The World Today

Change in China is having an impact half a world away on the African continent. From Cape Town to Cairo, governments are sensing opportunities to be explored at a cooperation summit in Beijing next month. Long-standing relationships with western powers are under new strain.

As thousands of blue-helmeted peacekeepers arrive in south Lebanon and take positions to separate Israel and Hizbollah, in the hope of preventing another round of hostilities between the two sworn enemies, it seems the right moment for soul searching. How did a border skirmish in which two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped and eight others killed, turn into a war which ended with the death of more than 1,700 people and so much devastation on both sides?

Lord Ashdown speaks to Markus Coleman

Fifty years after Britain and France invaded Suez following Egypt’s nationalisation of the canal, thoughts have turned to parallels with military action in Iraq. Legal justifications, intelligence, timing and planning for the day after, all resonate on the anniversary.

This month’s presidential election is a milestone for democracy in Brazil. The civilian regime created in 1985 has now outlasted the military dictatorship that preceded it. But what does this say about the quality of democracy in the largest country in Latin America?

On New Year’s Day, the European Union is scheduled for its sixth enlargement, the second in less than three years. Bulgaria and Romania will be joining, increasing the size of the Union to 27 member states. In the run-up to final approval, there have been anxieties for both existing and prospective members.