His de facto chief of secret police, Vladimiro Montesinos, is also in prison.

BBC: Slow justice for Peru's 'disappeared' 20 years on

Indeed, it was Mr de la Rua's secret meetings with Mr Menem and the discredited old guard of the Peronist union movement, promoted by Mr Nosiglia, that first strained relations with his vice-president.

ECONOMIST: Argentina

But ultimately the Hacienda de San Antonio is wonderful because it's a secret.

WSJ: The Hacienda de San Antonio

On Tuesday, General de Chastelain told us more than we usually hear about the secret process of decommissioning.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Analysis: Why deal stalled

The secret to their seamless collaboration, it seems, is that De Sole regards the design process with a respect bordering on mysticism.

WSJ: The House That Gucci Built

Felix de Paula was an 18-year-old Army private stationed at the secret New Mexico outpost when he was aroused from sleep in the pre-dawn hours that July morning and handed a pair of welder's glasses.

NPR: Revisiting the Birth of the Bomb

Piper, 29, also gained acclaim for ITV's Secret Diary of a Call Girl, in which she played the high-class London escort Belle de Jour.

BBC: Billie Piper to debut at National Theatre in Autumn

Mr de Villepin this week sued three writers for libel over the affair, although he has admitted he did ask a secret service agent to investigate the list.

ECONOMIST: The limits of political legerdemain