Friday, 15 June, 2007
- 15 Jun 07, 04:38 PM
From , Newsnight presenter.
Gaza
Who is in control in Gaza, and who can resolve the crisis between Hamas and Fatah which is making the lives or ordinary Palestinians a nightmare? Hamas has seized the Gaza strip after a week of factional fighting between the rival groups which resulted in dreadful bloodshed.
The Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas has declared a state of emergency in Gaza and has appointed a new interim Prime Minister, Salam Fayyed, an Independent and a former World Bank official. But this move could be described as "firefighting". Is there any chance of a lasting peace? Is another unity government out of the question and with our Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett describing the violence in Gaza as "a coup" does the international community have a role to play in conflict resolution?
Football
Lord Stevens' Inquiry into "football bungs" has reported that, after more than a year of investigations, questions remain over 17 transfers to five Premier League clubs - Chelsea, Newcastle, Bolton, Middlesborough and Portsmouth. The former Metropolitan Police commissioner has also expressed concern about agents and third parties involved in the transfers.
Now it's the Football Association's job to take these investigations further. Tonight we'll be examining Lord Stevens' report and asking whether the protestations of innocence by the Association of Football Agents are credible.
EU summit
If Tony Blair was looking to next week's European summit to provide a gala end to his time as Prime minister Angela Markel's billet doux to the member states encouraging them to approve a European constitution in all but name - add to that Poland's anger about the country's voting power within the Union - and next week's summit looks like being a rancorous affair.
The idea of a "charter of fundamental rights" is an anathema to the Labour government so what will Tony Blair do next week? Our Europe editor Mark Mardell gives us the inside track.
Local government
And radicalism is alive and well in the home of the Magna Carta - the people of Bury St Edmunds were so fed up with their local government, they voted to abolish it. Steve Smith has been watching anarchy in action - on the day that Michael Heseltine launched his new blueprint (same as his old blueprint?) for reviving local government - directly elected mayors with "very substantial powers". What would the people of Bury St Edmunds make of that?
Edith Piaf's voice is legendary; her unmistakable delivery invokes equal parts Parisian heartbreak and hopefulness. Marion Cotillard gives a rousing performance as Piaf in the film La Vie en Rose – the Review panel give their verdict.