http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/ from www.independent.co.uk en-GB Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:52:17 +0100 http://www.typepad.com/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/10/pakistans-obama.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/10/pakistans-obama.html By Anne Penketh Imran Khan was talking to me about his platform for political change in Pakistan, in an interview at the guest house of his former mother-in-law, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, which he uses while in London. He was banging... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:32:25 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/10/dsk-and-the-cas.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/10/dsk-and-the-cas.html By Anne Penketh There's something that bothers me about the case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn (aka DSK), the French head of the International Monetary Fund, who is being investigated over whether a romantic affair may have led to him abusing his... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:43:28 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/10/poor-europe.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/10/poor-europe.html By Anne Penketh If there was any need, Gordon Brown's surprise appointment of Peter Mandelson as Business Secretary confirms his utter contempt for the European Union. Why else would he deprive the EU of its Trade Commissioner scarcely without notice... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:12:30 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/09/brownout.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/09/brownout.html By Anne Penketh Journalists travelling to the US with the prime minister, who has undertaken a mission to garner international support for his global financial reform proposals, were given a cruel insight into just how marginal Britain's views are on... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:52:51 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/georgia-and-ira.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/georgia-and-ira.html By Anne Penketh You might think there is no connection between Georgia and Iran. But I think that America's humiliation in Georgia makes military strikes on Iran more likely. The US was never going to challenge Russia, a nuclear power,... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:53:38 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/saving-saakashv.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/saving-saakashv.html By Anne Penketh Cartloads of mud have been thrown at the president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, by his erstwhile fans this week. We read in the the newspapers that the increasingly wild-eyed and perspiring Mr Saakashvili, once the darling of... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:21:14 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/hijacked.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/hijacked.html By Anne Penketh Finally the Red Cross has spoken out about the "deliberate misuse" of its emblem by the Colombian soldiers who rescued Ingrid Betancourt. The long silence of the International Committee of the Red Cross since CNN reported on... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:23:59 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/diplomatic-lice.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/diplomatic-lice.html By Anne Penketh There was an animated discussion on Newsnight about whether Britain has a Barack Obama, after David Miliband, the foreign secretary, weighed in with his article widely interpreted as his bid to become the next prime minister. Nobody... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:31:25 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/obamas-kool-aid.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/obamas-kool-aid.html By Anne Penketh Barack Obama didn't need a warm-up band for his love-fest in Berlin. But as a political rock star, he had one anyway. The leader singer of the band surveyed the 200,000 people crammed into the Tiergarten in... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:23:48 +0100 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/egypts-persecut.html http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/07/egypts-persecut.html By Anne Penketh Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the former UN secretary-general, is one. Nessim, the husband of Justine, the fictional character in Lawrence Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet was one. I'm talking about Egypt's Coptic Christians, the community of up to 10 million... Diplomatic Licence Anne Penketh Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:13:11 +0100