Small majorities of Iranians say their country should develop nuclear weapons and they would feel safer if Tehran possessed such arms, according to a rare public opinion poll of Iranian citizens.

Ali Ahmed is living “the garden life,” as a new bit of Iraqi slang puts it. Two years after earning his engineering degree, the 27-year-old is among Iraq’s teeming numbers of jobless with nothing to do but hang out in Baghdad’s parks.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting former colonies in North Africa on Tuesday, said France should recognise its colonial history but not repent for it.