World

King Abdullah opened an emergency session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Saudi Arabia today to address ongoing instability in the Middle East. Syria is high on their list of priorities, with other member states already voting to suspend its membership of the OIC until Bashar al-Assad gives up power. The OIC is a famously ineffectual institution but there is significant posturing taking place behind the scenes. Saudi Arabia had only hosted the OIC once since its inception in 1969 until King Abdullah took power in 2005. Since then, at his request, it has hosted it a further two times. This chimes with Abdullah’s plans to project himself as

The confrontation between military brass and Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt came much sooner than expected. Mohammed Mursi has effectively sacked the head of the armed forces, Field Marshal Mohamad Hussein Tantawi, and Chief of Staff Sami Annan, in the hope of asserting his authority. Relations between the army and president have been strained for months because the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces enacted a number of measures to preserve their influence over Egyptian politics. Tantawi ensured, for example, that the SCAF had control over the drafting of Egypt’s new constitution and also appointed himself as Minister of Defence. This was widely seen as a pre-emptive move to guard against

Congressman Paul Ryan (R – Wisconsin) has not courted much of a profile outside America, so I doubt many CoffeeHousers will be familiar with him. But rest assured: he is an excellent choice for vice-president. Here’s why. The 42-year-old is not a neophyte, having served in the House of Representatives for 13 years. He has cross-party appeal: he represents a Democratic district that he nonetheless has won comfortably on seven occasions. Ryan knows how to listen to and speak to Democrats. This is a priceless skill for a Republican running for the second highest office in the land. Two traits define him: his striking command of public policy (especially on

Based on past performance, one wouldn’t want to put one’s mortgage on Mervyn King’s forecasts. One thing, though, that King is right about is that the crisis in the Eurozone makes forecasting extremely difficult. The Euro crisis reaching its crescendo has been one of the most predicted events of recent times. To date, the Eurozone has done just enough to kick the can down the road each time. But there’s a growing sense in Whitehall that over the next few months things will have to be resolved one way or t’other. Indeed, one Tory minister predicted to me recently that an unravelling Eurozone will form the backdrop to this October’s

Near Damascus ‘Remember: what we do, we do for God,’ said the rebel commander to the huddle of his men at the foot of the mountain. They divided up their ammunition. They had so little — one clip’s worth was shared between two Kalashnikovs. They set off, a line of men stretching into the dark, breathing heavily on the steep slope: another night’s gruelling walk to bring them closer to Damascus. The Free Syrian Army’s failed offensive in the capital had been the week before. Fighters poured in, only to run out of bullets. The city did not rise up to help them. Government forces hit back with tanks, artillery

Lord Moynihan’s comments about the dominance of private school athletes in Team GB have caused a stir.  He suggests that  the fact that half of our medals in Beijing were won by athletes who attended fee paying schools is ‘one of the worst statistics in sport’. He’s right and it’s worrying.  But rather than hand-wringing and suggesting the imposition of quotas, we should be asking what independent schools are doing well and what state schools aren’t.  We should be celebrating our medallist and their incredible achievements, whilst also asking what state schools can do to improve the statistics that Lord Moynihan found so shocking. If you analyse the statistics in

Keep an eye on Saudi Arabia’s newly appointed spymaster, Prince Bandar bin Sultan. After a long stint in Washington where he served as ambassador for 22 years, the prince was recalled to Riyadh in 2005 and then largely sank from public view. Reinstated to frontline politics last month, both King Abdullah and Barak Obama are investing their hopes in Prince Bandar to achieve mutual Saudi-American interests in response to ongoing unrest in the Middle East. Known for his flamboyant and maverick approach to politics, he has a unique opportunity to secure the vital interests of Saudi and its western allies. Perhaps Saudi Arabia’s most skilled political operator, Bandar has a

It is wrong to insult an Olympian who has just missed out on a medal, and worse to bring his dead father into it. But, as Melanie Philips and others have pointed out in this morning’s papers, it is hardly criminal. Yesterday, Dorset police arrested a teenager after he sent a nasty message to Tom Daley, the Englishman who finished fourth in the synchronised diving on Monday. ‘You let your dad down and I hope you know that,’ said @Rileyy_69, on Twitter. Tom Daley’s father died last year of a brain tumour, so he, his friends and his supporters were understandably angry. Even @Rileyy_69 saw that he had crossed a

Today brought yet more reminders of why the eurozone can’t carry on like this much longer. Youth unemployment in Spain and Greece is above 50 per cent – a generation being crucified on a cross of euros – 163 billion euros left Spain in the first five months of the year, and the Greek deputy finance minister is warning that the country’s ‘cash reserves are almost zero’. So far, the eurozone has managed to find a way to kick the can just far enough down the road. But this is becoming increasingly difficult. As the increasingly desperate messages from Athens make clear, if the country isn’t given another bailout it

In what has to be one of the better put-downs ever delivered to the people of Norway, rapper Snoop Dogg has taken his two-year ban from the country well and truly on the chin. After hitting the multi-millionaire with a paltry 52,000kr fine after he was busted with eight grams of marijuana, a judge also revoked the rapper’s access to the country. ‘Snoop can live with the decision,’ according to his lawyers.  

A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at the tight battle for control of the United States Senate. This week: the House of Representatives. The fight for the lower chamber of Congress is much harder to assess. There are, after all, 435 individual contests — each with its own unique candidates, characteristics and electorate — compared to the 33 Senate races. At the moment, Republicans have a strong majority, holding 242 seats (if you include the Michigan one recently vacated by Thad McCotter) to the Democrats’ 193 (including two vacancies). After a terrible set of results in the 2010 midterms, the Democrats have a mountain to climb to