“Government officials have secretly briefed ministers that Britain has no hope of getting remotely near the new European Union renewable energy target that Tony Blair signed up to in the spring - and have suggested that they find ways of wriggling out of it.”
For Britain to be trying to go back on promises it made [...]

Time has a fascinating article on Chinese gui gouwu zhongxin - “ghost” mega-malls. Developers are building increasingly enormous shopping centres, but filling them with designer shops out of the reach of the vast majority of the population. Banks, eager to loan money, show little restraint and few caps on lending. As a result, while 7 [...]

“Britain was accused yesterday of abandoning 91 Iraqi interpreters and their families to face persecution and possible death when British forces withdraw.”
I found this story yesterday but didn’t have a chance to blog it. Unlike other countries, including the US and Holland, Britain will not relax the rules on asylum for those people who have [...]

The Olympic stadium in Beijing won’t be the only thing covered in a cloud of smog next year. Chinese authorities also seem to be doing their best to create a smokescreen over other issues in the country, ranging from spitting in public to major human rights abuses. While lifting the cloud of smog which hangs [...]

“By effectively doubling the working life of every PC, re-use provides a simple and practical way for companies to reduce their environmental footprint and successfully re-distribute such valuable learning tools.”
The BCS Ethics Forum argues that we should preferentially re-use the 125 million PCs that we get rid of each year, rather than recycling them. As [...]

“[Tony Blair said,] ‘Our values are not western values. They are human values, and anywhere, any time people are given the chance, they embrace them.’ These sentences betrayed a total ignorance of the range of customs, convictions and prejudices that govern human behaviour in a multitude of different societies.”
Jenni Russell hits the nail on the [...]

“There’s one vote that Rudy Giuliani definitely can’t count on in his 2008 presidential bid: his own daughter’s. According to the 17-year-old Caroline Giuliani’s Facebook profile, she’s supporting Barack Obama.”
It’s public knowledge that Giuliani’s children from his second marriage don’t have a good relationship with their father. However, supporting his potential opponent from the other [...]

“Forensic tests are being carried out on suspected traces of blood found in the apartment where Madeleine McCann was last seen … The BBC understands British police were invited to review key aspects of the case by their Portuguese counterparts.”
It sounds like the Portuguese police have been totally inept with their investigation. Having searched Robert [...]

“Blame the 1970s. One of the problems holding back the uptake of energy-saving light bulbs has been that many people have still not forgotten the poor-quality versions they used then.”
Matt Prescott, founder of the Ban The Bulb campaign, takes a look at the performance of some of the many energy-saving bulbs on the market today. [...]

“To many disillusioned Italians, Selva’s ambulance stunt was just another act in the absurd pantomime of the country’s politics. Only 15% of the population expresses trust in political parties, and it’s no wonder considering how maladroit Italian pols can be.”
Time looks at the corruption and liberties taken by Italian politicians, here.

“Panorama found that films showing brutal fights between children are regularly uploaded to sharing websites … Police say the companies should monitor what is posted on their sites and remove any violent or criminal content.”
With the volume of videos added to YouTube every day, it’s just not feasible for them to check all uploads for [...]

“In a little over half a decade, Japan’s military has carried out changes considered unthinkable a few years back … Japan is acquiring weapons that blur the lines between defensive and offensive … Small [changes] or not, they are causing anxieties in a region where distrust of Japan has deepened in direct proportion to Japanese [...]

“Since 1971 the commune’s 800 residents, inspired by the ideals of peace and free love, have maintained a free-wheeling idyll in this former navy base … But the clashes with the authorities [on issues such as tax, benefits and marijuana use] has brought about changes in the attitudes of a traditionally tolerant Danish society.”
Time [...]

Developments magazine has a fascinating article on microfinance, which could help lift millions of people out of third world poverty. The problem for many entrepreneurs in these countries is that the informal, cash-only financial system and their hand-to-mouth financial circumstances do not have enough give to expand their business. Whether it’s to weave silk saris [...]

“The reason for his conversion to political activism, he says, is that his country is facing the gravest threat to its secularist identity in more than 50 years.”
Time looks at Turkish politics, and the worries of some that the ruling party may threaten the country’s secularism. The BBC reports, however, that the party has been [...]

“It is a misconception that recycling costs less. The current production is so geared towards quantity and subsidised for this type of production that, when you make it by hand and recycle the products, you are actually fighting against a lot of economic forces in the market that make you more expensive.”
PingMag has an interesting [...]

BBC News reports that the US has set up a panel to look into the safety of imported goods. While the move follows a string of safety concerns involving Chinese imports - including toys coated in paint containing lead and food contaminated with banned chemicals - the US claims that the move is not specifically [...]

“Four Muslim men have been jailed for their part in protests at the Danish embassy in London, against cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.”
While it goes without saying that the things that these men were promoting were disgusting and wrong, this case still worries me somewhat. Were their calls to bomb Britain and Denmark, for instance, [...]

“The jury system may be a cornerstone of our judicial procedure, but for the Japanese, it is a piece of foreign exoticism.”
More4 News reports that Japan plans to introduce jury trials for the first time. Currently, only 0.13% of people are acquitted in court and the majority of prosecutions are brought after “confessions” to the [...]

“More than 255,000 people have signed a petition on the Downing Street website against any plans to build Britain’s biggest mosque in East London.”
This is disgusting. The petition claims that the building will “cause terrible violence” simply because it is a mosque, and makes other false accusations including the suggestion that public money [...]