We have much to be glum about as we come to the end of 2015; the latest is the killings of café patrons and music fans in Paris.But we are brainwashed with bad news.

Russia stands at a major crossroads as it works out how exactly to deal with the 14.5 million ethnic Muslims that live within its borders.If added to this are the migrant workers from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, the total is around 20 million.By comparison, Germany has 5 million

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning the escalating violence in Burundi.

The Barbarians are not at the gate.

The US has done a daring and, some would say, dangerous thing. Towards the end of last month, it sent a destroyer to sail within 12 nautical miles of two man-made islands claimed by China in the South China Sea.China was outraged.

Albert Einstein once said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.That is how it seems to be with US President Barack Obama sending his secretary of state, John Kerry, to attempt to resurrect talks between Israel and Palestine.

Recent news was that China’s annual growth rate has dropped below the red line of 7 per cent.

American foreign policy makers often wonder aloud why it is that much of the world has such an anti-American reflex.Why the “Ugly American”?Graham Greene would never have written a novel titled the “Ugly Russian” or even the “Ugly German”.It is not just Iran that considers the US

So Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday met US President Barack Obama.