The past six months have produced an interesting mixture in Brussels between Sarkozy’s activism, and a flurry of crises, ranging from the war in Georgia to the global recession and the Irish rejection of the EU reform treaty....

Readers will surely allow me to adopt a tounge-in-cheek approach as I take a dispassionate look at some of the key local and international figures and events that left their mark throughout the year that is fast approaching it’s end:...

At a time when the headlines are filled with financial crises and violence, it is especially important to recognise the creativity of many governments in fighting poverty, disease, and hunger. ...

“The classic example may be the United States, where public funds are being allocated to intervene in private companies”...

This time last year I had made three predictions for 2008. It is time to review how well I performed before making fresh ones for 2009.My first prediction was related to the property market. I had predicted that ...

The news that the deficit in State finances has exceeded projections by e71 million follows on from that other news that importers of pharmaceuticals are agitating for payment from the Treasury for supplies made ...

A statement that has always intrigued me is famously attributed to President Harry Truman, who said “the world is run by ‘C’ students”....

The second wave of data in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) has recently become available. SHARE was created for the European Council to have a more systematic database on population ageing across Europe. ...

The year that wasIt’s that time of the year again. The time when sums are made, conclusions are drawn and when the audacious come up with those dreadful things called resolutions. ...

A poor currency leads to a poor nationSome 18 months ago, when I first started alerting the readers of this fine publication to the mounting economic gloom, and how Britain in particular would be unable to cope with a recession, ...