All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
Vladimir Putin’s decision to call up reservists is a sign of Russia’s desperation. It is also unlikely to do anything to address the real problem facing the country’s military: the woeful way in which its troops are organised. ‘No plan of operations,’ wrote Moltke the Elder in 1871, ‘extends with any certainty beyond the first
What does it mean to be an A-list Hollywood power couple? Celebrity, yes, but also respect. Look at George and Amal Clooney, a high-powered heartthrob and his equally high-powered human-rights-lawyer wife. Or look at Beyoncé and Jay-Z, hip-hop royalty and dedicated philanthropists. You and your partner can buy a mansion in the right zip code,
A wave of protest is sweeping across Iran. Sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who allegedly contravened oppressive and arbitrary laws on veils, demonstrators are taking to the streets in towns and cities across the country. Ever since Ebrahim Raisi became president last summer in a widely derided Potemkin
Putin has met the latest stirrings of dissent against his regime with force. More than 1,300 Russians have been arrested this evening at protests against forced mobilisation. While it’s not known how many exactly have taken to the streets, protests on this scale have not been seen in the country since Putin invaded Ukraine seven
In the end, it could have been worse. The Federal Reserve might have followed Sweden’s lead, with a whole one point rise in interest rates, or it could have even decided to short-circuit the whole process and go straight for a 1.5 per cent increase. Instead, it opted for the safer course, imposing a 0.75
Big spending announcements tend to come alongside big press conferences. During the pandemic years, furlough announcements, extensions and business support were delivered in front of a podium, with rough figures usually attached to each policy. It was the same for the energy crisis, at the start. But as the costs of the support schemes rose,
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Vladimir Putin warned the West that, if pushed, Russia would use a nuclear weapon. How seriously should we take his threat? And reports emerged overnight that Liz Truss will cut stamp duty to increase demand for housing. But will that help more people get onto the housing ladder? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and
The images coming out of Iran are remarkable. Women are ripping off their hijabs and burning them in public. They’re dancing in the streets and shaking their freed hair as onlookers whoop and cheer. These are stunning acts of defiance in a theocratic state in which women are expected to mildly, meekly accept their status
Oxford’s Faculty of Oriental Studies has had a name change: it will now be known as the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. University bigwigs opted to drop the word ‘oriental’ over fears that it might be too outdated and potentially offensive. This is a small-minded attack on a great and important subject. It’s also a distraction from
Can this really be happening? Sadly, the answer is yes. President Putin has just reiterated his threat to use nuclear weapons and announced that Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory will become part of the Russian Federation. Is nuclear weapon use likely or certain? No, not by any means, and we should speak with a sense of proportion
After a weekend of violent clashes between Muslim and Hindu men, things seemed to have calmed down in Leicester. A total of 47 arrests have been made since the trouble started at the end of August, according to Leicestershire Police. One man has been sentenced to ten months in jail for his part in the
After a brief hiatus during the course of the country’s morning period, it appears that the British broadcasters are back to doing what they know best: namely, trying to catch out politicians. Mr S wonders though if some of them may need a bit better material. This week the new Secretary of State for Digital,
Do the president’s words matter or not? This should be a very simple question, yet as we’ve seen with Joe Biden, on the rare occasion he gives an interview to someone other than the White House Easter Bunny, nothing is ever so simple. Every Biden sit-down seems to raise more questions than answers. On Sunday,
The ‘rabbit out of the hat’ in Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget this Friday is likely to be a cut in stamp duty on property purchases. If so, it will be a popular and wise decision. Not only might it help generate extra activity in a housing market which looks like flagging as interest rates bite
Vladimir Putin’s latest escalation over Ukraine not only demonstrates that even he doesn’t think he’s winning the war but what happens when a leader knows he has to do ‘something’ but doesn’t quite know what. Momentum was, after all, no longer on his side. He seems to have hoped that over a hard winter, either
Vladimir Putin has announced the partial mobilisation of the Russian armed forces. In a pre-recorded address delayed from last night, the Russian president declared that all reservists would be called up for service in Ukraine. Nuclear war, he stressed, was not off the table. In tones bordering on the hysterical, Putin declared that Nato leaders
It’s not been an easy time for Zarah Sultana, the Labour party firebrand cum TikTok influencer. Not only was the MP reduced to tears last year after the departure of her sainted Jeremy Corbyn, but she now faces a desperate struggle to hold on to her Coventry seat as well, which she won by a
While most attention has focused on Vladimir Putin’s repetition of nuclear threats in his speech this morning, the takeaway in Ukraine is different: conscription has begun. This is deeply controversial in Russia given the war’s high mortality rate, but after the rout in the Kharkiv region Putin is running out of options. After his speech,
Politics is about priorities: what do we consider to be important? I worry that Britain doesn’t attach enough importance to children and their education. As the first lockdown eased in the summer of 2020, I was unhappy that pubs reopened before schools. I thought that said something about our priorities as a nation An interview
Modern Russia is a propaganda state, but not in the same way as the Soviet Union. The Kremlin has squeezed out any independent media, but all the same, the coverage of the Queen’s funeral demonstrated how this is a post-modern propaganda state, in which competing ‘narrative entrepreneurs’ try to make their mark and please the
Has Vladimir Putin carried out a cynical stunt, or ducked out of a seismic decision? That’s the debate among Kremlinologists tonight, as the Russian President failed to show up for a planned 8 p.m. address to the Russian people. Faced with catastrophic losses of territory in north-east Ukraine, a weaker Putin has been considering his
Liz Truss is ready to be unpopular. Or at least that is what the new Prime Minister is keen to suggest. On a media round from New York – where she is attending her first international summit since entering No. 10 – she told the BBC’s Chris Mason: If that means taking difficult decisions which are going
The government will announce tomorrow that it will cover the costs of more than £1 in every £3 of gas consumed by businesses and households over the next six months. There has been no subsidy of a market price on this scale in British history. Estimates of the final bill for taxpayers range from £100 billion
Authorities in the Russian-occupied Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine have announced that both would hold referendums on formally joining the Russian Federation this coming weekend. Although the breakaway states of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republic (LPR and DPR respectively) have been controlled by Putin-loyal separatists, they have technically remained semi-autonomous. Similar announcements about a
It was only a few weeks ago that Liz Truss was talking about holding an ‘emergency’ fiscal event towards the end of September, mainly to address rising energy bills and how the government would support people through the winter. This targeted approach helped to justify the speed at which her new government would announce some major
Today, Europe needs nothing more than a strong Polish leadership. Poland already counts among the largest providers of military and financial assistance to Ukraine, and Poles have admirably shouldered the burden of Ukrainian refugees flowing into the country. Diplomatically, however, Warsaw punches well below its weight in the EU. That is a problem in an
If a country’s greatness can be measured by its enemies, Britain can set fears of national decline aside: we’re still doing pretty damn well. Now that the Queen’s funeral has taken place, the dignitaries have been despatched, and the corgis are in good hands, it seems like the right time to take stock. Most of
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Liz Truss is in New York today on her first foreign visit as prime minister. On the flight across the Atlantic, Truss said that a trade deal with the United States was unlikely in the ‘short to medium term’. Why has the PM, who was so vocal about a free trade agreement with the US
While Emmanuel Macron spent Sunday in London honouring the memory of the late Queen Elizabeth, Marine Le Pen marked her return from a summer break with an address to the party faithful in the south of France. Buoyed by the success of the Swedish right in last week’s election, and anticipating a similar result on
Spare a thought for New Zealand’s Victoria university. For years now, this Kiwi institution of higher learning has been pulling out all the stops to rid itself of its monarchial name. The events of recent weeks have made its mission much more difficult. Victoria marks its 125th anniversary this December. Few things are likely to
There’ll be corks popping in Horseferry Road tonight. Following the Queen’s funeral yesterday, normal politics has now resumed with gusto. Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan was duly wheeled out on Sky this morning, where she revealed that the government is now ‘reexamining the business case’ over the privatisation of Channel 4. It comes after extensive lobbying
Leicester is sometimes held up as a success story in multicultural Britain. The city is a melting pot where people of all creeds and colours live side-by-side. However, recent events have tarnished that reputation. Over the weekend, once again there were violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims in the east of the city. Leicestershire Police announced
Farewell to the UK/US trade deal. That’s the news from Liz Truss’s trip to the UN assembly in New York. The Prime Minister has told hacks on the flight over that the UK will not strike an agreement with America for many years. The former international trade secretary suggested that talks were unlikely to even