We’ve said this before: but it’s worth saying again. In fact, it’s never been more worth saying. Now, British forces in southern Iraq actually are drawing down, and the government still doesn’t want to take the people who worked for us along.
If you are resident in the UK, please take a moment to read [...]

The UN has elected a brand new Human Rights Council to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission. Why was the old HRC discredited? Well, basically and officially, because several of its members were known to violate human rights and/or to protect their own interests. It is only logical. However, who will be taking a seat [...]

Well the new EU energy plan has been released (and here, and you can also find the actual Commission statement here). The final product is pretty much as the leaks suggested.
As was indicated yesterday, Russia related concerns are central. The FT comments:
Russia supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas needs and the Union’s dependence [...]

This is an updated version of an earlier post. I first retain the post as it was, then I have added some reflections in the light of comments received.
The Independent is running the following story:
“Germany is deporting tens of thousands of Roma refugees to Kosovo despite clear threats to their safety and dire warnings from [...]

Like most numbers of the Spectator, the festive, XL-sized holiday edition is marred by the presence of Mark Steyn. But don’t let that put you off, there’s some good stuff there as well. And one of the better bits is an essay by Prof. Norman Stone on Turkey (Potential EU Accession of) (reg. req.).
For the [...]