World

Thursday

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Recognition for Palestine, victory for the Lionesses and no name for Corbyn’s party

Home Britain will recognise Palestinian statehood in September, Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, announced, ‘unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution’. He had convened a cabinet meeting to discuss Gaza, although parliament was in recess, a few days after a meeting by telephone with Germany and France. President Emmanuel Macron had said that France would recognise a Palestinian state in September. Some 255 MPs, 147 of them Labour, had signed a letter to Sir Keir calling

Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

Israel has gone too far

If any other country in the Middle East had behaved as monstrously as Israel has in recent weeks, the jets would be lined up on our runways ready to do a bit of performative bombing. Never mind BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) and diplomatic pressure. I mention this because those of us who support Israel, and have done so largely uncritically since 7 October 2023, need the scales to fall from our eyes a little – for the good of Israel, as well as the good of those starving Palestinians. I have been to Israel many times, as a journalist, as a holidaymaker, as a friend. I accept without demurral

Wednesday

Michael Simmons Michael Simmons

Trump’s tariffs are taming China

Stockholm This week, the fate of the global economy could have been decided over a Mongolian barbecue in a Stockholm tourist trap. On Tuesday, just 50 yards from Sweden’s seat of government, Rosenbad – where the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng had been wrangling over trade negotiations – the Chinese delegation suddenly exited the talks and headed for lunch near the Mongolian buffet place, where they had eaten the day before. Its windows were covered up and a sign announced it would be closed for three days for a ‘private event’. The Americans stayed behind, making do with salad. China, still the factory

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Starmer’s Palestine position is perverse

Keir Starmer’s declaration that Britain will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel takes ‘substantive steps’ to end the war in Gaza is, on its face, a symbolic diplomatic gesture. Yet symbols, particularly in international affairs, carry weight. And this one is a blow to Israel, both politically and strategically. The question is not whether this decision is consequential, but how and for whom. If recognition is contingent on Israel achieving a ceasefire, then Hamas has every reason to prolong the conflict Framed as a humanitarian imperative, the British ultimatum appears, on closer inspection, to rest on an unsettling inversion of logic. The precondition for recognition of a Palestinian state is

Tuesday

Tim Shipman

How much pressure is Starmer facing over Gaza?

20 min listen

Ministers have been recalled for a rare cabinet meeting during recess to discuss the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. As the UN warns of famine and aid agencies are raising concern about widespread starvation, countries are coming under pressure to change their approach and influence Israel. In the UK, the focus is on recognition of a Palestinian state, following Emmanuel Macron’s decision that France will do so in September and after more than 200 cross-party MPs signed a letter endorsing recognition. Political editor Tim Shipman and senior associate fellow at RUSI Michael Stephens join deputy political editor James Heale to discuss the situation, recognition and the UK’s role in the

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Trump, MAGA, and US foreign policy

Kate Andrews speaks to Damir Marusic, assignment editor at The Washington Post and co-founder of Wisdom of Crowds. They examine Donald Trump’s surprising foreign policy moves in his second term: his position on the Israel-Gaza conflict, why he’s armed Ukraine despite MAGA frustration, and whether his instincts are reshaping Republican foreign policy for good.

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

France is turning against the EU

When Donald Trump won a second term in the White House last November the response in Europe was one of barely disguised horror. ‘The European Union must stand close together and act in a united manner,’ declared Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The French are demoralised and angrier than ever with their ruling elite Emmanuel Macron posted a message on X: ‘The question we, as Europeans, must ask ourselves is, are we ready to defend the interests of Europeans?’ The president of France got his answer on Sunday evening. No. The trade deal agreed between Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission president, and Donald Trump has not gone down well

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Why Israel is forced to sabotage itself

Israel’s recently announced tactical pause in several sectors of Gaza, aimed at facilitating the distribution of humanitarian aid, is not merely a gesture of compassion under fire. It is a tactical adjustment born of necessity and certainly not a shift in moral posture. To understand this move properly is to grasp the complex interplay of military constraint, media manipulation, psychological warfare, and political coercion. This is the bitter paradox: to maintain moral and strategic legitimacy in the eyes of its allies, Israel must act against its own operational interests The decision to implement a daily ten-hour pause in military activity in areas such as Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Do Donald Trump’s fans like South Park or not?

Eric Cartman, the antihero of South Park, is a disgusting bigot who mocks disabled people, demeans women and says hateful things about Jews. When the series debuted in 1997, much of what offended parents, educators and religious groups came out of the mouth of this school-aged Alf Garnett. Later, it was the forces of coercive progressivism who bridled, especially at its derision of the trans creed. Suddenly, the median South Park disapprover was Emily, 30 ans, who worked in HR, actually met a black person once, and renamed her dachshund because ‘Dumbledore’ made her feel complicit in JK Rowling’s gendercide. Now the series is displeasing MAGA groupies after its 27th

Elvira Bary

Russians worry what happens when the soldiers come home

Let’s imagine, for a moment, that Vladimir Putin actually respects Trump’s 50-day ultimatum to stop the war in Ukraine. We know what this will spell for millions of Ukrainians. It will mean a chance, among other things, for the ferocious nightly bombings to end and for the country itself to draw breath. But ask yourself this: what happens when over half-a-million Russian troops finally come home? What happens when over half-a-million Russian troops finally come home? To make predictions, you first need to know exactly who these soldiers are and where Russia found them. Throughout the war, Putin has avoided, as far as possible, recruiting in St Petersburg and Moscow

Monday

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

What should we make of Trump’s trip to the UK?

Donald Trump is in Scotland, holding court at Turnberry. He’s welcomed Sir Keir and Lady Victoria Starmer to his golf course, and had a long discussion with reporters at a wide ranging press conference, that covered Russia, Gaza, and his long running feud with London mayor Sadiq Khan. To unpack it all, Freddy is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, and deputy US editor Kate Andrews.

Jonathan Sacerdoti

The leaked email that blows apart the BBC’s impartiality claims over Gaza

A leaked internal email from a BBC executive editor reveals that the Corporation has issued prescriptive instructions to staff on how to cover the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The memo, titled ‘Covering the food crisis in Gaza’, amounts to a top-down editorial diktat that discards impartiality, elevates one side of a deeply contested narrative, and imposes a specific anti-Israel legal-political framing as settled fact. The existence of this email is a telling sign of how the Corporation works to ensure its journalists stick to its own ideological angles. This latest leaked BBC email suggests it is failing in its duty The email, which was sent to BBC staff on Friday, begins

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Starmer’s disingenuousness on free speech won’t fool Trump

It’s often the rotator blades of Marine One that blare over Donald Trump’s voice as he stands near the helipad on the south lawn of the White House. In Turnberry, in Scotland, it was bagpipes. Trump, playing host to the Prime Minister, performed his now familiar ingratiation ritual as he welcomed Sir Keir and Lady Victoria Starmer to his golf course. ‘Our relationship is unparalleled,’ he said, above the din. He flattered the PM’s wife and even suggested, in his delightful nonsensical way, that she is a well-known figure all over the United States. Finally, the bagpiping stopped and the world could hear as Trump and the reporters rattled through the

James Tidmarsh

Why France is cracking down on topless tourists

Police have been sent out to patrol France’s seaside promenades. Not to chase hardened criminals – but to look for bare-chested tourists. From Les Sables-d’Olonne to Cassis, and in a growing number of coastal towns, local authorities are introducing by-laws banning shirtless men from wandering around in public. The fines are €150 if you’re caught walking from the beach to the bakery in swim shorts and flip-flops, but no shirt. Uniformed gendarmes have been instructed to enforce the rules. Posters have gone up at beaches. Police are stopping tourists, handing out tickets and giving lectures. The summer’s great threat to republican order, it seems, is the male torso. It’s easier to

Sunday

Charlie Griffin

Falling victim to a hate crime taught me a dark lesson about Europe

As a Brit, and in spite of a little Brexaustion, I hold a certain romanticised view of central Europe. I know I am not alone. It is, I am sure, a place of high culture, animated coffee shop conversations, and romantic walks through cobbled streets. The sun is always warm, and life plays out at a more relaxed pace than here in Britain – as three flags flying in Brussels’ Grand Place confirmed for me, it is a place to ‘love’, ‘live’, and ‘unite’. As they muscled towards us, in mixed Islamic dress, liberally spitting at our feet, we struggled to respond With a weekend to kill in Brussels, I

Catherine Ellis

How Trump helped Venezuela’s Maduro bounce back

For someone widely believed to have lost a presidential election just a year ago, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro is looking remarkably defiant – and still firmly in power. Maduro has just pulled off another patriotic spectacle – a choreographed homecoming of Venezuelan migrants with flags, cameras, and emotional reunions. This followed a deal with the Donald Trump administration that secured the return of 252 Venezuelans from CECOT, El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison. Trump has breathed fresh political oxygen into a regime many thought was on the brink Maduro cast himself as a protector, bringing his people home from what he called ‘concentration camps,’ with the regime launching an investigation into alleged abuses. For

Saturday

Mat Whatley

Why Zelensky reversed his anti-corruption overhaul

On Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a law to gut Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies. On Thursday he backtracked, and said he would put forward new legislation to restore their independence. The original legislation would have stripped both the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) of their independence, bringing them under direct executive control. The official reason for the legislation was to cleanse Ukraine’s investigative bodies of Russian influence. A spy, apparently, was suspected in their ranks. But treason has become the calling card for the consolidation of power in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Petro Poroshenko – President Zelensky’s main declared challenger in the next election – was sanctioned for

Friday

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

The problems with a state of Palestine

France intends to recognise a state of Palestine at the United Nations, which I’m sure will be followed by UK recognition of the same. We can be sure of this because the UK does not have an independent foreign policy when it comes to the Middle East. Inside or outside of the European Union, London’s stance on Israel and the Palestinians has become indistinguishable from the position of the European Commission. The European Commission simps for the Palestinians and Britain simps for the European Commission. I take the somewhat contentious view that Britain should simp for itself, which is why in my occasional (read: incessant) Coffee House posts recommending, beseeching,

James Heale James Heale

Will Starmer recognise a Palestinian state?

Keir Starmer is facing mounting international and domestic pressure to formally recognise a Palestinian state. Dozens of MPs are expected to publish a cross-party letter this afternoon, urging Starmer to follow the lead of Emmanuel Macron. The French president last night declared that his country will formally recognise a Palestinian state when the UN General Assembly meets in New York this September. A report this morning by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has also called for immediate recognition, a position that would put the UK at odds with the US. Labour’s manifesto contains a commitment to recognise a Palestinian sovereignty. But the lack of a timeline has irritated parts of