World

Should Sir Kim Darroch resign as British ambassador in the wake of the row with Donald Trump? It is a simple enough question but clearly not for Matt Hancock, who failed to answer it on 17 occasions during an awkward interview with Piers Morgan. Here is how their testy exchange on Good Morning Britain unfolded: Piers Morgan: Should he stay or should he go? Simple question: Jeremy Hunt could answer it. Matt Hancock: Maybe you should listen to my answer…The relationship is much bigger than any one person… PM: So he should go then? MH: I also think it is incredibly important… PM: What is incredibly important is that you

Donald Trump is at it again. Only a few hours after his Twitter outburst last night, the president has taken another pop at the UK’s ambassador in Washington. This time, Trump called Sir Kim Darroch ‘wacky’, ’very stupid’ and a ‘pompous fool’. Trump didn’t stop there though, picking up where he left off yesterday by slating May’s Brexit negotiations – and, of course, recounting how the Prime Minister made a mistake by turning down his Brexit advice. Here is what Trump had to say: Mr S particularly enjoyed the sign off on this latest Trump Twitter blast: It’s good to see that the special relationship is alive and well…

As the Women’s World Cup drew to a close yesterday, the noise around the ground wasn’t just generated by fans celebrating the continued dominance of the United States. The crowd also chanted in support of equal pay and booed FIFA president Gianni Infantino.  Their problem? The lower prize money and pay earned by female players compared to their male counterparts. The prize money for the women’s tournament is £24m ($30m), while the total for the men’s competition last year came to £319m ($400m). So in the face of this seemingly undeniable inequity it seems Megan Rapinoe, captain of the US team, is right to back the chanting. But in fact

If you believe the American and British media, the people of Hong Kong have launched a democratic revolution and are being cruelly repressed. None of this is true, but let’s not let that get in the way of our principles. Western liberals assume that disorder is revolutionary and democratic, and that it tends towards liberal and egalitarian outcomes. These touching assumptions reflect the fading memory of twentieth-century American and British politics, and not the plentiful evidence that democratic revolutions usually tend towards tyranny — which is what happened in Russia in 1917, in Germany shortly afterwards, in Egypt more recently, and, pertinently, in China after 1949. Western liberals also assume

When the tanks were rolling into Tiananmen Square and the Cold War hadn’t yet formally come to an end, it seemed obvious: freedom and democracy were prerequisites for economic success. Yet over the past three decades, China has challenged that notion by creating a model previously unknown to the world: consumer capitalism combined with autocratic government. Under Xi Jinping’s rule, China’s new middle class now enjoys near-western living standards. So long, that is, as it does not question the legitimacy of its leaders. The success of the Chinese model has presented a conundrum for western governments: how to deal with a country that continues to have little regard for human

Of all the gestures calculated to provoke the Chinese government, protesters in Hong Kong chose one particularly bitter insult this week. The old British colonial flag, one quarter of it occupied by a splendid Union Jack, was draped across the furniture of the city’s legislative council as masked, helmeted activists smashed the place up and sprayed slogans demanding freedom. One can see why the average Communist Party cadre might not like the flag very much. Apart from the emblem of an imperialist foreign power, it is adorned by a rather charming coat of arms which shows a lion and a dragon, a crown, a fortress and two trading junks in

Israel Folau is taking Rugby Australia to the Federal Court, after his contract with the national rugby team was terminated in May over an Instagram post which warned that ‘hell awaits’ drunks, homosexuals, atheists and others. Launching the proceedings, Folau said that no Australian of any faith should be fired for practising their religion. Initial court filings revealed that he is seeking up to AUS$10 million in damages for unlawful religious discrimination. The case has already been mired in controversy after Folau attempted to raise AUS$3 million to fund his litigation through a campaign on the GoFundMe website. Many questioned whether it was morally justifiable for the rugby star to ask

It’s starting to feel like Ivanka, the daughter of the US president Donald Trump, can’t quite wait to take over the reins of power from her father, even if she isn’t an elected politician. The businesswoman turned President-whisperer had already raised eyebrows at the Osaka G20 summit this week, when she became the only spouse or family member to join world leaders on stage, for a talk on ‘promoting the place of women at work.’ But it appears that Ivanka’s other attempts to blend in as a potential leader of the free world didn’t go quite as smoothly at the summit. Later in the day, Ivanka was caught on camera

Day 2 of the Democratic presidential debates was a touch feistier than day 1, likely because the heavy hitters shared the same stage. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Kamala Harris, the four top contenders in the large field of 20-something candidates, were all front-and-centre hoping for a breakout moment. The rest of the candidates, including Eric ‘I’m a young guy’ Swalwell and Marianne ‘I have a screw loose’ Williamson, just took up air. As the indisputable front-runner, Joe Biden knew he was going to be the punching bag for everybody else. Biden has been through these high-stakes debates many times in his

Notepads out, pencils in-hand, and water at the ready, a pack of Democratic presidential candidates did battle last night in the first nationally televised debate of the primary. There were no mentions of little hands, no personal insults, and not much entertainment (Donald Trump after all wasn’t part of the show), but there were plenty of generalities, talking points, and soliloquies. The two-hour debate was quite frankly a boring affair, with the more low-profile, desperate candidates trying to get the attention of the moderators like an elementary school student tries to impress the teacher. There was Elizabeth Warren at centre stage, the professor with a plan for every single problem

After one of the most difficult missions ever undertaken in the Himalayas, Indian mountaineers have now finally been able to reach a team of climbers on Mt Nanda Devi who went missing last month. As of writing, they have recovered the bodies of almost all of the eight climbers, four of them British, who were caught in an avalanche on its slopes, bringing to a close another tragic chapter in the mountain’s history. To most people, Nanda Devi is just another peak in the Himalayas and might as well be anonymous. But once it was a name to conjure with. At 25,640 feet, it was the highest mountain in the British

Joe Biden may have the nickname ‘Middle-Class Joe’ but in truth, the former vice president is a career politician. He was elected to the Senate in 1972 at the ripe age of 29 and kept his seat for 36 years until he decided to gamble on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign by joining his ticket. With eight years as VP experience under his belt, Biden wants the top job for himself more than ever (he previously ran for president in 1988 and 2008, but both of his campaigns quickly floundered). Typically, career politicians are like robots. They read the talking points their staffers write, stick to the teleprompter during speeches, and