One Week Later...

No let-up in Polish tensions

In Polls for the Poles, we said that verbal scrimmaging was likely as campaigning for an early election begins. We also predicted some fuss over allegations of wrongdoing by the ruling Law and Justice party.

• Late last week, Polish police arrested Janusz Kaczmarek, a former interior minister who has accused Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's government of spying on journalists and political opponents.
• Kaczmarek's arrest will further stoke a brewing scandal over alleged abuses of power by the government.

Divisions remain in Peru

In Peru: Surviving the aftershock, we thought the recent earthquake in Peru would prove particularly untimely for Alan Garcia, the country's embattled president.

• Garcia has promised homeowners affected by the quake $1,900 each to help rebuild. The cash has yet to reach them in the shelters.
• Meanwhile, Peru's economy is booming. Garcia is likely to urge businesses to bring forward investment plans in a bid to match last year's 8% economic growth.
• The president will continue to polarise public opinion.

More market jitters

In The flight to quality, we wondered whether investors had been reassured about the likelihood of the market turmoil being contained.

• It seems not. The outstanding level of commercial paper fell again last week, with asset-backed commercial paper making up most of the decline.
• The money market will continue to be the real barometer of whether the turmoil is easing.

Storm in a teacup?

We discussed the possible reaction to Turkey's new Islamist-linked President, Abdullah Gul.

• Turkey's secularist army chiefs refused to salute Gul on his first full day in office.
• But Gul's new cabinet has a mix of Islamist and secular figures, which signals Ankara's commitment to winning entry into the EU.
• The new cabinet appears designed to project a moderate image.

 Cabinet shuffle gamble

We discussed a probable cabinet re-shuffle in Tokyo and concluded that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe needed to make a clean sweep.

• The gamble has paid off. Opinion polls showed that Abe's popularity, which had plumbed murky depths, shot up.

News to us:

Sharif: the rematch 

Pakistan's ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will return home on September 10 to challenge President Pervez Musharraf.

Fire aid

Thousands of Greeks queue at banks to collect government aid handed out in response to the country's worst forest fires for decades.

And finally…

Apple is also expected to launch an upgraded iPod sometime this week. Look for a video-playing iPod nano and a full-screen high-end iPod.