By Alfie Stroud.

Half revered institution, half travelling circus, the Olympic Games is currently in transit between Beijing and London. The governments and societies hosting its consecutive incarnations could scarcely be more different, yet their finished products will be endlessly compared – and in more than the grandeur of their opening ceremonies.

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By Richard Gowan, Richard Gowan. Source: The Globalist

As the United Nations prepares to replace its leader of the past ten years, Ghana's Kofi Annan, with Ban Ki Moon of South Korea, the organisation may be experiencing an eastward shift in more than just the Secretary General's office. As Richard Gowan notes, the UN's peacekeeping focus is already shifting from Africa to the Middle East.

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By Richard Gowan, Richard Gowan. Source: E-Sharp September-October 2006

Links between the EU and the UN have flourished under Kofi Annan. With his tenure about to expire, Richard Gowan looks at the implications for Europe of the search for his successor

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By Philip Fiske de Gouveia, Philip Fiske de Gouveia. Source: The Guardian

Washington's plan to expand Farsi-language TV and radio broadcasts may fuel the media equivalent of an arms race

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