World
It’s time for a reckoning with Chinese big tech
It has been a bumpy week for China’s beleaguered technology giants. They are under increasing scrutiny overseas, and the communist…
Britain’s new trade deal is about more than GDP
With the announcement this week confirming the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the…
The problem with holding iftar in Manchester Cathedral
During Ramadan, which began last week, sunset finds observant Muslims taking their iftar, a ceremonial breaking of the rigorous fast,…
The Guardian’s self-laceration is embarrassing to watch
The Guardian is currently engaged in an orgy of sanctimonious breast-beating. After two years’ research commissioned by its proprietor, the…
The rise and fall of bohemia
In the Kunsthalle Praha, a smart new gallery in Prague, a Scottish professor from UCLA called Russell Ferguson is trying…
Dominic Cummings understands Singapore. The Tories still don’t
I’ve read Kwasi Kwarteng’s surprisingly positive review of my book, Crack-Up Capitalism. Although it was unexpected to see someone from the…
Is North Korea about to test another nuke?
North Korea’s spring has started with a bang. The United States and South Korea have staged their largest joint military exercises in five years,…
Putin is copying the propaganda playbook of Serbian war criminals
A year ago, Ukrainian soldiers discovered evidence of the Bucha massacre in which Russian forces slaughtered hundreds of Ukrainians in…
For once, there’s a battle of ideas happening in the Tory party
Yesterday’s announcement that the UK has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership brought with it a unique sense of…
After 50 years: where next for VAT?
What is the appropriate act to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Value Added Tax in the UK? Are we celebrating?…
AI is the death of porn
I have a friend, let’s call her Ellie, who has a diverting side hustle: she sells erotic images of herself…
Did Brexit save Britain from France’s fate?
Stéphane Rozès, the author of a book entitled ‘Chaos’, was on French radio this week receiving congratulations for being a…
No wonder some Remainers are unhappy about the UK joining the CPTPP
The United Kingdom has become a member of a free trade bloc embracing 500 million consumers. And it isn’t the…
Charles Bronson and the problem with parole hearings
The letter delivered last week to Mr Charles Salvador, of HMP Woodhill, from the parole board did not bring him…
Poland’s burgeoning alliance with Britain is bad for Putin
Poland and the United Kingdom have been allies for years. But, since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, that union…
An idiot’s guide to posting about Trump’s indictment
Who to copy: #Resistance TikTok, Matt Walsh or Ivanka? Donald Trump has been indicted — and you have to post…
Hunter Biden is going to be indicted
Thanks to New York County district attorney Alvin Bragg, a former president Joe Biden is likely to live out his…
The BBC is axing its panel shows. It only has itself to blame
The veteran BBC show Have I Got News for You is ‘due to become BBC television’s only satirical comedy show’. This is the…
The EU puts Ukraine at the centre of its China policy
If Beijing was in any doubt that its 12-point peace plan for Ukraine has gone down badly in Europe, those…
The right’s two responses to Trump’s indictment
The immediate reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been a run to support…
The wonder and mystery of Mexican cooking
Mexican food is my comfort food. My devotion stems from memories of my mother’s enchiladas. I used to love watching…
Biden, Trump and iniquity in America
Shall we talk about double standards? People scoff at ‘whataboutery’, yet sometimes an iniquity towards one side becomes so absurd…
The trouble with Joe Biden’s trans declaration
Today is International Transgender Day of Visibility – just like the preceding 89 days of 2023. But, jesting aside, it…
Elon Musk is wrong to call for a pause on the AI race
On 2 August 1939, Albert Einstein – at that time the most famous scientist in the world – put his…
Even Donald Trump’s critics should be troubled by these charges
A New York grand jury has indicted former president Donald Trump over alleged ‘hush money’ payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film…
