World

As Venezuela continues its descent into economic ruin and poverty, it’s becoming harder and harder for left-wing supporters of the embattled president Nicolas Maduro to continue defending his socialist regime. That hasn’t stopped some from trying though. Last night, the former mayor of London Ken Livingstone was on the BBC’s late night show to do just that. Red Ken’s argument was that it wasn’t so much disastrous socialist policies which had led to Venezuela’s collapse, as much as pesky American economic interference. But his argument rather fell apart when he was asked by Andrew Neil if he could name a single American sanction on the Latin American country which could

The world is a better place for China’s emergence from behind the bamboo curtain where it hid for half a century. Economic and market reforms have led to the greatest reduction of poverty in world history. For some western manufacturers, competition from low-cost China has sometimes proved fatal, yet the overall economic effect has been beneficial, helping to deliver years of global growth without the inflation which once acted quickly to snuff out the boom times. All this arouses a protectionist backlash, especially in America, but the American case against Huawei, the largest Chinese tech company, shows how many of these concerns are well-grounded. It demonstrates what ought not to

In France, discontent has been brewing for years. Emmanuel Macron managed to set it alight by embarking on a series of reforms that sparked the gilet jaunes movement. In Europe it has been brewing too, and now Macron seems to be repeating the trick. Here the antipathy is from populist governments opposed to his ideas, not only on a future Europe but also his lesson-giving in how those countries should govern themselves. International politics are following a similar pattern to national politics. Macron sweeps onto the international stage with new ideas for reforming Europe, he accompanies that with acerbic throw-away quips on the competence and morality of particular leaders, they

Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader, as the rightful head of state will have little impact unless the country’s top military brass turns against the socialist dictator, Nicolás Maduro. Sadly, they show little sign of doing that. Guaidó – aged 35 and president of the country’s opposition-controlled National Assembly – had himself sworn in as head of state on Wednesday. Trump formally recognised him minutes later; this was followed in quick succession by Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Panama. Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, joined these calls, saying “the United Kingdom believes Juan Guaidó is the right person to take Venezuela forward.” The EU is calling

The United States has stepped up its rhetoric against Venezuela’s Maduro regime  by declaring Juan Guaidó as interim president – a move which is also backed by Germany, Brazil and Canada. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Caracas to hail Guaidó as the country’s new leader. But is this really the end for Nicolás Maduro, the man who has led his country into economic ruin? Unlike the protests in the capital in 2017 which were brutally quashed before they could spread elsewhere, these demonstrations are gathering pace all across the country. There are now local reports of members of the national army starting to side with the people. Maduro has

So apparently the world is going to end in a few years’ time. Yawn. It’s fair to say that this is a message that has been heard on a regular basis for as long as anyone can remember – traditionally from long-haired gentlemen adorned with sandwich boards, but in recent years more often from (sometimes equally hirsute) climate scientists, environmentalists and green-minded politicians. This week’s message of doom comes from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Congresswoman who is the latest big thing in US Democrat political circles. Ocasio-Cortez is on the green warpath and would like us all to know that ‘the world is gonna end’ in 2030 if we don’t ‘address

Well, it was kind of Sir David Attenborough to grant an interview to Prince William at Davos (by way of compensation for the absence of presidents Macron, Trump and Putin plus the PM) to discuss environmentalism and show a clip from his latest Netflix series, displaying an entire chunk of glacier the size of a skyscraper slipping into the Arctic. He’s a class act, Sir David, and the demeanour of the Prince was altogether respectful, as you’d expect from someone who has called Sir David in the past ‘a national treasure’ and ‘the single most important impact in my conservation thinking’. So, we got some nice recollections from the great

The Royal Navy and US Navy held joint exercises in the South China Sea last week, for the first time since China began building new military bases in those waters. The exercises sent a message to Beijing that it faces an evolving united front of nations committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in some of the world’s most vital waterways. The frigate HMS Argyll joined the USS McCampbell, a guided-missile destroyer, for nearly a week of drills and operations. This comes just a few months after HMS Albion conducted the Royal Navy’s first freedom of navigation operation last August near the contested Paracel Islands, drawing a sharp response from China.

There is a looming risk the Government will soon subscribe to a definition of Islamophobia that will function as a backdoor blasphemy law shielding one religion from valid criticism, even by fellow believers. At worst, the proposed definition of Islamophobia could pave the way to a police state in which none of us can be sure when we might be arrested. Until 28 January, the Home Affairs Committee is calling for evidence on Islamophobia. It is considering the definition proposed recently by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on British Muslims, co-chaired by Anna Soubry and Wes Streeting. It has proposed the following definition: ‘Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is

The war of words between the governments of Italy and France escalated last week, after Italy’s deputy Prime Ministers, Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, gave their support for the gilets jaunes movement against French President Emmanuel Macron. The two sides have repeatedly come to blows over all manner of issues, from immigration to economics, via a whirlwind of thinly veiled insults. But the latest move marks a changing dynamic between the two sides; a once confident and resplendent President Macron now finds himself on the back foot, whilst the Italian leadership, emboldened, have begun to assert themselves across Europe, even to the point of inserting themselves into the affairs

The politicisation of consumer products is one of the weirder developments of recent years. First, Oreos came out in support of gay rights. Then Nike extolled us to ‘believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything’, in its multimillion-dollar campaign with controversial former NFL star Colin Kaepernick. Now Gillette has launched a new advert calling on men to be ‘the best men can be’ and shed the nefarious habits of ‘toxic masculinity’ in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The two-minute advert-come-public service announcement argues that men, in the words of actor Terry Crews, taken from his testimony on #MeToo in the US congress, should hold one another accountable

Does President Xi’s first address of the new year spell trouble for Taiwan? In a 30 minute speech on Taiwan, Xi used much fiercer language than his predecessors on Taiwan’s reunification. Journalists have reported it as ‘chest-beating’ and ‘threatening’. Phrases like ‘the reunification of Taiwan…is the inevitable requirement of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ and ‘we do not promise to renounce the use of force’ certainly don’t bode well. But the speech is actually interesting for a different reason: it reveals why the Chinese are so obsessed with Taiwan. Many outside China don’t understand why a country of 1.7 billion people with the world’s second largest economy is so obsessed