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When I was in Montenegro recently I checked into a small guest house and asked if they had internet. “Of course we do” boomed the big cheery lady who runs the place, but when I tried to get online it didn’t work. I asked for help and she went to fetch the Siberian who was living with his wife on the floor below. “He knows English” she cried as she hurried down the frozen stone steps.

A small, alert and friendly young man came in and tried to help me connect. But it still didn’t work, and we ended up on the outside terrace which was the only place (apart from his room) where the wireless signal actually did work. We sat there for hours, despite the rain and cold, and I learned about Siberia.  read more…

By Sean Mc Allister

Returning to Dubai was a big thing for me.  I was here in September last year looking a film idea for the BBC. Then, it was still booming. Now it feels on the brink of going bust. My cab driver from the airport was moaning that he’d only had 3 jobs in 4 hours. Crazy for a Friday night. He’s thinking of going back to his family in Egypt. After 14 years here he says he’s never seen it so bad. As I get out of the can he whispers, “Dubai is finished”.  Maybe that’s my story. read more…

Did almost half a decade of Communism rob us of our sense of beauty? Did not owing property make us lose all interest in the aesthetic of living space? Or maybe the constant worry about tomorrow makes you immune to our surroundings? These are the only arguments that somewhat comfort me for the ugliness that is all around us: buildings, window shops, streets, restaurants. People in Romania don’t seem to care much about making a space (private, public) nice.

Walking into a beautiful building or strolling on a pretty street can be so relaxing. It can take your mind off your daily troubles. It can make a trip to the grocery pleasant. It can soften the horrors of waiting in line for useless paperwork at the Mayor’s Office. read more…

In my view the best way to travel in Eastern Europe is by train.  It is cheap, interesting and relaxing.  But why, you might be wondering, would anyone want to travel across the Balkans in the winter, especially such a cold one as this?  My mission was to sign a piece of paper in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.  The job itself took about 20 minutes, most of which was spent hanging around, but getting there took me two nights on a sleeper train and getting back another two nights.  I got the train from Bucharest to Bar, via Belgrade. read more…

We should be grateful to the Russians and Ukranians for the warning that central Asian gas supplies are insecure.  We must heed the warning and start moving more urgently to renewable sources of energy, as this is the only way for the EU to have energy independence.  The Kiev - Moscow row about gas bills has been going on for years and is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.

As passive consumers of Central Asian gas all we can do is understand the situation, learn from this crisis and start investing in alternative sources of energy.  We must not take for granted a regular supply of gas.  Interruptions will become increasingly common, if only because the investments are not being made in new production and transport infrastructure.  The recent read more…