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This was the heading to an article in Spiegel cpmmenting on President Medvedev's record one year after taking office, which was described as "less than impressive". The writer said the Medvedev "struggles unsuccessfully to free himself" from his former mentor, claiming that "Prime Minister Vladimir Putin still pulls the strings of power". Commenting on matters that have arisen during this twelve-month period, it described Putin as being "increasingly authoritarian", and dubbed him "the erstwhile crown prince"

Reviewing Medvedev's past year, the article referred to the media and political observers who are "puzzled as to just how free the supposedly most powerful man in Russia is". It suggested that "it is actually the current Prime Minister who controls Russia's fate". The editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs has said that "Medvedev is crippled by the very source from which he derives his legitimacy - Vladimir Putin". Alexander Rahr, of the German Council of Foreign Affairs, told Spiegel, "Putin will be watching to make sure Medvedev doesn't overstep his limits".

At the beginning of May, a report appeared in The Daily Telegraph stating that "Moscow has destroyed trust between Europe and Russia with a move to protect the borders of the breakaway regions of Georgia". The Czech Foreign Minister said the plan "violated last year's Russia-Georgian peace agreement". He went on to say, "Russia is changing the situation on the ground the whole time. We cannot consider them a reliable (with the EU). We get this unexpected news that means that any hope form trust, whish is vital, was destroyed". An EU statement expressed "deep concern at Russia's assumption of control of the of the protection of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia". The United States was equally critical of Russia's action, calling it a "violation of Georgia's territorial integrity", and a serious break of the EU-brokered ceasefire that ended last year's five-day war in the Caucusus.

Despite these comments, "Dmitry Medvedev, on 30 April, signed two pacts giving Moscow formal responsibility for the borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia has also recently increased its troop presence in Georgia's breakaway regions from 3,000 to more than 7.600. It had earlier doubled its troop strength there from 1,500 to 3.00.

In another fiery speech in the Iranian city of Karaj, President Ahmadinejad claimed that the Zionists "had told lies to create the germ of Israel. Just as it was created, it can be dismantled". Israel, he said, "must stop its crimes against the Palestinians or the strong hand of nations will root them out". An Iranian website quoted him as saying, "The era of aggression of the Zionist regime and its supporters has come to an end". Denying Israel's legitimacy, he said that "for 60 years they have told lies and tried to defraud nations in order to create the germ called the Zionist regime", adding, "Zionism contributes nothing other then aggression, mass murder, terror and threats".

The Iranian President called for a referendum in 'Palestine', saying, "If Israel doesn't accept this humane solution, the might of nations will bury them underground and bring about justice".

A longish article recently appeared in The Washington Post under the heading Iran's Old Guard Pushed Aside, in which it was stated that "a new generation is replacing clerics who had sought better ties with the West". It referred to the Iranian revolution, almost 30 years ago, when the rule of the Shah was replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini, returned from exile in France. He brought to power a group of "politically engaged clerics who sought to create the world's first Islamic republic". Now, these clerics are being swept aside by a new generation who are "vowing to carry out the promises of the revolution and to place Iran among the world's leading nations". This new generation has the backing of Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader in Iran's political system.

One political cleric said, "These newcomers are pushing the followers of the Imam out of power". Analysts say that the purging of those clerics strengthens President Ahmadinejad, "the most prominent leader of the new generation". Ahmadinejad's faction, which calls itself "principalist", consists of newcomers who say they want to act according to the principles of Islam and the revolution. The political editor of an Iranian newspaper said, "There is little likelihood that the cleric-politicians who gained power after the revolution will rebuild their standing. They are not a part of the decision-making process any more. I don't see any chance of a comeback". Another cleric claimed that "the newcomers are dogmatic and don't believe in the wishes of the people. This is a power struggle for the political direction of this country". That struggle began almost four years ago with the surprise election to parliament of a majority representing the newcomers. And it continued with Ahmadinejad's presidential victory".

JORDAN'S King Abdullah II recently visited Germany for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel centred on peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Chancellor Merkel said that there is "no alternative to a two-state solution to the Mid-East crisis", adding, "On behalf of Germany, I will do everything to make a constructive contribution to move this peace process forward". She continued by saying, "Overall, common sense simply speaks in favour of using this window of opportunity", and warned that "failure could lead to more violence".

At a news conference held in Berlin, King Abdullah said, "What we are discussing today is a combined approach of bringing together Arabs, Europeans and the United States as a team to create the circumstances over the next several months that allow Israelis and Palestinians to sit at the table, but also with Lebanese, Syrians and Arab nations".

In another move, it was reported that "Arab states individually and collectively are preparing to create new formulas", as are also the Obama administration, the Palestinian Authority and the Netanyahu government. The Arab League is rumoured "to be re-tooling its Arab initiative", as a result of pressure from America to amend their 2002 peace initiative "to make it more acceptable to Israel". The Obama administration is preparing its own revisions to the Road Map plan which, if it is a successor to the Road Map, it would presumably carry the weight of support from the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia. The Palestinian Authority head, Mahmoud Abbas, said that "the Palestinian Authority and Egypt were preparing, along with a number of Arab states, a comprehensive plan that deals with Israel and the entire Arab world".

Surely, as King Abdullah said, "It is a packaged effort that we are going to work on".