World
Iran has offered Trump an olive branch
There are few figures in Iranian politics as simultaneously familiar and enigmatic as Javad Zarif. To some in Washington he…
What David Attenborough gets wrong about cats
Here we go again. Last February I wrote about the latest wave of ‘catphobia’ – my new word, do use…
What we really know about the first Easter
A friend who spent much of his life as an archaeologist in Israel once told me that there were three…
Has Canada’s bilingualism gone too far?
Two young Canadian pilots were killed in a tragic accident on 22 March. What should have been an occasion for…
Why James Callaghan was Britain’s most underrated PM
The famous dictum – that all political lives end in failure- was certainly true of James Callaghan. The man who…
The fate of this US pilot could determine the Iran war
Around dawn on Friday, a McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle from the US Air Force’s 494th Fighter Squadron was shot…
The madness of using cannabis to treat mental health
Some days I wonder if I’m going mad – and you don’t need to be a psychiatrist to know that’s not…
Why Israel is introducing the death penalty
A state deciding when it may end a human life outside war is always crossing a line, even when it…
Trump’s oil sanctions relief is a precious gift for Putin
Apart from windfall revenues from higher oil and gas prices and the political leverage that comes from supplying the Global South…
London’s St James’s is losing its soul
London is full of little ecosystems: areas that are distinctive by virtue of their purpose or history and where individual…
Britain needs better missile defences
When the Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Seyed Ali Mousavi, said RAF Fairford was a ‘legitimate target’ on Times…
The remarkable resilience of Israeli art
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem (IMJ) – home to impressive collections of ancient and modern art and some of the world’s…
An appraisal of judicial vulgarity
If you follow the courts, you will certainly have come across Olympus Spa v. Armstrong. On March 12, the Court of Appeals for the…
Why Pakistan is brokering peace in Iran
Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim nuclear power, has traditionally been an international sideshow. No longer. The country has reportedly been…
Trump falls back on ‘you’re fired!’ as midterms loom
Pam Bondi’s departure as attorney general has prompted the usual Kremlinologist speculation. One theory has it that Donald Trump was…
Trump has triggered a wave of European soul-searching
As world leaders grapple with Donald Trump’s second term, his war with Iran has accelerated European multipolarism, with leaders on…
The fate of the Iran war lies in the Strait of Hormuz
Unless something shifts profoundly in the current direction of the US war on Iran, the Iranian regime appears set to…
Why the Met police went soft on crime
After months, years and even decades of dismay about the state of law and order in this country, a leader…
This is what Trump means by ‘victory’ in Iran
President Trump has now told us something very important about the war with Iran. Ponder his address to the nation…
Ignore the propaganda war
Prediction: by the time you read this, the joint US-Israeli operation in Iran will be all but over. In fact,…
The truth behind Miliband’s North Sea drilling U-turn
At first sight it might seem like the triumph of reason over ideology. The Times is reporting that Ed Miliband…
Reform should be wary of Farage fatigue
Nigel Farage has spent the best part of three decades positioning himself as the outsider who might one day break…
Donald Trump is going on a firing spree
The surprising thing isn’t that Donald Trump fired his attorney general Pam Bondi and appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche…
Will my Italian family finally support England in the world cup?
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna I was at the wheel of our Land Rover Defender on Wednesday with my middle daughter Magdalena…
What the death of my beloved son taught me about Easter
The hawthorn hedges are white with blossom; the countryside looks set for a wedding. Even in the small garden of…
