TWO sobering but illustrative events played out simultaneously yesterday. Each showed how powerless democratically elected, supposedly sovereign, governments can be in the face of unflinching international creditors or too-big-to-fail banks tottering towards collapse asking — demanding if you prefer — that they be rescued with public funds.

IRELAND’S member of the European Court of Auditors Kevin Cardiff was in charge of the Department of Finance unit that had oversight of banks on that fateful, generation-defining and expensive night — September 29th/30th 2008, “guarantee night” as it has become known.

China’s government says it is ready to discuss strengthening cyber security at a top-level forum with US officials next week and wants Washington to help settle territorial disputes in east Asia.