US launches retaliatory air strikes in Iraq and Syria
Plus: Soros staffers unionize — and immediately get laid off
The Spectator
Friday
Thursday
Letters: is the Scottish ‘McMafia’ model still better than Westminster?
From our UK edition
Scot free Sir: In last week’s piece on the SNP, Fraser Nelson was critical of the Covid scenario in which ‘civil servants were enlisted in the SNP secret state’ (‘The Covid clan’, 27 January). Fraser makes comparisons with Whitehall but fails to ask the obvious question: is the Scottish model preferable, where the civil service
Which ministers have complained publicly about their own poverty?
From our UK edition
On their uppers The former science minister George Freeman claimed that he resigned from the government last year because he couldn’t afford his mortgage repayments – which had risen from £800 to £2,000 a month – on his ministerial salary of £118,000. – There is a precedent for a minister complaining publicly about his own poverty.
2636: Happy Ever After – solution
From our UK edition
The twelve unclued lights form three quartets, each of which comprises two words that follow and two which precede one of the three words of the puzzle’s title: HAPPY [TRIGGER, WALKING, MEDIUM and ENDING]; EVER [HARDLY, CANTIL (thus reading ‘cantilever’), SINCE and GREEN]; and AFTER [SHAVE and TASTE, LOOK and TAKE]. First prize Nicholas Grogan,
Who’s afraid of population growth?
From our UK edition
In ten years’ time, there’s a good chance that the main concern in the western world will be the threat of population collapse. Fertility rates are falling everywhere and no government has found a way of reversing the trend. Plenty have tried. South Korea has so far spent $200 billion on tax breaks and lowering
Portrait of the week: vapes banned, Sunak fasts and royals leave hospital
From our UK edition
Home Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, the Foreign Secretary, set off on his fourth visit to the Middle East after saying: ‘We – with allies – will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations.’ The Democratic Unionist party agreed to return to the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland,
Wednesday
Carjacking spirals out of control in the capital
Plus: GOP advances Mayorkas impeachment
The Pool
From our UK edition
The chief leaf man rises early. A breeze in the banyan tree. The water laps. Skink lizard on the prowl. Perfection. Blue. Perfection. No leaves on the water. Miles Davis –his ghost – becoming the banyan tree. Chief leaf man sees a leaf in the corner of the pool and shouts in Vietnamese. Leaf man
Monday
Senator Lankford defends his immigration deal
Plus: Ilhan Omar’s Somali speech & Biden hits the campaign trail
Friday
Is the RNC about to back Trump?
Plus: Pro-Palestine White House staff protest ‘morale-boosting’ party
Thursday
Letters: Jesus was a wine connoisseur
From our UK edition
Benefits of abstinence Sir: In last week’s Spectator, I turned to the cover piece ‘Dry Britain’ first because I stopped drinking alcohol last January. However, contrary to the demographic expectations of your article, I am a not-young 58-year-old. My abstinence is not based on a moral position, nor fear of an appearance on TikTok, but
Could Nikki Haley become the first female US president?
From our UK edition
Madame president If Donald Trump stumbles before election day, could Nikki Haley end up becoming the first female US president? Hillary Clinton failed as the first female presidential candidate in 2016, but she wasn’t the first to stand on a presidential ticket: that honour belongs to the now-forgotten Geraldine A. Ferraro, who was picked by
2635: Brilliant – solution
From our UK edition
GREAT can, and often must, precede all the unclued entries. First prize Roslyn Shapland, Ilkeston, Derbys Runners-up Roger Cairns, Chalfont Heights, Bucks; Trevor Burford-Reade, Harrow
Portrait of the week: Sturgeon’s missing WhatsApps and Trump’s latest victory
From our UK edition
Home Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, told the House of Commons that, in taking part in a second American air attack on Houthi positions near Sanaa, Britain had ‘acted in line with international law, in self defence, and in response to an immediate threat’. This time the leader of the opposition had not been informed
Why won’t Europe defend its own interests?
From our UK edition
The US and Britain have joined forces to strike Houthi rebels who have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea. But where is the rest of Europe when it comes to defending its own interests? The Netherlands has provided some logistic support – along with Australia, Bahrain and Canada – but European countries have
Wednesday
Trump’s giant leap toward the GOP nomination
Plus: Texas secessionists ‘more emboldened than ever’
Monday
On the ground at the New Hampshire primary
Plus: A House committee shake-up
Friday
The House GOP’s circular firing squad
Plus: Is Michelle Obama running for president?
Thursday
Christmas crossword solution: the winners
From our UK edition
The first prize of £100, three prizes of £25 and six further prizes of The Dictionary People by Sarah Ogilvie (Vintage) go to the following. In addition, the first four winners will each be sent a bottle of champagne. First prize Jennifer Church, Oxford Runners-up Greg Watson, Great Chesterford, Saffron Walden; Jill Briggs, London W14 ; L.J.
Letters: how to pardon the postmasters en masse
From our UK edition
Delaying justice Sir: Charles Moore argued (Notes, 13 January) that sub-postmasters in the Post Office/Horizon scandal should not be pardoned ‘en masse’, but rather that each case should be treated individually. He gives two reasons: the possible future risks associated with precedent and because each claim, being different, merits separate consideration. Theoretically, he may well