News.Az interviews Jonathan Powell, chief of staff to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1994 to 2007.

The European Union failed to agree on a statement against the persecution of religious minorities on Monday after Italy objected to the omission of any reference to the protection of Christians.

EU member states' intelligence services are among the most jealously-guarded national assets despite five decades of integration. But two European Commission-sponsored projects on open source intelligence (Osint) are beginning to change the culture of mistrust.

At the end of this century’s first decade, we can observe how the locus of power has shifted in world politics. The G20 is replacing the G7 as the overseer of the global economy. The need to restructure the U.N. Security Council to be more representative of the international order is profoundly pressing. And emerging powers such as Brazil, India, Turkey, and others are playing very assertive roles in global economic affairs.

Follow the pandas: they remain a good guide to where China’s biggest foreign policy interests lie. Since “panda diplomacy” began in the 1950s with an overture to the Soviet Union, gifts of cuddly-looking bears with cutesy names have helped point to the big themes in Beijing’s strategic positioning.

The European Culture Capital initiative helps to highlight Europe's diversity and contributes to the development of the cities involved. What began as a spontaneous idea has developed into a large, multifaceted project.