One Week Later....

Malaysia: crisis

In Malay malaise we said that the Malaysian government's arrangements designed to manage the interests and prospects of ethnic groups may be unsettled in Saturday elections

• Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was last week sworn in for another five-year term, having rejected calls for his resignation following the government's loss of its two-thirds majority in Saturday's election.
• The elections have left the ruling Barisan Nasional in crisis. It will have to find new ways of substantiating its claim to be the only credible representative of all major races.

Cricket: India dictates agenda

In  India moves up the order, we noted that India was flexing its new economic muscle to shape the future cricket

• Mihir Bose, the BBC's sports editor, writes in his blog that India, which produces 80% of world cricket's income, has exercised its economic power to dictate the agenda for the world game while other countries give every appearance of being awed by its financial clout.

Zapatero victory

In Spain: Zapatero victory? , we wrote that Spanish Prime Minister Luis Rodriguez Zapatero enjoyed both a polling lead and greater personal popularity than his challenger, Mariano Rajoy.

• Zapatero secured a second term in office in yesterday's general election, increasing his Socialist Party's (PSOE) number of deputies by five to 169.
• While voters apparently endorsed Zapatero's conciliatory personal style and progressive social policy agenda, his main challenges for his second term will be the slowing economy and re-establishing Spain's position in international affairs.

Political Masterstroke

The World Next Week Political Masterstroke award goes to China, for having improved its human rights record without much effort. The United States has dropped the country from its list of the world's worst human rights violators, offering Beijing a propaganda coup ahead of the Olympics. No reason was given, but China has been a partner in talks with Washington to remove nuclear plant from North Korea. (The Daily Telegraph)

Analytica™

Worthy of note, or news to us.

Serbia crisis

Serbian President Boris Tadic dissolves parliament and calls early polls after a cabinet split over EU membership and Kosovo (BBC).

Chemical catastrophe

Hundreds of people near the Kenyan port of Mombasa say they have become ill after a consignment of leaking chemical containers was dumped nearby.

And finally…

Despite stepping down as New York governor over a sex scandal, Eliot Spitzer is still likely to face charges relating to prostitution and suspicious bank transfers, according to one legal expert. (AFP)