The opposition Fine Gael party, set to play a leading role in the next government, has put forward a programme that proposes to abolish the Seanad, strengthen the parliamentary committee system, reform the legislative process, overhaul the budgetary system, bolster transparency and protect whistle
The last time this happened, the British government was hoping to combine a modern-looking commitment to nation-building with the old imperial aim of political domination. Wilkileaks shows that all too little has changed.
Although the traditionally powerful Iranian merchants have lost influence and seen their economic privileges decline under Ahmadinejad, they do not challenge the status quo. Ali Hedayat explains why
While packed full of humour and touchy subjects, the Dutch celebration of Saint Nicholas is at once an enduring testimony to the country´s racial imagination and one of the most promising sites of its disruption.
The measuring of official policy by its impact on the quality of human life is progress. But only if the governments that proclaim the idea are serious, says David Boyle.
The recent European Parliament resolution on Western Sahara did not cite Moroccan repression and the need to liberate Sahrawi political prisoners. Nor did it call upon MEPs to send a contingent to investigate. Just as well. The Moroccan authorities would have stopped them at the border – again.
Most articles about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict take a side. This piece is different. The future of Israelis and Palestinians is together.
China seeks to allay Pakistan’s concerns over closer ties to India. India is implicated in mass human rights abuses of Kashmiri detainees. EU foreign ministers keep pressure on Israeli over settlements and Gaza. All this and more, in today’s security update…
Human trafficking needs a joint-up approach if it is to be beaten in Burma, says Thanawat Pimoljinda
A pattern of attacks in the United States and Europe by individual jihadists is deeply connected to both the effects and the perceptions of a decade's war across the greater middle east.
Inspired by the US civil rights movement and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, the movement for democratic self-determination in West Papua is using new tactics of nonviolent action to advance its cause.
Russia is on the verge of election season. While simmering social tensions and a nervous elite make these interesting times, no-one really doubts United Russia will sweep a national victory. The interesting battles will be in local and city elections, writes Mikhail Loginov.
