Monthly Archives: April 2011

Gordon Brown can’t lead the IMF, says Cameron

Posted on April 19, 2011 by

He led Her Majesty’s Treasury for a decade but the man who succeeded him in office believes Dr Gordon Brown is incapable of leading the IMF. British Prime Minister David Cameron has effectively ruled out his predecessor Gordon Brown from running the International Monetary Fund (IMF), labelling him a deficit denier. Newspapers have cited Brown as a potential successor to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn should the Frenchman decide to run for his country’s presidency in 2012. Interviewed by BBC Radio, Mr Cameron said Brown’s record as prime minister meant he was not the right man for the job and indicated that it was time to look beyond Europe for … Continue reading →

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Prince Harry promoted to Captain

Posted on April 17, 2011 by

Prince William’s brother Harry has been promoted to captain in the Army Air Corps in recognition of time served in the Armed Forces. Captain Harry Wales has also been awarded his Apache Badge after completing an eight-month course learning to fly the £40m attack helicopter. The 26-year-old could be eligible to return to a combat front line position in Afghanistan by early 2012. The Apache Conversion to Type (CTT) course includes day and night flying as well as simulator training. The final flying phase of the course involved a two-week mountain flying exercise in the French Alps. Prince Harry was tested using a cockpit blackout system known as the ‘Bag’, … Continue reading →

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Belgian minister urges Pope to punish wayward bishop

Posted on April 16, 2011 by

(Reuters) – Belgium’s Justice Minister urged the Vatican on Friday to impose stiff punishment on a disgraced Catholic bishop who denies being a paedophile despite admitting to sexually abusing two of his own nephews. Stefaan de Clerck spoke out amid a media uproar after former Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe defended himself on television by saying the abuse he committed was only “superficial.” Vangheluwe, who quit his post and went into hiding a year ago, after admitting to molesting a nephew, confessed in the interview Thursday that he had molested a second one. He left Belgium last week under Vatican orders to seek “spiritual and psychological treatment” abroad and Belgian media … Continue reading →

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Why Armenia and Azerbaijan may go back to war

Posted on April 16, 2011 by

An arms race, escalating front-line clashes, vitriolic war rhetoric and a virtual breakdown in peace talks are increasing the chance Armenia and Azerbaijan will go back to war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Preventing this is urgent. Increased military capabilities on both sides would make a new armed conflict in the South Caucasus far more deadly than the 1992-1994 one that ended with a shaky truce. Neither side would be likely to win easily or quickly. Regional alliances could pull in Russia, Turkey and Iran. Vital oil and gas pipelines near the front lines would be threatened, as would the cooperation between Russia and Turkey that is central to regional stability. Another refugee … Continue reading →

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Why London can live without its big banks

Posted on April 10, 2011 by

Special Report: “Let me be crystal clear,” Barclays’ star investment banker and new Chief Executive Bob Diamond told MPs in January. “We are going to be here in the United Kingdom, and this is the place that we want to succeed.” It may be a reflection of how bankers still struggle to be taken at their word in the wake of the global financial crisis, but Diamond’s statement convinced nobody. Rumours that Barclays and its bigger rival HSBC are ready to move their headquarters to Hong Kong or New York have flourished ever since. Speculation has intensified in the run-up to the April 11 publication of an interim report into … Continue reading →

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