Barack Obama, talking peace but waging war

On his way to a critical climate change summit in Copenhagen, US President Barack Obama will be stopping off in nearby Norway first to pick up the Nobel peace prize. We look back on an award that has raised a few eyebrows.

FOCUS

Today's Focus guest is Anne Kraatz, a historian and foreign affairs specialist for Democrats Abroad France.

G20

Fulfilling pledges on reform and regulation

The leaders of the world's biggest economies have gathered in the US city of Pittsburgh. As many of the major economies are beginning to climb out of recession, the focus will be on reform and regulation.

24/09/2009 - UN

Gaddafi hijacks spotlight at General Assembly

Several world leaders delivered significant addresses at the 64th UN General Assembly on Wednesday but one controversial figure in particular hogged the UN limelight: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

FOCUS

Mideast peace talks still at a standstill

Were talks held in New York on Tuesday between US President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas something of a breakthrough or merely another photo opportunity?

UNITED NATIONS

Ban Ki-moon: lost in translation?

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's "quiet diplomacy" has drawn criticism in the Western press. Halfway through his five-year term, is the criticism of the UN chief justified, or is it a misunderstanding which can be put down to cultural differences?

FRANCE

Bitter rivals meet for 'trial of the decade'

The Clearstream trial, which opens in Paris on Monday, touches the heart of France's political establishment and senior figures in French industry and the secret services. We throw light on a murky affair behind France's "trial of the decade".