COMMENT

The ‘new world’ label is 600 years old and needs updating.

— Say the words “new world”. What image comes to mind? The United States? Possibly Canada? Maybe Mexico or Chile? What about India?

COMMENT

Salman Rushdie, the man who told stories about India.

— Salman Rushdie features in almost every story about India, a country that he is fascinated with, that is in his bones. But is he the master or victim of our times?

COMMENT

The last white woman, Liz Truss.

— Had it been anyone but Rishi Sunak, would Liz Truss really be the frontrunner in the Conservative Leadership Contest to replace Boris Johnson?

Sri Lanka Protest

Sri Lanka’s protesters are demanding change. Here’s why.

— Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled the country after weeks of protests. Now Sri Lankans want action — and fast.

COMMENT

Boris boosterism and bluster won’t keep Brexit Britain’s reality hidden forever.

— Boris Johnson’s premiership epitomised a change in tone and apparent temperament for Britain. In the past five years, it went from respected former imperial power to unreliable protagonist with an outsize ego.

COMMENT

Boris remade Britain’s image as a mussy-haired wannabe with a slippery sense of propriety.

— Boris Johnson’s legacy: There is a sense of a country that is packaging and re-packaging shop-worn goods with a sales pitch that runs to superlatives.

COMMENT

‘Them’s the breaks’: Boris adopts an American accent.

— To defy his moment of humiliation, Eton-educated Boris Johnson used a surprising American slang in his resignation speech.

COMMENT

In Iran, one man exercises complete control for his lifetime. In the US, it’s now six people.

— Political gridlock across the US federal government has made the country’s supreme court uniquely powerful.

COMMENT

The G7 has returned to being a gentlemen’s club.

— With Angela Merkel gone, the G7 has returned to being a male bastion.

COMMENT

A peaceful transfer of power in America? Yes, but...

— I don’t know about you but the Colombian election has been a rare bright spot in the news from the Americas.

COMMENT

Ever wondered how the monarchy survives in Britain?

— With the Platinum Jubilee celebrations currently happening, what makes the British monarchy go on in a world that has become flatter and more egalitarian? And how on earth does it even survive?

COMMENT

No, decolonising your bookshelf doesn’t mean getting rid of Jane Austen.

— It is a truth universally acknowledged that the right-wing press will inflame any debate on decolonisation, regardless of the facts.

COMMENT

Nestle and the business of morality.

— The issue of ethics and business comes up a lot, with respect to the Ukraine war, Black Lives Matter, transgender rights and more.

COMMENT

A telling story about Putin’s state of mind from a European diplomat.

— How the story from a former ambassador in Moscow about Vladimir Putin suggests that the Russian leader’s apparent goal might be far larger than any peace deal with Ukraine.

War in Ukraine

What can China do about Ukraine and will it do it?

— The horror of what is happening in Ukraine has focussed minds on China’s obligations.

COMMENT

The best-laid plans of mice and men... and Putin and his gold.

— The unprecedented package of tough and coordinated sanctions against Russia after the Ukraine invasion shows that war chests are only as good as the purpose for which they’re used.