The dramatis personae have included characters called Hipwell, Fagge, Hoare, Crone, Pike, Diamond and Church. The plot has seen vice rewarded and virtue exploited. London’s hottest play, in the words of one of its cast members, …
E.U.
Why Qatari Owners of Paris’ Soccer Team Hanker For Aging Englishman Beckham
Why does perennially under-performing Paris Saint-Germain of France’s anemic professional soccer league see hiring a fading star at over $1 million per month as vital to assuring its future? Because the aging player in question …
Don’t Mention the War? Brits Can’t Help Themselves
Schedule clashes are inevitable during the festive season, and on the evening of Dec. 19, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Britain’s Foreign Secretary, William Hague, held Christmas drinks at opposite poles of the city …
The French on a Credit Downgrade Threat: Pick on Britain
Tis the season—for painful downgrades by credit agencies that is, as Thursday’s move by Fitch targeting six of the world’s largest banks again shows. And indeed, because such action is now so common, the big question …
Former French President Jacques Chirac Convicted on Corruption Charges
[Update: In contrast to what had been the prevailing assumption in France following the verdict in Jacques Chirac’s corruption trial (all detailed below), the former French President announced Thursday night he would not seek …
As the Crisis Refuses to Calm, Scenarios of Euro Collapse Appear
Despite the distracting political drama over the UK’s outlier rejection at last week’s European Union agreement on fiscal and budgetary coordination, it’s now become clear that main objective of the collective effort–to ensure …
Can A French Sports Star Change China’s Soccer Fortunes?
Chinese online-gaming mogul Zhu Jun is used to winning big. After all, he made his fortune in part by being the first to nab China distribution rights for the World of Warcraft franchise. But the soccer team that he bought with …
After Falling Out with Europe, U.K.’s Cameron Faces Fallout at Home
“Ou est Nick Clegg?” cried one Labour MP, quite possibly demonstrating the beginning and end of his French language skills. His colleagues contented themselves with shouting the question in English. It didn’t need an interpreter …
Dominique de Villepin Enters Stage Right and Adds to Sarkozy’s Woes
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has yet to officially declare his imminent re-election campaign, but that hasn’t kept a teeming field of rivals from launching their own bids for the Elysée. That pack of presidential hopefuls …
Not So Great, Britain: After E.U. Summit, U.K. Drifts Toward Isolationism
“Mommy, daddy, where were you when Britain left Europe?” David Cameron’s deployment in the early hours of Dec. 9 of the British veto over a Franco-German plan to save the euro will be seen as a pivotal moment by future …
Why Is Donald Rumsfeld on This Package of Spicy Peanuts?
There are, in this salty tale of frolics, politics and peanuts, a number of what Donald Rumsfeld, might call known knowns. These are things we know that we know — like how a photograph of a young Rumsfeld, a chopstick balanced …
Case of Scottish Hacker Illustrates Divide Between U.S. and U.K. Extradition Laws
Sometimes the bleakest of battles can find some unexpected support.
In 2002, a Scottish man living in North London found himself under suspicion for hacking into dozens of Pentagon and NASA databases from his home computer. …
Crunch Time for the Euro and Europe: Taking Note of the Elephant
Elephant, meet room.
Doubt and despair returned to Europe by Tuesday despite positive reaction a day earlier to the French-German proposals to save the teetering euro. The reason? The pachyderm in the room that markets see all …