The Londoner

The chief mystery in the latest cash-for-access scandal is how Peter Cruddas was ever appointed Tory treasurer and doorkeeper to Downing Street influence for a donation of a mere £1.2m. For a rich City dealer and one-time Monaco resident, he was an accident waiting to happen.  David Cameron  and George Osborne should have demanded £10m at least. Once again the poison of ambition has impregnated British  party funding and claimed another victim. At first sight, the idea of paying £250,000 to join a "premier league" of donors who may kiss the hem of power might seem unobjectionable. As in the case of access to Prince Andrew, if some people will pay large sums to rub shoulders with celebrity, so be it. It is simpler than supertax. The sums involved pale against those now tormenting US presidential politics and clearly corrupting the processes of Congress. Read the full article here. 

Her days of shopping in the EU for the president's palace are over, as ministers have decided the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is no longer welcome.  The ban on travel and shopping in the EU, will come as a blow to Asma al-Assad, whose love of pricey purchases has been well documented in the past few weeks in leaked emails.  They detailed Asma placing an order for £10,000 worth of candlesticks, concern over getting hold of a new chocolate fondue set from Amazon, and swapping details with friends of crystal-encrusted designer shoes costing nearly £4,000. The announcement comes as diplomats try to crank up pressure on his government to end a bloody crackdown on popular unrest. Read the full article here. 

In early September 2002, one year after American troops entered Afghanistan, I reported newspaper stories from Kandahar, the main city of the Pashto-speaking southern part of Afghanistan. I drove in from Quetta, Pakistan, and stayed 10 days at the “best” hotel on Kandahar’s main street. For one report, I spent a morning walking the street with a Pashto-English interpreter.  Read the full story here. 

As Sir William Patey prepares to leave his office in Kabul with its magnificent view of the snow-capped Hindu Kush, it is not the beauty of the country occupying his thoughts. Scottish, outspoken and often controversial, he has always been an unlikely diplomat. The father-of-two is using his last days before he retires to urge the international community not to abandon Afghanistan in 2014 and rick repeating the mistakes of 2002. He said: “When we leave and the Afghans are responsible for security and delivering their own national health service and education service, this country will look like a different place – but it’s still got a long way to go. Read the full story here. 

DUSHANBE: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistanon Sunday reiterated their resolve to promote and strengthen trade and economic cooperation in the region besides joining hands to fight the menace of terrorism, militancy and drug trafficking for a win-win situation. This was agreed during a quadrilateral meeting among President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon here in the Central Asian state. The leaders of four brotherly nations, who were together for Nowruz celebrations hosted by Tajikistan, used the occasion for a quadrilateral meeting to discuss matters of mutual interest including the ways and means to strengthen trade and economic cooperation among their countries. Read the full story here. 

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) The relaxation in cross-Taiwan Strait tension in recent years offers chances for interaction between Taiwan's military and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), a scholar said Sunday.  The two sides could start with basic cooperation projects, Wang Kao-cheng of Tamkang University told a one-day forum held to address the nation's current defense status and future prospects.  Read the full story here. 

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama urged China  on Sunday to use its influence to rein in North Korea instead of "turning a blind eye" to its nuclear defiance, and warned of tighter sanctions if the reclusive state goes ahead with a rocket launch next month. "North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations," a stern-faced Obama said after a tour of the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas resonant with echoes of the Cold War. Read the full story here.