UN adopts historic 'land grab' guidelines
The United Nations has adopted global guidelines for rich countries buying land in developing nations. The voluntary rules call on governments to protect the rights of indigenous peoples who use the land. It is estimated that 200m hectares, an area eight times the size of Britain, has been bought or leased over the past decade, much of it in Africa and Asia.
But aid agencies warn it will be very difficult to ensure the guidelines are implemented everywhere. There has been growing concern about so-called land grabs, when foreign governments or companies buy large areas of land to farm.
In African countries such as Ethiopia, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone have all signed major land deals with foreign investors.
It is hoped this new agreement will secure access to land, fisheries and forests for millions of poor people who have historically used the land. It also emphasizes the responsibility of businesses and multinational corporations to respect human rights when they move in to an area.
Authorities often argue that big international deals bring investment and new technology to a region, benefiting local people.
Human rights organizations have highlighted cases where tens of thousands of people have been forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands to make way for foreign investors.
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Pain in Spain
Spain, Europe's fifth-largest economy, has unveiled its budget for 2012 amid general strikes and anaemic growth. Spain's story illustrates the fact that the eurozone's problems run far deeper than the issue of excessive borrowing by ill-disciplined governments. Greece, Portugal and Italy all had way too much debt.
But the Spanish government's borrowing was zero - that is, it ran a balanced budget on average - every year until the eve of the 2008 financial crisis. And as Spain's economy grew rapidly pre-2008, its debt ratio was falling. Germany's, by contrast, continued to rise.
When Spain joined the euro, interest rates fell to the much lower levels typical in Germany and while the Spanish government resisted the lure of cheap loans, most ordinary Spaniards did not.
The country experienced a long boom, underpinned by a housing bubble, as Spanish households took on bigger and bigger mortgages.
House prices rose 44% from 2004 to 2008, at the tail end of a housing boom, according to ministry of housing data. Since the bubble burst, they have fallen 17%.
So, although the Spanish government still has relatively little existing debts, it is now having to borrow like crazy to fill the gap left by the jump in unemployment benefits and collapse in tax revenues during the downturn.
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Syria Crisis
The Syrian authorities have responded to anti-government protests with overwhelming military force since they erupted in March 2011. The protests pose the greatest challenge to four decades of Assad family rule in the country.
The unrest began in the southern city of Deraa in March when locals gathered to demand the release of 14 school children who were arrested and reportedly tortured after writing on a wall the well-known slogan of the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt: "The people want the downfall of the regime." The protesters also called for democracy and greater freedom, though not President Assad's resignation.
The peaceful show of dissent was, however, too much for the government and when people marched though the city after Friday prayers on 18 March, security forces opened fire, killing four people. The following day, they shot at mourners at the victims' funerals, killing another person.
Within days, the unrest in Deraa had spiraled out of the control of the local authorities. In late March, the army's fourth armoured division - commanded by the president's brother, Maher - was sent in to crush the emboldened protesters. Dozens of people were killed, as tanks shelled residential areas and troops stormed homes, rounding up those believed to have attended demonstrations.
But the crackdown failed to stop the unrest in Deraa, instead triggering anti-government protests in other towns and cities across the country. The army subsequently besieged them, blaming "armed gangs and terrorists" for the unrest. By mid-May, the death toll had reached 1,000.
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The Leveson Inquiry
UK Prime Minister David Cameron set up the inquiry after the News of the World admitted intercepting voicemail messages of prominent people to find stories. Lord Justice Leveson was appointed as chairman of the inquiry.
The inquiry has two parts, the first of which is examining relations between the press, politicians and police, and the conduct of each. Its aim is to consider the extent to which the current regulatory regime has failed, and whether there has been a failure to act upon any previous warnings about media misconduct. In doing this, it has already examined the relationships between the press and the public, and the press and police. It will now move on to consider the relationship between press and politicians.
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The second part of the inquiry will look at the extent of unlawful or improper conduct within News International and other media organizations. It will also examine the way in which any relevant police force investigated allegations relating to News International, and whether the police received corrupt payments or were otherwise complicit in misconduct.
It will also consider the role, if any, of politicians, public servants and others in relation to any failure to investigate wrongdoing at News International. The remit also includes broadcasters and social media networks.
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