After the war, the British and French refused to give up their colonies without a fight, and the Soviet Union fueled a Cold War by attempting to restore, and build upon, the older czarist empire in eastern Europe and southern and western Asia.

NPR: 'Folly of Empire' Offers Critique of U.S. Imperialism

He had donned a second wetsuit to fight the cold, but his teeth still chattered uncontrollably.

CNN: Shipwreck survivor recounts drama on high seas

But the cold war, hitherto a fight for influence in Europe and Latin America, had now acquired a Middle Eastern axis, and Jews and Arabs were at its centre.

ECONOMIST: Israel and the Palestinians

There are those who see the fight against al-Qaeda as a war like the second world war or the cold war.

ECONOMIST: Civil liberties under threat

If Serbia picks a fight over Kosovo, the Germans and others will have found the perfect excuse to leave Serbia out in the cold.

ECONOMIST: Past and present intertwine in Serbia in unexpected ways