Politics

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion against the Russian military and political leadership may have stopped some 200 km short of Moscow, but its reverberations will be felt in the Kremlin for a long time. The  march, and the images of people in Rostov cheering Wagner fighters and hissing at the police, was a rare and unwelcome insight into what Russian politics could look like after Putin is gone.  Those who greeted the Wagnerites with baked goods and refreshments suggested that the fighters were ordinary folk like us, from the ‘narod’ (people). This speaks to Prigozhin’s perceived authenticity in Russia – an attribute in short supply in Russian politics generally – and also to the deliberate detachment

A common stereotype about Germans is that they love to complain – and there is certainly a kernel of truth to that. Grumbling is part and parcel of everyday German life, often with complete strangers. But on my recent trips to Germany, I felt that general expressions of dissatisfaction have acquired a new sharpness. Whole communities seem angry and disillusioned with the status quo.   More and more Germans seem to have turned their backs on mainstream politics. According to a survey released last week, the ruling coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Liberals (FDP) would now only accrue 38 per cent of the vote. Meanwhile, the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD)

Civil war broke on Russia like a thunderstorm, replacing weeks of mounting political heat with a deluge of fire and fury. The sound of rifles and mortars echoed around Rostov-on-Don hours after mercenaries of the Wagner private military company took over the headquarters of the Russian Army’s Southern command. Wagner troops were filmed placing anti-tank mines on intersections in downtown Rostov. In Voronezh, Russian army KA-52 attack helicopters rocketed a tank park, apparently to stop the armoured vehicles falling into the hands of the rebels, as a burning oil refinery outside Rostov sent flames hundreds of feet into the air. A column of Wagner tanks on low-loaders was filmed heading

British rule over South Africa ended in 1910, but now parliament is busy with legislation that could have a devastating effect on its old colony. A landmark law to ban trophy hunting imports is making its way through the Lords. The Hunting Trophies Bill would prevent tourists importing animal skins, severed heads and carcasses of certain animals to the UK after shoots abroad. But the planned law has holes wide enough for a hippo to walk through. The crackdown may be well intended but it also betrays a lack of understanding about South Africa – and the trade many people, not least farmers, rely upon to survive. In South Africa, many farmers

It’s finally here. The SNP independence convention has been in the works for quite some time – it was initially supposed to be Nicola Sturgeon’s de facto referendum conference – so you’d think that its execution would be slick, its planning well organised. Think again. It will come of no surprise to readers, Mr S is sure, that there is little about this conference that has been ‘slick’ or ‘well organised’. The decision to keep Indyref superfans waiting outside until the (very late) start meant that anti-separatist protestors had time to set up shop on the steps of Dundee’s Caird Hall. A suitably Scottish brawl broke out between those from