Society

If you read the first volume of John Romer’s A History of Egypt, which traces events along the Nile from prehistory to the pyramid age, you will understand why he thinks Egyptology is not a science. It is hard, perhaps impossible, to be exact about anything when most of your knowledge is based on deduction and when new discoveries can overturn accepted theories. In the 1,000 years covered in this second volume, starting around 2600 BC, would it be easier for Romer to present facts and express certainty — to be scientific? One of the surprises of the pyramid age, as Romer explains very clearly here, is the lack of

The jig may finally be up for Britain’s non-doms. After years of having it all this beleaguered elite are in the cross hairs. And now they’re going to pay. From the 6 April 2017, non-doms who have lived in Britain for at least 15 out of the past 20 years – the 15/20 Rule – will lose their privileged status. Under the new rules they will be taxed like the rest of us. Previously, for the fortunate few the UK was something of a tax haven. Non-doms could move to Britain while broadly keeping their worldwide assets outside the UK tax net –  indefinitely. However, that is not to say they

Steerpike readers will be familiar with the antics of Ntokozo Qwabe — the Rhodes scholar, who boasted about making a waitress shed ‘white tears’ after he asked her to ‘return the land’. While the Oxford’s Rhodes Must Fall co-founder has since completed his law studies in Britain and returned to South Africa — where he has been interrupting lectures with a large stick — a new Rhodes scholar is on the way. Like Qwabe, Joshua Nott has decided to accept a £40,000 scholarship from the Rhodes Trust despite being actively involved in the Rhodes Must Fall movement, which campaigned to have a statue of Cecil Rhodes — the British mining magnate — removed from

After being been paid a week or two early due to Christmas, and then shelling out on festive gifts and nights on the town, for many of us there’s too much month left at the end of the money. It’s at this time of the year that the overdraft facility from your bank can be a real lifesaver; it might cost a few quid for the privilege but at least you can get on with your life without worrying about not being able to pay the bills. However, not everybody relies on their overdraft on an occasional basis or for a little flexibility now and again to tide them over

I always knew security agencies were missing a trick with the ladies. Currently, less than four in ten workers in MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are female, which isn’t just embarrassing, but bad for national security; because women have the potential to be great spies.  But things are about to change. Since 2015, intelligence services have been on a massive drive to get more women into the ranks, scouting around Mumsnet for older, patriotic would-be agents. GCHQ has even announced a competition to find 13 to 15-year-old girls for the industry, having realised the worth of social-media savvy young girls.  I’m surprised it took the intelligence agencies so long to recognise the

One of the most important jobs in The Spectator is opening up, and we’re looking for a pretty exceptional person to fill it. Peter Robins, our brilliant production editor (read about him here) is off to the New York Times. We’re looking for someone with skill, patience and a love of writing to take his place. When Graham Greene was working at The Spectator, he said the magazine can be described rather simply: it’s the best-written weekly in the English language. As such, we’re one of the few titles to have increased what we invest in sub-editing over the years. The calibre of The Spectator can be seen in the

White to play. This is from Réti-Tartakower, Vienna 1910. Can you spot White’s beautiful tactical coup? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 24 January or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery.   Last week’s solution 1 … Rxf3+ Last week’s winner Alan Dawkins, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire