What would independence mean for Scotland? On Jan. 10, the country’s First Minister Alex Salmond pledged that a referendum on Scottish secession from the United Kingdom would take place in 2014. Here’s an expert, Professor Henry …
E.U.
French Inquiry Clears Rwanda’s Kagame Of the Attack That Sparked a Genocide
Findings revealed on Tuesday from a new French inquiry into events that preceded the 1994 Rwandan genocide reverse the conclusions of a previous investigation that held Tutsi forces and individuals now part of Rwanda’s …
Soccer Legend Eric Cantona’s New Goal? The French Presidency
During his varied and fruitful life, Frenchman Eric Cantona has been a soccer hero, ad man, philosopher, kung-fu enthusiast, actor and musician, living legend, and even a king. Were that not enough, the 45 year-old Cantona is …
Sarkozy’s Tobin Tax Push: Wooing French Voters and Annoying E.U. Leaders
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has a knack of vexing his European partners—and he’s demonstrated that talent again with his pledge to unilaterally impose a so-called “Tobin Tax” on financial market transactions in France if …
A Hit-and-Run Death Clouds French-Israeli Relations
Given France’s historic and generally close ties with Arab regimes, it’s perhaps not surprising that Paris’ relationship with Israel has always been somewhat complicated. And while French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made …
Can A European Ban on Iranian Oil Push Tehran to Fold Its Nuclear Program?
With its agreement in principle to impose an embargo on Iranian oil, the European Union has taken a big step closer to the U.S. stand to force Tehran to renounce its suspected military nuclear develop program. But while it seems …
Latest Inquiry into British Hacking Scandal Scrutinizes Ties Between Police and Press
Throughout much of 2011, Britain was gripped with revelations of the nefarious phone hacking scandal that engulfed one of its oldest newspapers, News of the World. The scandal saw the shuttering of the 168-year-old paper, the …
The Fukushima Effect: France Starts to Turn Against Its Much Vaunted Nuclear Industry
Is France’s long, proud, and at times defiant affection for nuclear energy finally beginning to wane in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster? While it’s still too early to pronounce France’s nearly four decade love …
Two Men Found Guilty of 1993 London Racial Murder
London’s first murder of 2012 took place a few streets away from my apartment, at 4 am on New Year’s Day. Aaron McKoy, described by one friend as “a humble person who loved life,” had been celebrating his 22nd birthday in a local …
Yesterday’s Gone: Euro Optimism Goes Flat and Here Comes 2012
As has become common during the nearly two years of Europe’s escalating debt crisis, reasons for guarded optimism that surfaced this week are being replaced with concern and doubt. In the wake of last week’s uplifting news …
More Taxes, Please: We’re French
Europe may be agonizing amid the worst financial crisis since the Second World War, but that still isn’t forcing France to accept the logic of economic liberalism that dominates much of world. That largely “Anglo-Saxon” …
How a Huge Infusion of Cheap Money will Help European Banks But Not Europeans
Might the world be witnessing the first signs of stabilization in the European debt crisis that has placed the euro’s very existence in doubt? That’s a hypothesis some observers are starting to consider carefully, thanks to a …
Is The Government Of Protest-Loving France Orchestrating Strikebreaking?
To many observers abroad (and even some closer to home), France has the reputation of being a singularly strike-happy place—a country whose workers will walk out at the first sign of professional or even political discord. …