United Kingdom | GlobalPost

Two decades later, are audiences ready for "Heldenplatz"?

Ginanne BrownellFebruary 18, 2010 03:01Updated May 30, 2010 13:21

LONDON, United Kingdom — Compared to the 1988 Viennese premiere of Thomas Bernhard’s “Heldenplatz,” the opening of the play last week at London’s Arcola Theatre was a muted affair. There was both intense applause and intense conversation afterward, but no police presence, no protesters, nor any politicians calling for the play to be banned.

Opinion: Greek debt crisis a hazard for EU

Marian TupyFebruary 13, 2010 17:04Updated May 30, 2010 13:21

WASHINGTON — The Greek membership of the eurozone has never been easy. While other EU countries either adopted the euro or chose not to do so, Greece was the only EU country that wanted to join the common currency area at the outset, but could not. The Greeks were keen to jettison the drachma because of their past experience with inflation and devaluation. Giving monetary authority to the European Central Bank would eliminate those two problems.

Poor, Poor Europa

Michael MoranFebruary 5, 2010 13:22

At each stage of the seemingly endless expansion and integration of the European Union, the world is promised a more rational system will be installed for important functions like foreign policy, trade and setting interest rates. Yet each expansion added primarily fog to these processes, and now a crisis looms that may for the EU to look its hydra-headed self squarely in the mirror.

Robinson: Northern Ireland agreement means "politics is working"

Conor O'CleryFebruary 5, 2010 09:33Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

DUBLIN, Ireland ― What started four weeks ago as a sex scandal that threatened to plunge Northern Ireland into crisis has ended in a new political agreement that strengthens the province’s unique power-sharing arrangements. British prime minister Gordon Brown and his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen flew to Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast before dawn yesterday to celebrate the interparty deal after 10 days of round-the-clock negotiations.

Tony Blair sets forth his own Iraq history

Matthew HartJanuary 29, 2010 13:13Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

LONDON, United Kingdom — Clearly feeling the strain of six hours at the witness table, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair survived his day of testimony at Britain's Iraq Inquiry here without his inquisitors landing a serious blow.

Blair testifies on Iraq: Again

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 29, 2010 08:14

London - The weather was cold and damp and so were the protests outside the QEII Centre as Tony Blair began his testimony before the Iraq Inquiry this morning. This was the big news event of the week in Britain and a major demonstration had been expected but in the end nothing much happened.

London conference says: Bring (some) Afghan Taliban in from the cold

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 28, 2010 13:44

LONDON — They came. They talked. They agreed. Foreign ministers from 70 countries met here today and an hour ahead of schedule agreed on the way to make Afghanistan finally work. That is about as quick as it gets. To give you a frame of reference, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spent the previous three days in Belfast trying to break an impasse on the final piece of the Northern Irish political puzzle — with no result — and Northern Ireland's problems are nothing compared to Afghanistan's.

Afghanistan conference under way: Do they know about it in Kandahar?

Michael GoldfarbJanuary 28, 2010 10:23

LONDON — "Afghanistan: the London Conference" is under way at Lancaster House overlooking Green Park. The headlines: Representatives of 70 countries are attending — including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Most of the 70 have reporters in the media centre so there is no place to sit. I am borrowing a chair in a multi-lingual enclave where I may be the only English speaker. I hear Russian, German and French in my immediate vicinity.

New world wines: now from the north

Paul AmesJanuary 27, 2010 07:43Updated May 30, 2010 13:19

Opinion: Blair to face the music?

Michael Goldfarb January 26, 2010 13:45Updated May 30, 2010 13:19

LONDON — The circus is coming back to town. Friday, not for the first time and maybe not for the last, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will testify before an official inquiry into the Iraq War. The Iraq Inquiry, it's official title, was set up to examine the U.K.'s involvement in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and subsequent occupation of the country — "to establish, as accurately as possible, what happened and to identify the lessons that can be learned."