But the British handling of this case does not appear to fit naturally into those bleak concerns.Spy spats are a regular feature in Britain's tense relations with Russia.
The strangest and most moving moments in a novel many readers find harrowingly bleak concern Jude's thwarted love for Sue, their two children perforce born out of wedlock, and the belated appearance in their midst of "Little Father Time", the son that Jude has had with Arabella.
Particularly bleak anecdotes concerned factory activity, which has borne the brunt of the economic slowdown this year.
That was the very last laugh on offer, and if you saw last week's unremittingly bleak instalment concerning the stabbing, you might not have found it all that funny.
The mood at Westminster has recently turned, especially bleak among Labour MPs concerned that the party's arguments for remaining in Europe are not connecting with its voters.
It meant a bleak scene for all concerned at the Andruv Stadium – even the Czech fans in the crowd went home disappointed, with England's defeat costing their side an Olympic play-off – but Southgate tried to sound a note of positivity.
Having just been on TV in rather contrasting shows, Southcliffe (bleak four-parter concerning a small-town shooting) and Count Arthur Strong (slow-burning radio-to-telly sitcom), he's also played Iago at the National Theatre.
Investors in the stock markets appeared more concerned about the bleak outlook for the economy and Europe's, as the major domestic indexes fell sharply.
It is hardly a surprise that a radio play by Samuel Beckett should be concerned with the bleak, monotonous business of being alive.
Hence little has suggested that China's leaders are concerned about the bleak implications for the future: that their rule in Tibet can be maintained only by the indefinite deployment of massive coercive force.So for a Chinese scholar, Jin Wei, who is director of ethnic and religious studies at the Central Party School in Beijing, to call for a "creative" new approach is startling.
