would be no going back on reforms that have triggered nationwide transport strikes. To an Ulster Unionist’s…
Separating the terrible twins
Polish democracy grew up on Sunday, when the country’s voters rejected the strident, xenophobic nationalism of Jaroslav Kaczynski. The election mattered not just because it was…
Sun continues to shine
Bit by bit, the tensions on the Korean peninsula are easing. This week it was announced that the leaders of north and south would meet for a two-day summit, the first in seven…
High price for freedom
Take five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor who are working in an ill-equipped hospital. Accuse them wrongly of infecting 426 children with HIV-contaminated blood. Then…