”” US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama met German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday . Then he spoke to a large audience at the Victory Column in Berlin ( pictured above ) . Now I’m sure his handlers thought that this was a good idea, emulating the famous JFK  “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech from June 1963 . But to anyone apart from star-struck schoolgirls or Democratic party fixers, it was a tasteless, tacky pantomime and an opportunist pose attempting to score cheap points... Read Full Story

Thousands of people have made a pilgrimage to a restaurant in northern Nigeria to view pieces of meat ( example above )  which are said to be inscribed with the names of Allah and the prophet Mohammad. The owner of a diner in Birnin Kebbi claimed the Arabic words for Allah and Mohammad were discovered on a gristle when a customer was eating. Mr Kabiru Haliru, who has kept the pieces for visitors to see, said a search of the meat in the kitchen revealed three more pieces with the names. He... Read Full Story

Arrested war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic ( pictured above left ) grew a long, white beard to conceal his identity and practised alternative medicine while in hiding . The former Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic ( pictured above right ) was a different proposition . And now he’s on his way to the UN War Crimes Court in the Hague . The notion of former political leaders who start aggressive wars and breach human rights, then change their jobs and appearances in order to... Read Full Story

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressed the Knesset yesterday ( picture above ) . The Israeli parliament heard a turgid diatribe from Gormless Gord, where he started by boring them stiff with tales of his youth, including twinkling asides about his Father’s obsession with Jerusalem, then reassured them that “he was a friend”, then condemned Iran’s President for threatening to destroy Israel, then told his hosts to stop building settlements . He was apparently subjected to some heckling and... Read Full Story

The 137th Open Golf Championship starts today at Royal Birkdale ( pictured above ), near Southport in the UK . Now there are some great golf tournaments - the US Masters, the US Open, the US PGA - and what’s often called the fifth major, the US TPC.  But there’s only one Open . On Sunday evening after 4 days of great links golf one lucky winner will be hailed as simply  ”the Champion Golfer for 2008″ . The Open represents golf - and sport - in it’s purest untainted form . http://www.opengolf... Read Full Story

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair ( pictured above ) was forced to cancel a trip to Gaza yesterday after “specific threats to his life” . Now I’ve no doubt that Gaza is a very volatile and dangerous environment that has to be visited with extreme care and caution . But maybe it’s my cynical, suspicious mind that wonders about the fact that it was the Israelis who warned Blair that there was danger . The last thing they want is any residual respectability rubbing off on Hamas as a result of... Read Full Story

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir ( above ) was yesterday charged by the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) with 10 counts of war crimes . These charges stem from the accusation that he led a campaign of murder, rape and mass deportation in Darfur . Altogether 3 counts of genocide, 5 of crimes against humanity and [...]’’ Read Full Story

Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ( pictured above ) is to be given a state funeral . So Lady Thatcher when she departs will be the first former Prime Minister since Sir Winston Churchill to be so honoured by the nation . Preparations are reportedly already in hand, although Lady Thatcher is said to be [...] Read Full Story

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband ( pictured above ), yet another in the growing line of impatient New Labour leadership aspirants with limited practical work experience, minimal common sense and a complete ignorance of the realities of life outside Westminster, is very unhappy with the UN about Zimbabwe . So are many people - this blog referred to the [...]’ Read Full Story

Zimbabwean “President” Robert Mugabe ( pictured above ) would have been celebrating last night as the United Nations Security Council failed to impose sanctions on his country, thanks to vetoes applied to a resolution by those 2 champions of democracy, Russia and China . If the measure had been passed, an arms embargo would have [...] Read Full Story