Political advertising Posters aren't working The pros and cons of Britain's favourite political campaign tactic WHO really runs this country? UKIP poses that question on a poster that is part of its campaign for next month's European elections. The i...
Running the BBC Auntie's dilemma Lord Patten's successor will be transient A BBC comedy, W1A, sends up blame-shifting managers and corporate gobbledygook at the nation's broadcaster. Real life in the upper echelons of the British Broadcasting Corpora...
Mining in Turkey Death underground The tragedy in Soma will also be felt in politics TURKEY'S prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, faces public fury after the country's worst-ever industrial accident. At least 282 miners died after an explosion at t...
Employment Zero tolerance The problem with zero-hours contracts is not that they are too flexible BRITAIN'S flexible labour market was a boon during the economic slump, helping keep joblessness down and then, when the recovery began, allowing employm...
Pricing energy Remote controls Smart meters promise another reason to resent energy firms GOOD neighbours avoid doing laundry in the small hours. Yet householders in the north east of England are growing keener on late-night loads. Watched by academi...
German humour Get thee to an Institute Germans concede that in humour they need professional help EVA ULLMANN took her master's degree in 2002 on the part that humour has to play in psychotherapy, and became hooked on the subject. In 2005 she founded...
The Labour Party's funk Running out of road Labour is an increasingly unpopular party with lots of popular policies IF POLITICAL platforms were the sum of their parts, the Labour Party would tower over its rivals. In recent months Ed Miliband, its le...
French rail strikes Unhappiness is the truth A rerun of France's bad old days tests the Socialist government's resolve IT WAS a deliciously French moment of exasperation. On June 16th a railway strike prompted public rage when it threatened to disrup...
Banning the east African stimulant may backfire OUTSIDE a newsagent's shop in the Clapham Road, a south London thoroughfare, a man sucks on a rolled-up cigarette and asks passers-by whether they want to buy some cannabis. But shoppers seem more inter...
The Nordics in charge A Scandinavian wave How the Nordics get so many senior international positions WHEN it comes to international jobs, Scandinavia does well. Sweden, Denmark and Norway have only 20m people, yet their nationals often run global org...
