Mamma Mia, The Economist

Silvio Berlusconi, new Italian PM and leader of the Conservative bloc owes his revival to the economic failures of the Centre-Left Government led by Romano Prodi whose policy of increased taxation did bail out Italy from economic turmoil, but proved to be unpopular with Italy’s public. Prodi’s government also did precious little to carry out much needed economic reforms. Berlusconi’s grip on Italy’s media—via his media set empire—also played a pivotal role in his triumph. The Centre-Left is to blame for not dealing with Berlusconi’s conflicts of interest in the media. Still, Berlusconi has his job cut out and his first priority has to be economic reforms.

Muhammad Yunus, Prospect

Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with the Grameen Bank—the micro-enterprise initiative which he founded. In his profile of Yunus, the pioneer of micro-finance, Mark Hannam discusses the former’s latest initiative, ‘social business’. Social business basically means selling basic goods and products—like mobile phones, knitwear and medical services—at low prices to poor children. Interestingly, Yunus has also set up a joint venture with a French company, Danone, to sell low cost yoghurt to children. While many question Yunus’ approach to poverty it is impressive because he is not anti-business. In fact, his model is a fine reminder of the fact that business can be an important tool in the crusade against poverty. His model could be useful for other parts of the developing world in Asia and Africa.

Inside Saudi Arabia, Slate

... contd.