Features
Steve Bannon interview: “I’m fascinated by Mussolini”
We are in a hotel suite at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Zurich when Stephen K. Bannon tells me he adores…
When does cricketing banter cross the line?
‘Good morning, my name’s Cowdrey.’ England batsman Colin, later Lord Cowdrey, to the Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson. ‘That’s not…
The extraordinary life and times of Lithuania’s greatest poet
The first book that Tomas Venclova read in English was Nineteen Eighty-Four. Not a bad start in the language, given…
Notes on… Lord Byron in Venice
‘I want to see Venice, and the Alps, and Parmesan cheeses.’ So wrote Lord Byron in 1814, some two years…
Mohammad bin Salman is not a revolutionary. He’s the prince of PR
This week, Mohammad bin Salman, also known as MBS, is on his not-quite-state visit to Britain. A parade down the…
Forget the naysayers. Saudi’s crown prince is the real deal
In an interview this week, Mohammad bin Salman offered an extraordinarily frank assessment of how to combat terrorism. It means…
Transgender activists and the real war on women
How hard is it for women to talk freely about sex, gender and the law? Not very, I used to…
Britain must ‘take back control’ from Russia
Mischief and mayhem work better for Russia than steady cooperation with the western powers. This at least is what the…
In London, dinner parties and murder exist side by side
Last month, a 17-year-old business student of Somali extraction, Abdikarim Hassan, was knifed to death outside a corner shop, 70…
A very EU coup: Martin Selmayr’s astonishing power grab
Martin Selmayr has always dreamed of being known beyond the Brussels bubble. His wish has now been granted, albeit in…
The Katherine Mansfield House
One of the more surprising attractions of Wellington, New Zealand’s small but perfectly formed capital city, is what might be…
Me! Me! #MeToo! How Hollywood hijacked feminism
This is the Time’s Up Oscars, the first one where the #MeToo movement is a major player, and no one…
It takes more than a Time’s Up badge to be a feminist
I have not trusted a celebrity activist since 2014, when I read the headline ‘Angelina Jolie and William Hague tackle…
What is Putin’s endgame in Syria?
Familiar, depressing images emerge from Ghouta in Syria: rows of tiny white shrouds, children killed in relentless airstrikes, makeshift hospitals,…
Blue pill-pushers: Why is Viagra being marketed to young men?
In September last year, official figures showed a startling rise in the number of young British men turning up at…
Italians aren’t fascists. They’re angry about immigration
Ravenna Amid relentless propaganda about Italy being in the grip of fascism, Italians go to the polls on Sunday. It…
Why Evelyn Waugh, Lewis Carroll and the Romans loved Otmoor
‘Don’t sit down too long my duck, you might be doing nothing,’ reads the inscription memorialising Barbara Joan Austin (4…
Angela Merkel has created Germany’s far-right
Bankruptcy, wrote Ernest Hemingway, happens in two ways — ‘gradually and then suddenly’. By now, Angela Merkel will be beginning…
Meet ‘AKK’, Angela Merkel’s anointed successor
On Monday, Angela Merkel did something quite extraordinary. As speculation about her party’s leadership mounted, she named an apparent successor:…
Wham bam, thank you Ma’am
I love Americans’ kindness, generosity and energy but am often thrown by their exaggerated politeness and euphemistic speech. They use…
The NHS’s internal market is an expensive catastrophe
The NHS is in dire straits. I never thought I’d say this but as a doctor, and having seen the…
Oxfam’s troubles began when it became politically correct
In the early 1980s when I was a schoolboy, my father, Brian Hartley, worked for Oxfam during a famine in…
Never mind Russia – the real threat to the US is China
One of the most memorable moments of the 2012 presidential debates came when the candidates were asked what they believed…
South Africa Notebook: After Zuma’s fall, and life on the Little Karoo
In recent years, living in South Africa has been a bit like having cancer. The malaise eating us from within…
Majestic Vienna makes a point of selling the right kind of celebrity
Two things always strike me when I visit Vienna. The first is how easterly the city lies. This was more…
