The World Today

One of the issues at the top of the international agenda in recent years, and for the foreseeable future, is crime, in particular organised crime. Crime strikes not only its most immediate victims, but seriously undermines the foundation of trust on which government rests, eroding its authority and legitimacy wherever offenders manage to escape justice.

Serbia has had its bloodless revolution and is eagerly waiting for Republic elections this month. But what drives the extraordinary figure who has provided leadership and moral authority after an era of crime and hate?

Elections in Kosovo have changed the agenda - independence is now the most likely medium–term outcome. Parliamentary polling next year will see a new battle for votes, but all parties agree on the aim.

Ghana is preparing for its third multi–party general election and the mood throughout the country is increasingly restless. Ghanaians want change. And with President Jerry Rawlings silencing cynics by stepping down democratically, they seem likely to get it.

Arriving in Yemen on the morning of the suicide attack on the USS Cole in Aden, and the day before an explosion in the British Embassy compound in Sana’a, could hardly be an auspicious start to a three week tour of the country. It brought back bitter memories of the loss of life and mayhem caused by similar terror attacks in the final days of Aden as a British colony with its hinterland administered as protectorate territory.

Where is Europe going – superstate or superpower? How much power will each country have? What type of institutional model will be created? All these questions and many more might become clearer as the negotiations for the Treaty of Nice come to a close between 7 and 9 December.