It says the buyout was a purely foreign affair to which U.S. securities laws do not apply.

FORBES: Innocents at Home

Although the country will receive international help to hold the elections, they will take place as a purely domestic affair, unlike the foreign-sponsored elections in Cambodia last year.

ECONOMIST: On democracy��s front line

Declaring ominously that he views Syria's unrest as a domestic Turkish affair, he dispatched his foreign minister on August 9th to demand speeded up reforms and an immediate pull-out of troops from Syrian cities.

ECONOMIST: Syria and the region

Until a few months ago, the foreign ministry was trying hard to reach a compromise with Europe on the Rushdie affair, and indeed thought it was near one.

ECONOMIST: Iran

Ken Loach's The Angel's Share, Ben Affleck's Argo and Denmark's A Royal Affair are among the titles shortlisted in the foreign film category.

BBC: Emmanuelle Riva

Banking remains, with few (mainly foreign-owned) exceptions, a woefully undercapitalised and badly managed affair.

ECONOMIST: East European banks

His travails as a would-be legislator, the authorities clearly believe, are an internal affair, not for foreign ears.

ECONOMIST: China's National People's Congress