World
Why was the West so slow to see Putin’s true colours?
Cast your mind back just over a decade, to a charity benefit gig in St. Petersburg in 2010. Sharon Stone,…
Congress flattens TikTok CEO. So why won’t Biden ban his app?
Thursday was a sickening day for TikTok. Its CEO Shou Zi Chew came to Congress flanked by low-energy and likely…
Liz puts the Trussketers in the Lords
Even out of office, she’s still causing chaos. Details of Liz Truss’s resignation honours list have been leaked to the…
Why Russian priests are being expelled from a monastery in Kyiv
In my hometown we have three Orthodox churches, two of which are formally aligned with the Moscow patriarchate. They mostly…
Deutsche Bank’s collapse would be a threat to the whole eurozone
It could be next month. It might be next week. Or it might well happen over the weekend. But today’s…
Why Haiti’s problems are America’s problems
Haiti tends to not get much attention in the American press, but it should. The country has descended into a…
Why did it take Seb Coe so long to see sense over transgender athletes?
World Athletics has decided to protect women’s sport by restricting it to females. From 31 March, transwomen will not be…
Dmitry Medvedev and the weakness of Putin’s Kremlin
It’s a long time since Dmitry Medvedev was last considered a potential liberal hope for Russia. Most recently, after all,…
Did Scotland’s minimum alcohol pricing work? A look at the data
As Nicola Sturgeon prepares to exit stage right, she’s been reeling off her greatest hits. Things she thinks she’s done…
France is on a knife edge
Thursday was a day of anarchy in France. In Lorient a police station was attacked, in Bordeaux a town hall…
Could the markets force Macron to back down on pension reforms?
Is Emmanuel Macron reaching his Liz Truss moment when financial markets finally determine his future? On 20 March Moody’s ratings…
Why Boris Johnson might escape a partygate punishment
After several months of anticipation, two contentious legal submissions from Lord Pannick KC and a bumper 52-page witness statement, Boris…
TikTok’s powerful friends in DC
TikTok’s CEO is gearing up for a grilling in Congress, but he’s got some new, powerful allies in his corner:…
Will the interest rate hike be enough to tame inflation?
There was no easy option for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) this week. Raising interest rates, even…
Tory MP: Boris’s hearing like OJ Simpson’s trial
Whether it was No. 10 parties or Chris Pincher’s misconduct claims, Tory MPs grew used to having defend Boris Johnson…
Jonathan Portes – my part in his downfall
In 2018, the Equality and Human Rights Commission commissioned and promoted a report which predicted that an extra 1.5 million…
Rishi Sunak was wrong to publish his tax returns
He has plenty of money. He earns a substantial amount from his investments. And he gets a City firm to…
Ron DeSantis is coming for Trump
Donald Trump faces legal jeopardy about payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, but his Republican opponents face political jeopardy about…
DeSantis sets Trump’s hair on fire
Donald Trump faces legal jeopardy about payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, but his Republican opponents face political jeopardy about…
Why are we still funding gain-of-function research?
If someone had asked you in winter 2019 your views on gain-of-function research, you would likely have given them a…
Why Trump’s indictment is no ‘moment of choosing’
Why Trump’s indictment is no ‘moment of choosing’ His former vice-president recently said that “history will hold him accountable.” This…
The Paraguay predicament over Taiwan
On April 30, Paraguayans will go to the polls to select a new president. Though elections in the landlocked South…
The Fed’s rate rise shows it is confident about the banks
So, things really are different this time. The US Federal Reserve has decided to raise its Federal Funds Rate (its…
Five things we learned from Boris’s Privileges Committee grilling
Boris Johnson has just finished a mammoth three hour evidence session in front of the Privileges Committee inquiry into whether…
It’s easy to become numb to the madness of Boris Johnson
What was Boris Johnson up to at the Privileges Committee? The former prime minister has just finished more than three…
