US media reports of clandestine detention centres in Thailand are unsettling, despite official denials. The claim made by The Washington Post, that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been allowed to hold and interrogate suspected international terrorists in a number of secret prisons in Thailand and seven other countries in Asia and Eastern Europe, is disturbing.

Venus’ vision: Do you think you have what it takes to be an LNH?

I am a Lady of Nakhon Heaven (LNH). Don’t be startled; it’s a relatively new title. LNHs are, in brief, women who understand democracy and realise its benefits. Living life as an LNH is a dream: you receive special privileges from the authorities, apart from universal healthcare and stuff like that, which everybody gets.

Germany’s pathological export boom

Germany is the world’s industrial bazaar. No other country can offer its international clients such a broad variety of industrial products. Germany has 450 hidden world champions for niche products and is home to 15 of the 20 biggest trade fairs in the world. It is also the world’s top exporter of merchandise and the second-largest exporter of goods and services.