World
The fall of Venice carries a warning for Starmer’s Chagos deal
I’ve just come back from a short holiday in Venice. The city is an unsurpassable monument to the glories of…
Is Britain about to see a lot more of Prince Harry?
The year just gone has hardly been a banner year for either the Duke or Duchess of Sussex, culminating in the…
Beware Mamdani’s ‘warmth of collectivism’
One of the things I admire about Zohran Mamdani is his candor. You know where you stand with him. Mamdani, who was…
Trump is winning the Maduro meme war
The Vietnam war was the first Americans watched on their nightly TV news, the Gulf War the first that could…
How to stop Venezuela from becoming Iraq
Will the Venezuela adventure end up like Afghanistan, or will it be another Iraq? In the eyes of most commentators,…
Hugh Bonneville should pipe down about Israel
Hugh, meet Claire. Claire, meet Hugh. Claire has some guidance that might prove useful for you, Hugh. Should, that is,…
The Chagos deal could spell environmental catastrophe
This week, the government will try to push its draft deal to surrender the Chagos Islands through Parliament. There are many,…
What are Trump’s post-Maduro plans for Venezuela?
Donald Trump likes to keep both his friends and enemies guessing. It’s no surprise then that his plans for Venezuela’s…
The outstanding beigeness of Keir Starmer
”I’ll be PM this time next year,’ Starmer tells BBC.’’ Such was the headline on the BBC’s website over the…
Maduro’s capture wasn’t about oil
The image of Nicolás Maduro in US custody has inevitably resurrected the ghosts of foreign policy past. For the reflexively…
Greenland, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico… who will US target next?
When the earthquake is big, the porcelain rattles far and wide. And that’s exactly what’s happening now… in Cuba, Colombia,…
Can Trump really turn Venezuela into a pro-American surrogate?
The US military operation to track down, capture and fly Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro back to the United States for…
The long history of kidnapping Latin American chieftains
One of the few benefits of being an anthropologist is the uncanny exhilaration one feels watching novel current events as…
Sunday shows round-up: Keir Starmer hasn’t ‘got the full picture at the moment’
Keir Starmer: ‘We simply haven’t got the full picture at the moment’ The US has struck Venezuela’s capital Caracas and…
AI could make degrees redundant
For decades, British politics has lived in the shadow of a major failure of social and economic policy: the imbalance…
How Maduro got off easy
Nicolas Maduro is a very lucky man. The Venezuelan dictator – or ex-dictator now – might not feel that way…
Labour MPs squabble over Venezuela
Oh dear. It seems that all is not well in the party of good comrades. The Americans’ stunning snatch-and-grab operation…
Reform and the real populist threat
We’re scarcely into the new year and already luminaries on the liberal left have resumed one of their favourite pastimes:…
Britain’s obsession with dogs is unhealthy
‘Puppiccino or hot dogolate, Bertie? Or will you try our special Christmas blend?’ The barista leaned across the counter, eyes…
Social media visa vetting would protect Britain’s Jews
You don’t need to be a fervent admirer of Donald Trump to recognise that, on matters of national security and…
Kim and Putin’s growing bromance should make us nervous
As Kim Jong-un himself announced at a New Year’s Eve event in Pyongyang, 2025 was an ‘unforgettable year’ for North…
Can the ‘Donroe doctrine’ really change Venezuela?
Caracas During the early hours of Saturday January 3, an official statement from the White House, signed by President Trump,…
The keffiyeh crew’s curious silence on Iran
And just like that, the left loses interest in the Middle East. In 2025, they spoke of little else. They…
Maduro’s fall could galvanise Iran’s opposition
On the afternoon of the 28 December in a Tehran electronics bazaar, shopkeepers (known as bazaaris) shuttered their shops and…
Why Trump captured Maduro
Donald Trump likes to start the new year with a bang – or better yet a series of loud bangs.…
