But it would be premature to state that this is a direct result of the turmoil in the financial world. Next's six-month results were actually better than expected. And what disappointing sales there have been in the retail sector owe more to the wet ...

It is almost as if party politics in Britain do not allow for such a thing as a non-political issue, with the corollary that every issue has to be fought over and owned by one party or another. Put another way, if you're working with the opposition y...

Mr Abe's departure, ostensibly over his failure to fulfil a personal promise to President George Bush that Japan would continue to back the US "war on terror", is a textbook case of the arrogance of power. Mr Abe, Japan's youngest post-war prime mini...

The conclusions on how this money has been spent do not make for happy reading. True, there are some encouraging findings. Sir Derek has found that the increases in funding have delivered shorter waiting times and better heart, cancer and mental heat...

Beyond the mud-slinging, the two countries are clearly engaged in a proxy war, with the nuclear ambitions of a newly assertive Iran under its hardline President part of the equation. The message from the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did no...