World

Wednesday

Simon Diggins

China’s parade spells trouble for Taiwan

The massive military parade in Beijing today definitively marks the end of the post-World War Two era. Nominally, the 80th Anniversary of China’s victory in ‘The War against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War’, it has been used by China’s president Xi to, in the words of Reuters, ‘…demonstrate Xi’s influence over nations intent on reshaping the Western-led global order’ – an order that began with the end of World War Two. Sharing the podium with Xi – but not invited to review the parade – were presidents Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-un of North Korea. Their client status to China is also clear: without China’s financial and industrial support, Putin

Ian Williams Ian Williams

What China’s show of force means for the new world order

Today’s vast military parade in Beijing is the climax of three days of political theatre orchestrated by President Xi Jinping, with supporting roles played by those pantomime villains Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. The smirking North Korean and Russian dictators joined Xi to witness the People’s Liberation Army’s goose-stepping soldiers and shiny weaponry rumbling through Tiananmen Square. ‘Today, humanity is again faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum,’  Xi told the crowd of some 50,000 carefully selected spectators (which roughly matched the number of soldiers). He said the Chinese people ‘firmly stand on the right side of history’. Xi warned that China was

Jim Lawley

Spain’s wildfires have exposed the inadequacy of its politicians

Since early August, Spain has been reeling from its worst forest fires in decades. Exact estimates vary but so far more than 360,000 hectares – an area the size of Mallorca – have been destroyed in dozens of blazes. The flames have forced the evacuation of thousands of villagers, wiped out tens of thousands of hectares of farmland and killed at least four people. The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, a major source of tourist revenue, has been partly closed and the high-speed rail link between Madrid and the north-west was suspended for seven days. The financial cost is expected to run to hundreds of millions of euros. The forests may

Lee Cohen

Americans like me are troubled by Britain’s free speech crackdown

For much of my career, beginning as a foreign policy adviser to the United States Congress, I have proudly stood as one of America’s strongest advocates for Britain. I have defended her history, her institutions and her role as the original home of liberty. I have championed the UK in forums throughout the US and in publications across the globe, reminding audiences that our shared values of liberty and democracy, bequeathed by our mother, England, form the bedrock of transatlantic strength. Today, for the first time, I find Britain indefensible. The affection and historical respect remains. The confidence is gone. For those of us who have long defended Britain, it is heartbreaking Britain now prosecutes her own citizens,

Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

How the West infantilises Palestinians

Belgium will become the latest western country to recognise a Palestinian state. Its foreign minister Maxime Prevot cited ‘the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law’ and Belgium’s obligation to ‘prevent any risk of genocide’. He maintained his government was not ‘sanctioning the Israeli people’ but ‘ensuring that their government respects international and humanitarian law’. Belgium, he added, was ‘taking action to try to change the situation on the ground.’ The Palestinian contribution to this endless war is seldom discussed candidly Palestine is the net zero or gender self-identification of 2025: a cause that gains esteem in intellectual, institutional and cultural circles and becomes policy in countries where

Tuesday

Edward Howell

Kim Jong-un’s alliance with Xi and Putin is growing stronger

When analysing authoritarian states, not least North Korea, most of the time we have to read between the lines. But on other occasions, things are more obvious. Today, China celebrates eighty years since its victory over Japan in the second world war. Xi Jinping has invited Western and non-Western leaders past and present, but all eyes will be on the guest list’s top two invitees: Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. Marking the first multilateral gathering of all three leaders since the Cold War, today’s spectacle aims to send a clear signal to the West. Xi, Putin, and Kim might have their differences in foreign policy priorities, their relations may fluctuate,

Mark Galeotti Mark Galeotti

Why is Putin so happy in China?

The often dour Vladimir Putin is looking very cheery in China, which has just hosted the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin to the north, and is preparing for a grand parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Beijing tomorrow. Xi Jinping is clearly the man of the hour, Vladimir Putin seems to be having a good trip, too While Xi Jinping is clearly the man of the hour, Vladimir Putin seems to be having a good trip, too. Even as his Alaska summit saw him getting the literal red carpet treatment from Donald Trump, this is a chance

Francis Pike

Is Xi Jinping still in charge of China?

China will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the ‘war of resistance against Japanese aggression’ (i.e. what we call VJ day) tomorrow. Given that Japan’s invasion of China started some four years earlier than Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, and cost an estimated 20 to 30 million Chinese lives, this week’s military parade is a major milestone. As the People’s Liberation Army Daily newspaper has explained: One of the highlights is a grand military parade at Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square themed on commemorating the great victory and promoting the enduring spirit of the War of Resistance. Not surprisingly, China is pushing the boat out in terms of

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Keir Starmer must not ban Eric Zemmour from Britain

Eric Zemmour will be in London on 13 September at the invitation of Tommy Robinson. In a message posted on X, the leader of France’s Reconquest Party said he will ‘stand alongside the hundreds of thousands of Britons demonstrating against the submergence of our countries.’ Zemmour is an advocate of the ‘Great Replacement’ theory Robinson is the organiser of what is being billed as a ‘Free Speech Festival’ in central London. It aims to bring together three movements: UTK (Unite the Kingdom), MEGA (Make Europe Great Again) and MAGA (Make America Great Again). Various left-wing groups, among them Socialist Worker and Stand Up to Racism, are encouraging their members to

Monday

Jonathan Sacerdoti

Hamas will struggle to recover from the elimination of Abu Ubaida

Despite its extraordinary discipline and repeated battlefield successes over the past two years, Israel has been judged in many quarters to have failed in one vital domain: the war of information. While Israel has neutralised enemy commanders, destroyed arsenals, and advanced through hostile territory, it has consistently been outflanked in the propaganda theatre, leading armchair generals to declare that no amount of military action can kill “an idea”. The elimination of Abu Ubaida shows that Israel constantly adapts Hamas and its allies have skilfully harnessed imagery, narrative, and the symbols of victimhood to mobilise global opinion, especially in the West. Yet in recent weeks, there has been a discernible shift.

Joe Harrison

Britain’s Macron moment – and why we should be worried about it

When French president Emmanuel Macron stormed to power in 2017, his ability to respond to the weakness of France’s mainstream parties, capture a large centrist majority and defeat the populist right seemed to offer a model of hope for liberal internationalists everywhere. Yet despite the president’s undeniable talents as a political communicator, the fate of his administration illustrates the desperate futility of any politicians left clinging to the centrist dream. To the chagrin of countless podcasters and centrist dads, the UK has so far escaped the problems of a Macron-style revolution Between 2017 and 2025, Macron’s centrist revolution has steadily unravelled. His approval ratings have fallen from 64 per cent

Sunday

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Angela Merkel unleashed chaos on Europe

A decade ago today, on 31 August 2015, Angela Merkel made the unilateral decision to open Europe’s borders. The rallying cry of the German Chancellor has gone down in history: ‘Wir schaffen das’ – ‘We can do this’. If we can’t, she added, ‘if Europe fails on the question of refugees, then it won’t be the Europe we wished for’. Merkel was motivated by conflict in the Middle East, notably in Syria and Iraq, but her invitation to seek refuge in Europe was seized on by many others. Of the estimated 1.3 million people who flooded into Europe in 2015, there were vast numbers of Afghans, Pakistanis, Iraqis, Nigerians, Moroccans, Algerians and

Phillips O'Brien

America needs its allies

There are ‘great powers’ and other powers. This is a truism of international relations thinking for those who espouse a ‘realist’ point of view. And for them, being a great power gives a state enormous advantages. Russia, for instance, was widely called a ‘great’ power before its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 while Ukraine decidedly was not. The results of that analysis were predictable. It was widely stated that Great Power Russia, led by strategic genius Vladimir Putin, was going to steamroller weaker Ukraine in a matter of days. After all, great powers were the alpha males of the international relations world, able to bully lesser powers

Friday

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Do mass shootings begin online?

32 min listen

Freddy Gray is joined by writer and internet ethnographer Katherine Dee. She’s written about the Minneapolis school shooting and Robin Westman for Spectator World. Two children were killed and 17 others injured by a killer with a bizarre online footprint: a mix of memes, nihilism, politics and gore references. Katharine argues ‘these shooters are radicalised, but in no particular direction. Their identities fragment. There is a deep fear of being forgotten.’

John Keiger John Keiger

A dual crisis is looming for France

Financial crises are often linked to a political crisis. On 8 September, the French government will submit itself to a vote of confidence – which, by all accounts, it will lose. At issue is France’s parlous financial state, which a minority French government seeks to address. This week, French 30-year bond yields reached levels unseen since the Greek debt crisis in 2011, while the 10-year yield has surpassed present-day Greece’s.  France’s economy minister was quick to warn that France’s lamentable financial position could leave it facing an IMF bailout. This was intended to frighten MPs ahead of the vote rather than reflect reality. Greece was borrowing at near 30 per

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Was the Minneapolis shooting an anti-Catholic hate crime?

‘Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,’ said Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, standing near the scene of yesterday’s Catholic school shooting in his city. ‘These kids were literally praying.’ I think he was trying to say, ‘This is no time for empty platitudes’ – or something similar. The words sounded horribly glib, though. Of course, the killing of children distresses all good people, and Mayor Frey should be forgiven for an emotional outburst. There is something telling, however, about his kneejerk hostility towards the natural religious response to horror; his instinctive rage against the idea of a God who lets evil happen. We are witnessing a

James Tidmarsh

The folly of blaming boomers for France’s financial crisis

Ministers are packing up their offices. Emmanuel Macron’s government, desperate to shift the narrative and rally support ahead of its confidence vote on 8 September, is now blaming baby boomers for the financial crisis. Prime minister Bayrou is reframing the crisis as the result of decades of policies favouring older voters: generous pensions, protected benefits, early retirement – all funded at enormous cost to younger generations. Bayrou is desperate to shift attention away from his government on the brink and onto a generational blame game for France’s slowing, debt-burdened economy In an appearance on TF1’s main news bulletin on Wednesday night, Bayrou accused the post-war generation of driving the country

Thursday

Mark Galeotti Mark Galeotti

Why has Putin gone after the British Council in Kyiv?

Is Moscow targeting European institutions in Kyiv in the hope of ‘sabotaging peace’ as Keir Starmer has claimed? Putin probably thinks he’s actually doing the opposite. Last night saw another massive attack on Ukraine: 31 missiles and 629 drones, of which five and 66 got through the country’s air defences, respectively. Many hit Kyiv, where 15 civilians were reportedly killed, including four children. However, particular diplomatic furore has been generated by the two missiles which, at 5:40 a.m., hit a block on Zhylyanska Street, south-west of the centre. This block, stretching across the adjacent Korolenkivska Street, houses both the British Council offices and also the European Union delegation offices. Both

Jonathan Spyer

Iran may be down, but it’s not out

The sirens began at about 5 am. A Houthi ballistic missile was on its way, over Jerusalem, in the direction of the coastal plain. After half a minute or so, I began to hear the familiar sound of doors scraping and muffled voices, as people made their way to the shelter.   It has become a regular occurrence. No one makes much of a fuss anymore. For most Israelis, most of the last 70 years, Yemen was a remote country on the other edge of the Middle East, the part facing the Indian Ocean, rather than the Mediterranean. What was known about it consisted of a few items of food

Damian Thompson Damian Thompson

Which are the ‘Twelve Churches’ that made Christianity?

40 min listen

What links the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and St Peter’s in Rome with the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and Canaanland in Ota, Nigeria? These are just some of the churches that Anglican priest and writer the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie highlights in his new book Twelve Churches: An Unlikely History of the Buildings that made Christianity. The Anglican priest and writer joins Damian Thompson on Holy Smoke to explain how each Church not only tells a story but also raises a surprising dilemma for modern believers. Fergus aims to tell the history of the Churches ‘warts and all’ and argues that, from Turkey to Britain, today’s Christians