They had decided to make the gathering at Chatham House on the record. The Chatham House Rule—speak freely, but don’t identify who said what—would not

The Falklands are back in the political spotlight, with the rhetoric running hotter than it has for years. But rhetoric and military reality are two very

Imagine the house. A man has entered it by force and occupied several rooms. Boots. Mud. Broken glass. A smell of stale cigarettes. The owner has fought

It would be wrong to say that Saudi Arabia is turning against the United States. The relationship matters too much for that. In some respects, it may even

Friendships in and around politics are probably far more interesting when the personal trust within them opens up what bureaucracies, parties, even

I was thinking about how, amid all our serious reading and warnings today of imperilled futures—from the renewed prospect of nuclear war to the

The Sudanese Armed Forces are facing serious allegations over the possible use of chemical weapons in Sudan’s war, as former senior OPCW officials warn that

It was one of those hot and sticky British summers that might have been penned by a Liverpudlian Tennessee Williams. Or by Lancashire-born dramatist Jim

Mounting evidence that chemical weapons may have been used in Sudan is raising an increasingly urgent question: not simply what happened, but whether the

Last month, the British Museum gave shiny-faced tech billionaire Peter Thiel a private viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry. This was before the exhibition had

The AfD no longer looks like a protest party rattling the presently spiky gates of German politics. In Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday it won a gothic 43.8 per cent of the vote, more than twice its share five...

The AfD no longer looks like a protest party rattling the presently spiky gates of German politics. In Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday it won a gothic 43.8 per cent of the vote, more than twice its share five...

I was in a low-key New York bar on Seventh Avenue in the mid-80s when I became aware of the steely eyes of American playwright and actor Sam Shepard—who

I was in a low-key New York bar on Seventh Avenue in the mid-80s when I became aware of the steely eyes of American playwright and actor Sam Shepard—who

There is a very real and increasingly noisy meeting point between parts of the American MAGA right, several European far-right parties, and positions which, whatever their motivation, increasingly fav...

Last week, in a fit of blue-suit pique, Donald Trump threw a curveball, reversing his take on ideologically indoctrinated North Korea and flicking signals

It is the latest chapter in a long-running battle with NATO, now including undisguised threats by Moscow to retaliate against British and EU ships

Away from the heat, there must be some winds that wish to cool the earth. Some that carry the scent of wet stone and violet. Some that reach the Welsh

I remember sitting through one discussion in Nairobi where there was broad agreement as to why Sudan had collapsed. By the end, however, there was no consensus on what, if anything, could be done to s...

Few episodes better illustrate the strange politics of today’s Ukraine debate than Laura Loomer’s journey from one of the loudest voices of the

The geography of the crisis seemed widely misunderstood. Ceuta has remained under Portuguese and subsequently Spanish sovereignty since 1415, remaining with Spain after Portugal regained independence ...

The geography of the crisis seemed widely misunderstood. Ceuta has remained under Portuguese and subsequently Spanish sovereignty since 1415, remaining with Spain after Portugal regained independence ...

There was something oddly disorientating about hearing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mention RAF Fairford last week. Fairford is hardly a place

Every generation thinks it’s living through the biggest technological revolution in history. Sometimes it’s wrong. But sometimes it’s absolutely right.

As Keir Starmer left British politics, with the last of the summer light catching his spectacles, I found myself wondering what comes next. Perhaps a pint

"I’m not absolutely certain of my facts, but I rather fancy it’s Shakespeare—or, if not, it’s some equally brainy lad—who says that it’s always just when

Ask what ordinary Iranians think about the recent escalation and you’ll find little reliable information. Even a young Iranian in London may lower their

I am going to have to eat some of my words about the World Cup for this one. Today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you By now, you

As I travelled on the London Tube to meet CounterPunch writer and esteemed art historian Stephen Eisenham, I read journalist Owen Matthews suggesting Putin “lives in a parallel reality, a sealed bubbl...

It took a single sentence in Ken Burns’ documentary series The American Revolution to change the way I thought about the American Revolution. It was a

A family arrives at a camp in Sudan carrying everything they still owned. A few cooking pots. Some blankets. Perhaps a plastic bag of clothes. They expect to stay a few weeks before returning home. In...

One recent early evening, airstrikes hit southern Lebanon. In the hours that followed, videos purportedly showing this circulated on TikTok, Telegram and

You know something is amiss when a World Cup referee is denied entry to the United States while Canada and Mexico appear to present no such obstacles. That is what happened when Somali match official ...

Over the breadth of the ocean and all the way from a noisier Murica, politics in Cuppaland once ran on instantly recognisable machinery. You could hear

You know something is amiss when a World Cup referee is denied entry to the United States while Canada and Mexico appear to present no such obstacles. That is what happened when Somali match official ...

I lie in bed listening to the birds in the trees. Living with a true artist means no art on the bedroom walls, only in the studio. In the background is

I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed hearing Will Self until he reappeared. While I was sorry to learn he had been unwell, I found myself unexpectedly

Many years ago, Eamonn Gearon returned from an epic camel journey across North Africa. He nearly died along the way, surviving in isolation until finally

Where outbreaks become truly dangerous is when healthcare systems start failing. If hospitals lack protective equipment, testing is delayed, contact tracing breaks down, or people avoid treatment cent...

The film operated according to a different logic altogether. Not frivolous, exactly, but curiously unanchored. It was as though the relationship between idea and origin had loosened somehow. Ideas did...