World

Unkind souls joke that proof of Tony Blair’s Catholicism came not on his conversion, but when he recommended Rowan Williams as the Archbishop of Canterbury. Under his tenure his church has seen schism (over gay clergy) whilst being overtaken by Catholicism in attendees for the first time since the Reformation. This Archbishop lost my confidence when he was the only person not to answer a Spectator survey asking people if they believe in the physical reality of the resurrection. Given his description of the Nativity as a “legend”, I can understand why. If only he were as tight-lipped over Sharia Law.   Yet The Times has a scoop – moves are

Some of Musharraf’s domestic problems arise from his attitude to the judiciary. There’s widespread anger over his suspension of Pakistan’s top judge, the first time such an event has happened in the 50–year history of the Supreme Court. When the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, was released from detention a couple of days ago, no sooner had Coffee House reported it than – bang! Revolving door! Ahsan was re-detained. This is only going to incense the legal fraternity even more than before, and could well come back to bite Musharraf in the proverbial over the next few weeks.  On UK shores, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, head of the PML (Q) –

What I love about the Derek Conway’s je ne regrette rien in the Mail on Sunday is the way he gives clues as to where the other bodies are buried. “I know many MPs with family members who have different names registered so that they are not so obviously spotted. Some spouses work under maiden names,” he coos. “We often came across people and we’d say, ‘I didn’t realise they were related.” So why not more scandal? Without a good contact inside the Fees Office it’s hard for journalists to get the lowdown on all this. But there’s enough clues (phone directories, etc) to help expose what is a standard

The harsh words exchanged during the recent American primaries have exemplified high decorum compared to the no-holds barred Pakistani election brawl. Accusations and counter-accusations, demonstrations and violence feature in this campaign, postponed from January 8th to February 18th after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Election geeks compare the number of times “murder,” “terrorism” and “dictator” appear in the (lengthy) speeches of many opposition leaders with the frequency of President Pervez Musharraf’s pet phrases: “I saved Pakistan,” “gave it an economic revival,” and made it “dynamic and progressive.”  On Monday, during eight days of glad-handing round Europe meeting leaders including Gordon Brown, Musharraf spoke in London of having removed

During his time at 10 Downing St, there were few better than Alastair Campbell at sparring with the press.  But now the sparring’s become a full-blooded assault.  He writes a forceful piece in the Times on the media’s involvement in Britney Spears’ downfall: “The question is whether there is any room within media judgements about what is news, and how to pursue it, that allows room for a basic humanity about the condition of the people who are the media commodities. You do not have to be a qualified psychiatrist to see that Spears has serious mental health issues. Does there ever come a point where a judgment forms that says, let’s