Martin McCauley writes: China has caused something of a storm in the world of finance by staging a spectacular attack of the US dollar. Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the Central Bank of China, has come up with the idea that the IMF should make its Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) the main world reserve currency. Shock and horror in Washington!The sacred US dollar came under attack. So why has Beijing come up with this proposal now? There are two reasons. One [...]

Anton Goryunov writes from Moscow: As the G20 summit in London approaches one meeting on its fringes that would have dominated the headlines 20 years ago is not attracting too much attention: the first ever face to face encounter between US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev.The post Cold War world has seen its priorities change. Nuclear arms control comes way behind things like the economic crisis, terrorism and regional instability. The role of Russia has also [...]

R.F.Wilson writes: This is probably one of the most hilarious revelations that have hit the Labour party since Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was found out to have had an affair with his diary secretary, indulging himself in sexual games with her at his government office, often leaving the door wide open to introduce more excitement into the whole thing and boost his libido. Not only was it outrageously funny because Prescott was the last person in the cabinet that [...]

Martin McCauley writes: China was the first country to recognise the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (or East Timor) when it gained independence in May 2002.It was colonised by the Portuguese but in 1975 declared independence. It was immediately invaded by Indonesia and became a province of that country. In 1999 the United Nations negotiated the withdrawal of Indonesian troops. Beijing regarded the new state as a great opportunity to increase its influence in an important strategic region. It has extended [...]

R.F.Wilson writes: Where do I start, ladies and gentlemen? How can I best describe to you the importance of the gathering next week in London of people from afar to discuss matters of great relevance? It was while I was sitting in pub in West London yesterday, waiting for a friend of mine to join me, that I first found out about the exciting things that were going to happen in the next few days on the banks of the [...]

Ben Delicious writes: This is going to be the most exciting reunion in pop music ever – if it happens at all, that is. Robbie Williams, the superstar of British pop, who has finally turned his back on the low cultured United States, has made the clearest hints of all that he is ready to team up with the four other members of his old band and perform with them. So that you know, Take That has re-emerged a couple [...]

Many moons ago, as they say in Ukraine and many other places in the world, we posted a piece about a drama that had unfolded more than 4 years ago, during the presidential election in Ukraine. As that drama is still being remembered widely in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, we thought we would post the article once again, to remind our readers that sometimes the strangest of things happen in politics that could not be explained from a scientific [...]

Today we present an article by Prince Zurab Chavchavadze, a famous public figure in Russia, who spells out his case about the controversy surrounding the ruthless slaughter of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, his wife, Empress Alexandra, and their five children, Grand Duchesses Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia and Olga and young Crown Prince Aleksey by the Bolsheviks in July 1918 in the city of Yekaterinburg. Prince Chavchavdze reveals some remarkable details about the tragedy and questions the results of the [...]

Martin McCauley writes: US President Barack Obama seems to be confused: having announced that America will send an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, he is now talking about an exit plan. He made clear that the ‘central mission’ was to ensure that al-Qaeda cannot attack the ‘US homeland and US interests and our allies’. Obama shares the view of Richard Holbrooke, his tough talking special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their opinion is that President Hamid Karzai is a lightweight [...]

Martin McCauley writes: The recent National People’s Congress in China turned out to be a strange affair: the Chinese people were told to work harder to achieve an economic growth rate of 8 per per cent this year. To keep the economy going. However, the Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership banned any discussion of the fiscal stimulus package that is supposed to achieve this goal. (If only President Barack Obama could do the same! Think how much easier his [...]