World
Is Putin really open to a ceasefire with Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin is apparently open to a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine. But is he really? Just like that,…
Trump’s security, dress codes and airport romance in Palm Beach
With President Trump spending so much time away from Washington at his home and club, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, there…
Asteroid 2024 YR4 and the geekoisie
“Giant Asteroid” has been a popular also-ran in the last three presidential elections, at least judging from bumper stickers, and…
Why I won’t date younger women
I recently got some good news I’d like to share: I’m thirty-six years old. Yes, I know I’m chronologically seventy…
Taking the fast train back to imperialism
I’m on a high-speed train. Forty years ago, such a statement would have been notable and specific: essentially, it meant…
Breakfasts, massages and reinvigorating Swiss thermal waters
Last January, one of the first things my son-in-law wanted to know was if I’d found a “boy toy” after…
The Karoo has seen so much, but changed so little
It’s an incongruous name for a wilderness, “the Karoo.” The nursery-like sound belies the harshness of a vast, arid hinterland…
What Vladimir Putin really wants from Ukraine
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have very different negotiating styles. Trump lines up his offer in advance, browbeating all the…
Baseball may be trapped in a two-party system
Hope springs eternal. With Opening Day 2025 under our belts, however, you cannot shake the feeling that America’s pastime, like…
Why John Lewis’s profits have soared
Growth has ground to a halt, manufacturing is collapsing, and the government is desperately scratching around for ways to save…
The Tories should have scrapped NHS England
Listening to Keir Starmer announce this morning that he is going to abolish NHS England can only make the Conservatives…
The small town in Ontario with a world-class chocolatier
I’m sipping Madagascan hot chocolate out of white-and-gold Haviland Limoges, and nibbling on Venezuelan milk-chocolate bonbons, under an oil painting…
What is the point of abolishing NHS England?
What does Wes Streeting think the government will achieve by abolishing NHS England? The Health Secretary gave a statement to…
Why German-origin Americans keep quiet about their culinary contributions
Irish Americans are arguably the most ostentatious in their national celebrations. It is hard to imagine any other group getting…
The trouble with Starmer’s plan for change
At his speech at a Hull business campus this morning, Keir Starmer was introduced by a man who proudly noted…
Starmer scraps NHS England
It was widely briefed that the main focus of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech in Yorkshire today was his plan to…
The excellent wine of Mount Ventoux
On April 26, 1336, the poet Petrarch, accompanied by his younger brother, climbed up the windy slopes of Mount Ventoux…
Why should cohabitees get the benefits of marriage?
One way or another in life, we end up making choices, even if we think we’re choosing not to choose.…
Defence cooperation with France would be a bad idea for Britain
Donald Trump’s recent decision to deny Ukraine access to American intelligence data in the war against Russia has concentrated minds…
Have we reached peak EDI?
As the old saying goes, ‘when American sneezes, England catches a cold’. This week, the two major city watchdogs announced…
Watch: Reynolds grovels over solicitor claim
Well, well, well. After Guido Fawkes revealed that Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds had previously – and inaccurately – referred to…
More booze won’t save France’s dying village life
Reach for the pastis, Jacques. A law is making its way through the French parliament to relax alcohol licensing, to…
Ireland isn’t out of Trump’s firing line just yet
The Taoiseach Micheal Martin’s White House encounter with Donald Trump was controversial even before it was announced. Before any invitation…
Save Eastbourne’s bowls club!
Somewhat unfairly (the actual median age of residents is 45) the East Sussex coastal resort of Eastbourne is known as…
Seven in ten Reform voters don’t recognise Rupert Lowe
It was only a few weeks ago that Reform UK was flying high in the polls. Now a fallout between…
