Features
What does ‘victory’ for Ukraine look like?
This week in New York Volodymyr Zelensky will present Joe Biden with a ‘Victory Plan’ for Ukraine. But how to…
Why the Tories lost – by the Tory leadership candidates
As the four candidates prepare to make their pitch at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, we quizzed them about…
The death of widowhood
There were many tributes paid to the Jersey aid worker Simon Boas when he died of throat cancer in July,…
Who’s on top in the Tory leadership contest?
In recent years, the Conservative party conference has become something of an irrelevance. Often it is little more than a…
Is Israel trying to drag America into a war with Iran?
The American general David Petraeus famously asked of the invasion of Iraq: ‘Tell me how this ends.’ That’s the question…
Why French students want English uniforms
Béziers, France The École Mairan in Béziers in southern France is a happy neighbourhood elementary school housed in a superb…
Trams make a comeback
Earlier this month, the fortunate folk of Frankfurt were entertained by the 11th annual tram-drivers competition, with entries from 26…
The joy of hiring an old banger
There is always much to look forward to on a holiday with friends in France (the day one supermarket sweep,…
Cheers to corkscrews!
For the first 50 years of the corked bottle, there was no easy way to get into it. The combination…
Nigel’s next target: Reform has Labour in its sights
At this weekend’s Reform conference in Birmingham, the opening speech will be given by a man who wasn’t even a…
How the EU turned on Ireland’s low-tax project
First, the good news. The Irish government is about to receive a €13 billion windfall in the form of back…
Hezbollah’s exploding pagers are just the start
Israel’s security cabinet met in a bunker in the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv on Monday night. The main…
Why can’t China play football?
It would be tough for any country to lose 7-0 in a World Cup qualifier, but when the losing team…
A chillingly seductive glimpse of assisted dying
A few weeks ago, I was present when my aunt, a Canadian citizen born in the UK, chose to die…
It’s time to let Ukraine join Nato
Kyiv The young amputee had a question. We were sitting once again in the rehab centre in Kyiv, and I…
The anxiety-inducing world of wellness tech
I first came across the Zoe programme when a bright yellow package arrived on my parents’ doorstep last year. My…
My night with the paedo hunters
It’s a Wednesday evening, and I’m getting psyched up to go catch a paedophile with the boys. Playlist on, rocking…
How to roll the perfect cigarette
I recently estimated that, in my smoking life so far and at the age of 29, I have rolled 87,600…
Why I believe Lucy Letby’s trial was unfair
Even Horace Rumpole could not have secured an acquittal for Lucy Letby. The more I look at this case, the…
Are you a hotel buffet bandit?
Last week, on a Swedish train somewhere between Linkoping and Mjolby, as I struggled to open a bag of cheesy…
Will the toughest problem in maths ever be solved?
For many, not just mathematicians, the Riemann hypothesis is the very definition of a supremely difficult problem that might be…
There’s still everything to play for in America’s election
The first presidential debate of 2024 changed history by killing off Joe Biden’s career. The second presidential debate was nowhere…
Why are Chinese students giving up on architecture?
I recently convened an urban studies summer school in a top university in Shanghai and asked the assembled class of…
Xi speech warrior: Elon Musk’s love affair with China
Elon Musk revels in the role of ‘free speech absolutist’. Last week, for instance, he jumped to the defence of…
The expensive business of quoting poetry
Writers, I hope we can all agree, should be paid for their work. That’s the principle behind the law of…
