Abdullah appealed for greater international help for more than 300, 000 Syrian refugees who have already fled over the border into Jordan and are suffering in the grip of a cruel winter.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

And yet thanks to the visiting flu virus, against which too few people were vaccinated, New Labour now gives exactly the impression that Mr Blair wants to avoid: not exceptional government, not even government as usual, but government in the grip of the usual winter flu crisis.

ECONOMIST: New Labour��s morning after

Same with Lee, who escaped the grip of the Yankees last winter.

WSJ: Jason Gay: Philly Out-New Yorks New York