One Week Later....

Russia: continuity

In Russian 'democracy' we said that the outcome of the Russian election was hardly in doubt.

• President-elect Dmitry Medvedev's emphasis on stability and continuity with the policies of his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, will extend to foreign policy.
• softening of rhetoric and a more liberal foreign economic policy can be expected, but the underlying tenets of foreign policy are unlikely to undergo a major review.

Gas dispute resolved

In Gazprom muscle, we noted that Gazprom was threatening to reduce gas supplies to Ukraine by 25% on Monday.

• Last week, the dispute was apparently resolved after a telephone discussion between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, who has recently positioned himself as a gas deal-maker, which is bound to annoy his rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
• Kiev has now agreed to pay for supplies between January 1 and March 1, but the problem is likely to flare up again in the near future.

Kenya: land question

In Kenya peace prospects, we wrote that the threat of renewed violence in Kenya had not receded, despite the announcement of a power-sharing deal.

• Talks will continue about deeper-seated issues, including long-standing grievances over land. While the land question is only one of a range of difficult issues that politicians will seek to address, it is a key element to achieving political stability.

Political Masterstroke

The World Next Week Political Masterstroke award goes to the Thai authorities.  They arrested Viktor Bout, one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers, suspected of supplying weapons to the Taliban and al-Qaeda and of pouring huge arms shipments into Africa’s civil wars with his own private air fleet. His capture was prompted by a tip-off from the United States in connection with the procurement of weapons for the Colombian FARC rebels.

Analytica™

Worthy of note, or news to us.

High food costs

The head of the UN food programme says the rise in basic food costs could continue into 2010.

Gaza shame

A new report by a consortium of British aid agencies says the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is the worst in forty years.

And finally…

Warren Buffett is the world's richest man, his estimated $62 billion putting him ahead of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who was the richest man in the world for 13 straight years.