:: The Fifth Column

These people are everywhere, just waiting for the right moment to crawl out from under their rocks...

A key figure in the World Bank, said to have links to the Roman Catholic sect Opus Dei, was accused yesterday of undermining its commitment to the health of women by ordering the deletion of goals, targets and policies relating to family planning.

The U.S. media is focused on l'affaire Wolfowitz, and rightly so, but this simultaneously unfolding drama will also play a role - albeit uncredited - in his demise. Major European development NGOs and governmental agencies are shaking the rafters over this. Two crises at the same time = not a good thing for a man no one liked from the get-go.