Return of the Christmas Elves
We have a fine crop of Christmas gift books this year, so good that some of them actually qualify as…
Rhapsody in blue
When Carlos Acosta was named artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January of this year, he announced ambitious plans…
The land that time forgot
The region of Dolpo in Nepal forms part of a border zone between that country and China in the central…
America sails into the unknown
Washington, DC On election day in the capital there is no thrill in the air, but there is a sound:…
Comfort in dark times
Nigella Lawson is many things to many people: the perfect hostess, the TV star, the thinking man’s crumpet. To me…
Beggaring belief
Eight centuries ago in Turkey, at a gathering of intellectuals, a Muslim sultan insisted that one of his courtiers write…
A star is reborn
The Life Ahead stars Sophia Loren, and if there is one reason to see The Life Ahead it is this:…
From St Petersburg to St Andrews
Aneliya, the Russian narrator of David Keenan’s enjoyably weird new novel, is worried about her dad. Tomasz’s modest music career…
Twin peaks
There must be some people somewhere who vaguely know their own spouses — but if so, they don’t tend to…
Books of the year I
Reviewers choose the books they have most enjoyed in 2020 – and a few that have disappointed them
Enter Putin
How Russia will try to influence what happens next
The last days of Donald Trump
What pleasure the networks must have taken when they cut off President Trump in mid-rant. For nearly five years, he…
Richard Nixon took the high road in 1960. Donald Trump should now
‘You gotta swallow this one, they stole it fair and square.’ That’s a Republican hack speaking to Richard Nixon, as…
Emmanuel Macron’s Trumpian transformation
This new world disorder is distorting our vision, so please excuse an apparently fatuous question. Is Emmanuel Macron turning into…
Joe Biden wins the presidency
Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. Decision Desk HQ, a non-partisan election results site, declared…
The subtle sexism of ‘feminist’ Democrats
Over the past five years, we’ve seen an endless stream of hand-wringing and hysteria around the misogyny of Donald Trump.…
Who’s excited about a Biden presidency?
‘You all…declare me dead. Guess what? I ain’t dead. I’m not going to die.’ That was Joe Biden back in…
Joe Biden should prepare for gridlock
The Democratic Party was anticipating a blue wave this fall, a victory of such magnitude that Republicans would be spending…
Europe’s cities are becoming a refuge for Islamist extremists
Britain’s terror threat level has been upgraded to ‘severe’ this week, following jihadist attacks in both France and Austria. Raising…
Aussie winds, republican kite-flying
Today, November 6, marks the twenty-first anniversary of the 1999 republic referendum. Two decades on, republican lobbyists are on the…
Why President Sleepy Joe will keep Australia up at night
It’s not yet certain, but it is looking likely that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United…
Trump doubles down on unfounded election claims
Tensions over the election outcome are escalating in the United States, as President Donald Trump repeated unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Nearly…
A Trump loss will overshadow a catastrophic election for the Democrats
Joe Biden looks to be on his way to the White House. There will be recounts, and legal challenges and…
Kevin Rudd’s media royal commission call attacks a keystone of democracy
Just over 500,000 people had signed a petition launched by Kevin Rudd calling for a royal commission into media ownership…
Gone with the wind: why electricity shortages are becoming the norm
If it wasn’t miserable enough being told that I have to spend the next month at home, now I have…
