Our daughter is very much on board with the idea that, unlike her, many other five-year-olds don’t have two fathers and a mum. “Only has one dad,” she’ll remark in a confidential tone of a newly made friend at the trampoline park or the swimming pool. My husband and I live in Amsterdam, a short … Read more
A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station at 1:35 a.m. Eastern time, paving the way for Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — two NASA astronauts who have remained in space for months longer than planned — to finally return home. The Crew-10 mission, an international team of four astronauts from the U.S., … Read more
In 2018 a former deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank predicted that by 2025 the country would probably be cashless. Seven years on, that prediction has turned out to be pretty much true. Just one in 10 purchases are made with cash, and card is the most common form of payment, followed by the Swedish … Read more
As the president of the US provokes trade and economic chaos at home and abroad, an American tells a British friend of mine: “At least your political system removed Truss; we are landed with Trump for four years.” Unfortunately, when it comes to the worldwide damage being wreaked by Trump and his cronies, the “we” applies … Read more
Four astronauts will have to wait at least until Friday to head the International Space Station. This otherwise routine rotation of crew on the space station is garnering extra attention because it will at last allow the return to Earth of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, two NASA astronauts whose brief scheduled visit to the … Read more
March 14: This event has concluded and you can see photos and video from the lunar eclipse here. From Thursday night into Friday morning, Earth’s shadow will swallow the moon, transforming the usually pearly orb into a striking red sphere. It’s the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years. Also known as a … Read more
If Robert K Merton, the founding father of American sociology, were alive today, he’d be fascinated by the Donald Trump phenomenon. Scarcely more than 50 days into his second presidential term, hapless Trump provides daily proofs of Merton’s universal “law of unintended consequences”. Rooted in ignorance, error, wilful blindness and self-defeating prediction, Trump’s rash actions … Read more
In diplomacy, focus is often on where we disagree. But Britain and our partners are stronger when we stand together. Last week’s G7 meeting made that clear. We arrived in Canada with real momentum. Our Ukrainian and American friends deserve a lot of credit for the breakthrough at Jeddah – with British diplomacy, from the … Read more
On paper, everyone is in agreement: Donald Trump says he wants a ceasefire; Kyiv’s negotiating team has already agreed to a 30-day ceasefire proposal at marathon talks with the Americans in Jeddah; and Vladimir Putin says he accepts the idea, albeit with a few “nuances”. But Putin’s so-called nuances are bigger than mere wrinkles, and … Read more
From the streets of Belgrade, the cracks in President Aleksandar Vučić’s near-decade-long authoritarian grip on power have become impossible to ignore. After more than four months of largely peaceful student-led protests, frustration with the regime appears to have reached breaking point. The country is gearing up for a massive anti-government protest today, as thousands of … Read more