World
Why it was a mistake for Ofcom to remove Russia Today
In conflicts, there is always a temptation to mirror the tactics of one’s opponents – which is why it’s depressing…
Does Putin’s Judo philosophy explain his sanctions response?
Contemplating leaders and their heroes can be a revealing business. Churchill had busts of Nelson and Napoleon at Chartwell (and…
Is Boris channeling Churchill in his response to Russia?
Boris Johnson’s hero – apart from himself – is Winston Churchill, who led Britain through the dark valley of World…
Why was the Hunter Biden laptop story covered up?
It’s now a familiar pattern – a sensational news story is dismissed by serious journalists as bogus right-wing agitprop. You’d…
Russian intelligence isn't all it's cracked up to be
Western countries have always had a rather high opinion of Soviet intelligence. British secret services – MI5, MI6 and Special Branch…
Kemi Badenoch: the curriculum does not need ‘decolonising’
When the government published a report last year by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) into racism in the…
The Macron Paradox
With just 24 days to go before the first round of French presidential voting, the political landscape has become borderline surreal,…
Make China pay for its quiet support of Putin’s war
China is tacitly backing Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. The Biden administration should combat this by imposing economic costs on China through the corporate Environmental, Social…
Nazanin is free. But at what cost?
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release, alongside fellow prisoner Anoosheh Ashoori, has attracted enormous amounts of praise and joy at a time when…
Turkmenistan may emerge as a global powerbroker
While the world is watching Ukraine, there is another former Soviet republic that has quietly undergone regime change. Turkmenistan’s 65-year-old…
Will India’s neutrality on Putin’s aggression backfire?
As the western world tightens sanctions on Russia, India is opting for a different strategy: sitting on the fence. ‘We…
Putin’s totalitarian turn
Putin, of course, can never be wrong. Hence the desperate struggle, familiar to other personalised authoritarianisms, to find suitable scapegoats,…
What Russians are really being told about war in Ukraine
‘They are lying to you here,’ declared the placard held aloft by the journalist who stormed the set of one of…
Could China get sucked into war in Ukraine?
If war in Ukraine is to end any time soon, the relationship between Moscow and Beijing will prove crucial. A…
How the Foreign Office secured Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release
There was a rare display of unity in the Commons chamber this afternoon when Liz Truss gave a statement on…
Is Boris a Russian agent?
Is Boris a Russian agent? That bizarre question occupied most of PMQs where Dominic Raab deputised for the PM while…
Did the realists underestimate Putin?
Liberal internationalists, neoconservatives and NeverTrumpers are having the time of their lives these days, ridiculing anyone on the political right…
Russia had nothing to do with Brexit
In light of Russia’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine, certain corners of the internet have become obsessed – yet again – with Russia’s supposed…
Zelensky basks in the world’s spotlight
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is flying high. The contrast between Zelensky, who virtually addressed Congress this morning, and Russian president…
Let Daniil Medvedev think what he wants about Putin
So now you have to undergo a political purity test to play at Wimbledon? Judging from the pressure being put…
Don't bash private schools for educating oligarch kids
Bashing fee-paying schools is a popular sport – and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is as good an excuse as any…
Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release will be a big relief for Boris Johnson
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been released from custody in Iran, according to Iranian government officials. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the 43-year-old British-Iranian woman, was…
The West has to bite its lip for Saudi oil
It would be ridiculous to claim that Boris Johnson’s visit to Saudi Arabia is not morally problematic. He is going…
Why hasn’t Russia been able to stop Ukraine’s drone attacks?
Among the many weapons being used by the Ukrainian military to inflict losses on the Russian invasion forces, several have…
Ukrainians fear Chechen fighters. Russian soldiers hate them
Residents fleeing the Kiev suburb of Bucha reported Chechens machine-gunning cars, even those with the word ‘children’written in their windscreens.…
