South Africa has no right to lecture Israel
As South Africa presented its case accusing Israel of genocide to the International Court of Justice, the presence of former…
Will Red Sea strikes disrupt the UK economy?
November is proving to have been a lucky month in Britain. Inflation slowed significantly: from 4.6 per cent on the…
Striking the Houthis won’t stop Iran
A month before the targeted killing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, few would have…
Why do I keep falling for Boris Johnson’s charm?
On Saturday, I was in a public library, waiting for an old guy to finish with the Times. But he seemed…
Britain and US launch airstrikes against Houthis
The US and the UK have launched airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen whose continued attacks are disrupting trade in…
We don’t need targets to know the NHS is failing
How has the NHS missed most of its key targets for the past seven years? Some parts of the UK-wide…
Tories are wrong to imply that Starmer is racist
Is it really some kind of underhand racist smear for Labour to claim that Rishi Sunak ‘doesn’t get Britain’? This…
The fog of moral clarity
I am not optimistic about seeing moral clarity from many (or most?) of our current federal government leaders. Their apparent…
Even in the Arctic Circle, Navalny remains uncowed
Alexei Navalny had a brutal December. At the start of the month the Putin critic abruptly disappeared from his prison…
The village witch-doctor
In some tribal societies, the village witch-doctor claims to have remedies to protect others against maladies and witchcraft. Neither such…
Will Chris Christie’s withdrawal help stop Trump?
It was former New Jersey governor Chris Christie who ended up getting smoked. His share of the Republican primary vote…
Wonka champions little capitalists
This summer’s hit movie Wonka inspires a generation to do something exceptional: start their own business. More importantly, it teaches them how…
Will inflation return to normal this year?
When will inflation return to the target rate? According to its latest forecasts, the Bank of England isn’t expecting inflation…
Are the Tories cooling on their support for Israel?
The language in the government and parliament over Israel has changed a lot this week. Ministers are no longer mounting…
How much should we fear the return of the ‘bond vigilantes’?
BlackRock’s UK chief investment strategist, Vivek Paul, has warned this week that pre-election promises of large tax cuts or spending…
Iranians are blaming the regime for the Kerman terrorist attack
Two suicide bombs killed nearly 100 people and wounded many more in the Iranian province of Kerman on 3 January,…
What a secret far-right meeting reveals about the AFD
It sounds like a scene from a dystopian TV drama: in a country hotel west of Berlin, far-right politicians met…
Can ‘mini Macron’ rescue France’s president?
France’s Emmanuel Macron, the Fifth Republic’s youngest president, has just appointed its youngest prime minister, 34-year-old Gabriel Attal. The former socialist…
A month of Pride but no Australia Day
For months – not days – capital cities across Australia were wrapped in glitter and rainbows to service the feelings…
Matt Thistlethwaite: the man with the flag
The British Locomotive Act of 1865 stated: …while any locomotive is in motion, [a person] shall proceed … on foot…
Rishi Sunak has nothing to lose anymore
Both leaders seemed pretty chipper at PMQs. With an election likely this year, Rishi Sunak has nothing to lose and…
Make civics education great again
The unveiling of the 2003 Howard Government Cabinet records last week is more than just a revelation of political decisions…
Ecuador is trapped in the hell of constant violence
A new year and a new chapter has begun in Ecuador, one that those living there perhaps rather wish hadn’t.…
“If another pandemic hits, we will lockdown again” – Jay Bhattacharya
Few people called for sanity as the world lost its collective mind during the COVID pandemic, but Jay Bhattacharya was…
Of course test cricket is dying … Western Civilisation is dying
Reports of the death of test cricket have, for some time, been greatly exaggerated, but last week saw the kind…
