What a picture of bin Laden reveals about free speech in schools
A foreboding air of déjà vu surrounds the suspension of a teacher from a Bedfordshire school this week. A pupil…
Putin won't be fazed by Britain's show of military support to Ukraine
Can the British army afford to take on Russia? That’s the burning question that has been left after Defence Secretary…
Sabina Nessa and the truth about stranger danger
The brutal murder of primary school teacher Sabina Nessa in Kidbrooke, South London this month has prompted more anger about…
What Jeff Bezos should have learnt from Neil Armstrong
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos joined the billionaire space race today in his suitably phallic looking New Shepard rocket. Bezos successfully travelled…
The art of storing and unveiling
The way an object is stored can magnify its beauty and enhance expectation. Joanna Rossiter wonders whether the opening up of galleries will have the same effect on an art-starved public
Beijing is quietly challenging Brussels
The new agreement between China and the US on climate change, announced this week, contained the usual worthy overtures. Both…
The royal family is in a perilous position
Whatever you think of the Sussex saga, it’s clear that Buckingham Palace are waking up to more uncomfortable reading this…
Kazuo Ishiguro is right about cancel culture
When the Kuwaiti authorities banned nearly 1,000 books from the Kuwait International Literature festival including Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, the…
Hungary’s vaccine strategy risks showing up the EU
You have to admire Hungary’s chutzpah. Not only has it bypassed Brussels to pursue its own vaccine procurement strategy, it…
Why vaccine nationalism won’t end in 2021
After the EU’s behaviour last week, no one can be under any illusion about how nationalistic the pandemic has now…
Europe’s slow vaccine approval is testing Germany’s patience
The Bundestag can’t be an easy place to be a politician right now. At the start of the pandemic, Germany…
Did Brexit boost Britain’s vaccine deal?
The government’s successful deal to secure 40 million shots of Pfizer’s vaccine is a political coup in more ways than…
Facebook is wrong to censor Donald Trump
Donald Trump has hardly covered himself in glory in his latest public responses to the pandemic. His calamitous interview with…
Coromance is blossoming
Being stuck at home will make our relationships stronger
What does coronavirus mean for the climate 'crisis'?
A strange thing happened as coronavirus reached Europe’s shores. Concepts like ‘net zero’ and ‘climate crisis’ which had previously dominated…
Inside the unassuming house where the Brontës’ creativity thrived
‘Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless?’ Jane Eyre asks Mr…
Home truths: Are nurseries damaging our children?
As any parent of young children will tell you, toddler groups exist as much for the adults as for the…
Scilly season: Shipwrecks, seclusion and Harold Wilson’s house
‘You can get away from everything,’ said Harold Wilson of the Isles of Scilly, ‘not only in distance but also…
