We also feature a fresh look at weaponry and in keeping with the spirit of the season, we look at weapons of the past, which include germs and toxins. At present, weapons are pointed at our head but they don't go bang while, in the future, the weather itself may become a weapon of war.

Friday, the 1st of December saw dignitaries gathered for the inauguration of President Fox of Mexico. A rival, though not in any official sense, the elusive Sub-comandante Marcos of the Zapatista National Liberation Front, shares his thoughts on the world at this juncture in history.

Global takes spin and checks out some of the other elections on the planet and on the way runs into a few presidents who have run into a little trouble. Haiti has an election and re-elects Aristide and the UN terms them a pariah state? Meanwhile, as Estrada is increasingly rejected by Filipinos, the IMF brings pressure to bear on what is likely to be a weakening economy in that country. Peru's President exits fast and winds up in Japan. Only in Canada is the election held without disruption and conflict.

And finally to money. Le Monde looks at the cheap euro and who pays for it, while a piece in the new York Times sees a chill in the financial future.

Thank you to those readers who sent in their own or another's response to the news of the day.