Opinion
Fear, speculation in Iran over military strike
The threat of military strikes on Iran has upturned the quiet and comfortable lives once enjoyed by many Iranians, ushering in a new era of struggle and fear.
No happy ending: the end of Obama's Hollywood romance
He was young, good looking, and photogenic. He swept to power against heavy odds on the back of a heart-warming, hopey-changey message, completing a rags-to-riches journey that might have come straight out of a blockbuster movie. It isn't hard to ...
Jim O'Neill: China could overtake US economy by 2027
Jim O'Neill, the head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, has predicted that China could overtake the United States as the world's largest economy by 2027 and urged a fundamental rethink of the operation of the G7 which he believes is too dominated...
Secret panel can put Americans on "kill list'
American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials.
Bring Out Your Dead - UBS Quantifies Costs Of Euro Break Up, Warns Of Collapse Of Banking System And Civil War
Any time a major bank releases a report saying a given course of action is too costly, too prohibitive, too blonde, or simply too impossible, it is nearly guaranteed that that is precisely the course of action about to be undertaken. Which is why ...
Analysis: Is Britain more corrupt than it thinks?
Britons love to lecture the world about integrity and the rule of law, but the News of the World phone hacking scandal has laid bare a web of collusion between money, power, media and the police.
Is there anything wrong with HK's economic structure?
It is often assumed that the economic structure of Hong Kong is "excessively biased toward finance and real estate". Commentators would like to see more manufacturing in Hong Kong, and they believe that the "bias" is policy-driven. Without that bi...
HK must become more international
As China's world city, Hong Kong needs to become even more international in order to contribute to the increasingly globalized Chinese economy.
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'may be forced to resign in coming weeks'
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's irascible, unpredictable but devout president, may be forced to resign in the coming weeks as a political crisis far greater than the massive street violence which followed his re-election in 2009 threatens to overwhelm...
Decline and fall of the American empire
The economic powerhouse of the 20th century emerged stronger from the Depression. But faced with cultural decay, structural weaknesses and reliance on finance, can the US do it again?
Was Bin Laden's Killing Legal?
Is this what justice looks like? Al-Qaida boss Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday in a secret military operation in Pakistan. Americans are celebrating, but there are serious doubts about whether the targeted killing was legal under internationa...
Bin Laden raid: Small step for the fight on terrorism. Big step to Obama's second term in the White House.
While funny candidates such as Donald Tramp eating their hat on that Obama was able to show in public his birth certificate proving he born in USA, Obama has managed to deliver in the same week certificate that guarantees the continuation of his t...
In Britain, Prince William threatens to eclipse his father, Prince Charles
Prince William and Kate Middleton will exchange vows Friday in a ceremony expected to be watched by almost a third of the planet. But if the story that day will be of a prince and his bride, another will also be playing out behind the scenes: a ta...
Ivory Coast: UN air strikes show West's new appetite for military action
The UN air strikes in Ivory Coast suggest Libya was no fluke: the West's appetite for military action has recovered robustly from the diplomatic trauma of the Iraq war.
3 ways Japanese nuclear crisis may end
Someday, the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant will end. But when? And how?
Analysis: Japan disaster costs seen at least $180 billion
Quake-hit Japan faces a recovery and reconstruction bill of at least $180 billion, or 3 percent of its annual economic output, or more than 50 percent higher than the total cost of 1995's earthquake in Kobe.
Jacques Chirac's Trial Seen As Reflection of a Royal Sense of Entitlement
Jacques Chirac will be the first former French leader since World War II to stand trial when hearings begin today on charges he abused his role as mayor of Paris to reward party loyalists.
Gaddafi's Next Move: Sabotage Oil and Sow Chaos?
There's been virtually no reliable information coming out of Tripoli, but a source close to the Gaddafi regime I did manage to get hold of told me the already terrible situation in Libya will get much worse. Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered...
Nobel no-shows reveal China's clout
Yes, as so many commentators in the West are keen to point out, the symbolism of the empty chair for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo at Friday's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo was a powerful reminder of China's intolerance of dissent and d...
Who will we have to bail out next? Britain pays out as Ireland implodes
Britain is in danger of being sucked into yet more multi-billion-pound EU rescue packages as the Irish bailout threatens to spiral out of control. Under the terms of a deal signed by Alistair Darling after Labour lost the May election, the UK can ...