Power broker

In France, a near-revolution by students and workers came close to toppling Charles de Gaulle in May; its economic aftermath in November almost certainly discredited forever Gaullism's vaunted role as the power broker of Europe.

Gen Ali Murtopo—vice chairman of Indonesia's Supreme Advisory Council, former information minister, a major power broker in and out of the army—declared after a meeting with the president that the killings were justified.

The Qatar government, which runs the QIA, will become a major power-broker in determining the future of the London exchange.