If JD Vance’s thuggish speech to last year’s Munich Security Conference, directed at the solar plexus of Europe, marked the moment when a transatlantic breakup started, this weekend’s conference, in a rainy and cold Bavaria, was where the debate about the terms of the divorce settlement got under way. Marco Rubio, the chosen Washington representative … Read more
We write today not merely as the military leaders of two of Europe’s largest military spenders, but as voices for a Europe that must now confront uncomfortable truths about its security. Through the early years of our careers, Europe was emerging from the shadow of the cold war. Governments of all political colours chose to … Read more
After 16 years of uninterrupted power, Viktor Orbán is facing his biggest electoral challenge. For years Hungary’s prime minister has spun weak policy performance as success. The rise of a rival, Péter Magyar, and the opposition Tisza party has exposed the limits of that strategy. The economy is stagnating, despite repeated promises of a long-awaited … Read more
Dual British nationals have been warned they may be denied boarding a flight, ferry or train to the UK after 25 February unless they carry a valid British passport. The warning by the Home Office comes amid scores of complaints from British people living or travelling abroad who have suddenly found themselves at risk of … Read more
Starmer condemns Reform UK’s ‘racist rhetoric’ Yesterday the Labour party accused Nigel Farage of tolerating “flagrant racism” in Reform UK after Sarah Pochin claimed that she was right to complain about the number of black and Asian people in TV adverts. Keir Starmer has now made the same point in his own words. Commenting on … Read more
Tropical Cyclone Mitchell hit the coast of Western Australia last week. It initially developed as a weak tropical low over the Northern Territory in early February, then tracked eastwards over Western Australia’s Kimberley region and eventually reached the Indian Ocean. Fuelled by warm waters, Mitchell intensified into a tropical cyclone and moved south-west, hugging the … Read more
On a bad day, Milan can feel less like a city than an open-air shopping mall. Since winning the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2019, the urban landscape has been flattened into construction dust and swamped in corporate messaging. What started as a logo on a tram has gradually evolved into a feverish, … Read more
Rachel Reeves has insisted Labour can win the political argument for a closer relationship with the EU, calling it the “biggest prize” for UK economic growth. Some Labour strategists have been wary of making the case for stronger alignment with the EU, believing it could alienate pro-Brexit voters. But Reeves said on Wednesday: “I am … Read more
The backlash against Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments about immigrants to the UK “costing too much” for the state comes at an awkward time for his loss-making Ineos business. The billionaire industrialist’s sprawling empire, which ranges from chemicals to car making, has sought government financial support worth hundreds of millions of pounds and is lobbying for … Read more
In 2016, the French luxury fashion house Hermès decided to pull an item it had donated to a charity auction after it appeared to have been bought by Jeffrey Epstein. In an email made public in this month’s tranche of Epstein files, Epstein’s assistant says someone at the auction platform had relayed to them that … Read more