First we had an agreement, now it seems that Russia has sent the gas on a journey to nowhere - again, it is the EU (the worlds most powerful bloc of nations) that suffers. Russia's intentions are clear - they want to destroy the reputation of Ukraine as a reliable transit partner - perhaps take control over Kiev's extensive pipeline network. Russia also wants the EU to help it build the ...

The eight East European countries that joined the EU in 2004 are bouncing back more quickly from the economic crisis than their Western neighbours, but Bulgaria and Romania, which joined three years later, are not out of the woods yet, according to the latest statistics. The EurActiv network gives a round-up of the situation.

If you had asked me two and a half years ago what would be the dominant story during my time as Head of News at the Asian Network, I would probably have said it would be the aftermath of the 7 July attacks on London's transport system. At the start of 2006, when I joined the network from Radio 5 Live, it was only a few months after the suicide bombs that killed 52 people. Many commuters were ...

Russia are apparently about to bail out Iceland. I wonder what they want in return ? Iceland is technically in NATO, although it has no full military forces and traditionally relies on the US. Still they may still keep their country, if they joined the EU they would lose it forever.

Oh dear, it appears that the Parliamentary IT network has joined the other millions of computers around the world infected by the Conficker worm. The latest variant of the worm will activate and download its payload on April 1st and no one is quite sure whether it will be merely an April Fools Day gag or something that will cause havoc. The following email was sent out last night to all users of t...

I've never been a fan of the humour of Jonathan Ross or Russel Brand. As a result I didn't listen to the offending radio show. The complaints were fair. The fuss, probably a little over the top. Ross and Brand did wrong, so to did the programme's editors, punishment for them is appropriate. However, if that is the end of the story then we miss an important point. Ross and Brand were guilty of

Turkey joined a chorus of European companies demanding that Gazprom cut its natural gas prices, increasing pressure on the lucrative pricing model that underpins Russia's gas exports. More »

A few people have asked me to continue my series of posts on life in Russia from time to time. I'd like to but not being there now, I don't have the daily incidents to draw from. This one is from what I recollect. The essential thing to remember in Russia is that the network of family and friends is everything. It provides support systems, which the state does not provide and it also pro...

The BBC Asian Network is grotesquely patronising and fundamentally racist. There is, after all, no BBC Polish Network, BBC Jewish Network or BBC White Heterosexual Male Network. The BBC Asian Network has repeatedly tried to persuade me to come on their shows but I've turned them down time and time again. Why would I want to give succour to those who are the intellectual and cultural heirs of Malco...

Mr Blair in Opposition decided to build a new brand, called New Labour, so he could win an election. His media strategy had two prongs. In the first he trashed the Tory brand, and in the second he decontaminated the Labour brand.