PMQs review: Keir Starmer actually makes a good joke shock
It has taken 3,646 days since he became an MP, but Keir Starmer today made an actual funny joke at Prime Minister’s Questions
The slow death of local news
Proper reporting is fading out as papers shrink or fold. Who will hold the powerful to account?
Trump’s failures behind the curtain
Donald Trump swore he would face down the world – then blinked first. His aura is damaged for ever
The great Trump meltdown
Is it too much to hope that, eventually, Trump’s constant lying and backtracking will be enough to bring down his administration?
How Merz can build his coalition
Scholz’s successor will exceed expectations – but only as the bar for the chancellor-designate has been set so low
Argentina’s lithium wars
President Milei is selling out his own country and its indigenous people along with it
Brexit is a killer
The diagnosis for cancer patients and researchers has got considerably worse since we left the EU. Does the government have the courage to act?
What the hell happened to Neil Oliver?
One minute he was the king of cosy Sunday night TV, the next he was on GB News ranting about Covid-creating elites and turbo cancer. What went wrong?
Goodbye Mr Globalism
Klaus Schwab, the man who founded the Davos summit, had a vision for the world. But things haven’t turned out the way he wanted
Letters: After that ruling, let’s restore respect
Most of us are happy to live and let live, but objected to being told that we were bigots, transphobes or Nazis
Lie of the week: Trump and Columbus Day
Tim Bradford’s Cartoon: Donald Trump’s guide to clothes
Inside the minds of extremists
The media often describes terrorists as manifestations of evil, or as zombie-like products of indoctrination, but we urgently need a better account than that
Should Labour copy Carney’s Trump strategy?
Despite the Canadian PM’s stunning win, it does not follow that being tough with the US will be good for Starmer or Britain
The unwanted return of Nick Clegg
The former deputy PM wants you to listen to his big ideas about the EU. But does anyone care?
Welcome home to Gilead
In a world reordered by Trump, The Handmaid’s Tale is now more relevant than Nineteen Eighty-Four
We can’t trust Trump, so prioritising an EU trade deal is a no-brainer
A massive 46% of our exports and imports are via Europe – so why not make that easier?
The murder of Virginia Giuffre
Society fails survivors of child sexual exploitation over and over
Meeting fascists in the graveyard
Spain is still mourning its Civil War dead. But not everyone sees the nation’s history in quite the same way
Gen Z’s problems are all our fault
To understand why they are finding it so difficult to become adults, we need to look at where we all went wrong
Who makes the Pope’s coffin?
Deep inside the Vatican, in a highly secret location, a group of carpenters were tasked with creating a very special casket
The war against youth mobility is embarrassing
Farage and Badenoch are making fools of themselves over a completely benign scheme
Can Starmer sell Britain on the Brexit reset summit deal?
Will a focus on cheaper food and energy be enough to drown out complaints about sovereignty and fishing rights – especially when the PM struggles to communicate?
Steve Witkoff, the world’s worst diplomat
He is a life-long property developer. So how the hell did he end up as America’s top international negotiator, on everything from Ukraine to the Iran nuclear deal?
Yes, the UK-EU defence pact risk is about fish
The UK and EU are keen on a defence and security pact, but there is a catch – fish. Tensions over who controls Europe’s waters go back hundreds of years
PMQs: Shock as Badenoch achieves the unthinkable
The leader of the Conservative Party today managed a score draw against the prime minister at their weekly confrontation. Did Parliament swoon in admiration? Not quite
Facebook’s free speech battle
The oversight board Mark Zuckerberg set up has criticised him, and ruled that anti-Muslim content should be removed. Will he now silence them?
Letters: It will take real Labour to beat Reform
The party must act: a wealth tax, rejoin the EU, bring in proportional representation. In other words, start behaving like a Labour government
The fall of Saigon, 50 years on
Half a century ago, a humiliated America scrambled out of a losing war. But parallels with Ukraine show little has changed
How populism gives youth wings
Bitter at the old politics, young Germans saw the far-right AfD as a revitalising tonic. How can the left get that taste out of their mouths?
Why Tory donors are kebabbing Badenoch
With the local elections just days away, the Conservatives simply do not look like a promising investment
Britain needs a new national story
This could be the only thing that could unite a nation divided on all fronts
Why you should visit Heligoland
Eighty years ago, the island was nearly wiped off the map. Today it relies on wind-farm crews more than tourists
Bolivia, where a former president is on the run
Ever since his exile in 2019, Evo Morales has been lining up a return to power and now he’s summoned his supporters
The downside of living the Italian dream
Expats must learn that smaller rural Italian communities run on gossip
Who will blink in Birmingham’s battle over waste?
Councillors can no longer escape the mess and workers seem intent on drawing this out. Meanwhile, the city is paying the price
The last man to die in World War Two
As the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two approaches, Leipzig’s Capa House offers an urgent reminder about the origins of fascism
Lie of the week: Lee Anderson on housing for ‘illegal migrants’
Why Trump wants to fire America’s No.1 banker
If the president manages to oust Jay Powell, head of the US central bank, the results for the US and the global economy could be disastrous
Tim Bradford’s Cartoon: Does the UK need ‘Trussbook’?
The Iranian execution machine
More people are put to death in Iran than anywhere else on earth. Around the world, the protests are beginning
Donald Trump and the power of hoaxes
Recipients of a genuine email from the Trump government were convinced it was a fake. Others believe a 1960s spoof conspiracy is real
A very British victory for women
The fundamental error in the case that led to the Supreme Court ruling was one of wilful blindness: the refusal of trans rights activists to acknowledge that there were two vulnerable groups involved in this controversy
Farage’s lucky streak won’t last
Nigel Farage’s Reform are set for an election breakthrough on May 1. But the seeds of the fledgling party’s downfall are in its leader’s personality
Why Mark Carney is one of the luckiest politicians alive
It could well be that just days apart Burnley get promoted back to the Premier League and Carney, the first Canadian prime minister ever to have visited Turf Moor, wins the election
Europe’s explosive history with the bomb
Britain and France both have atomic weapons. Now that the US is no longer a reliable ally, how should Europe deploy its nuclear deterrent?
The end of the dollar
The greenback is the global reserve currency, but its preeminent position is not guaranteed. Could it finally be knocked off its perch – and if so, what could take its place?
The seven deadly sins of cautious Labour
On the EU, borrowing and more, Keir Starmer’s defensive approach is holding the party – and Britain – back
Starmer and the left’s “Hard Labour” problem
A column by the former New Statesman editor was meant to be a manifesto for a new, macho left. Instead, it draws attention to the government’s biggest shortcoming
Farage the farmers’ friend wants to sell them out – again
Reform’s leader joined the tractor protests but backs a US trade deal that would harm UK agriculture
Douglas Murray: shallow book, narrow mind
Reducing the complex history of Israel and Palestine to a battle of good vs evil is wilfully misleading. No wonder Trump has endorsed it
New York watches Trump crash the world
It was hard to find anyone who had a good word to say about the president in New York. The tariffs have made that impossible
Starmer needs to tell Vance “no deal”
A trade deal between Britain and the US government would be a disaster for Britain and distance us from our real friends
Trump’s dictatorship will silence the truth
The president has Voice of America, a US version of the World Service, in his sights. But the motivations for his war on journalism go far beyond cost-cutting and anti-woke
How to save the internet
Have you noticed how the internet has just got a whole lot worse? It’s time to do something about it
Sorry Brexiteers, the Trump bonus was a joke
The Brexiteers exploded with delight over what they thought was a vindication of our decision to leave the EU. Then it all fell to pieces
Keir Starmer: the global right’s new menace
He’s the most boring prime minister we’ve had in decades – so why does the US media seem to hate Keir Starmer so much?
When Switzerland gave Trump the finger
The Swiss are famously moderate – but when an image from a Basel carnival went viral, it led to a period of national self-examination
Trump’s policies are already killing people
The withdrawal of USAID has ended the system of Aids treatment and research in the most affected country on earth
The sweet sound of ‘Brexit betrayal’
The Brexit reset deal will fix some of the mess made by Boris Johnson and Lord Frost. No wonder the latter is already moaning about it
Trump’s tactics to stitch up the market won’t work
Who knew about his plans to reverse his tariff policy, and who benefitted?
Britain must not sell out Online Safety for tariff scraps
The idea that digital regulation is an attack on free speech is a myth, largely perpetuated by allies of big tech
Why we should all game-shame Elon Musk
Young men used to worship Trump’s buddy – now they are rinsing him while he struggles on a video game livestream
Musk is right about tariff moron Navarro
Trump’s dangerous adviser believes in an economic theory that was disproved 200 years ago
We must grow up about Brexit to defend Europe
Fears from Brexiteers and in government are the last stumbling blocks for a reset deal that keeps the continent safe and boosts trade
Vive la France, à bas JD Vance!
If Trump and his vice-president have a genius for anything, it’s global media dominance
Merz’s honeymoon is over
Thanks to the SPD, expectations of the soon-to-be chancellor are now so low he can hardly fail to impress once in office
Everyone hates Elon
The petulant far right billionaire rips up jobs, risks lives, makes Nazi salutes and taunts anyone who disagrees – then complains
The bridge at the end of Europe
Across the river from Russia, the Estonian city of Narva is part of the European Union. But Vladimir Putin is watching and waiting
Letters: A reunion would protect us from bullying
The UK needs to stop trying to do a deal with Trump, move away from the US, and rejoin the European Union
Misan Harriman: A lens on a world in protest
The photographer’s images command attention – whether capturing the fiery passion of an activist rallying a crowd or the powerful, expressive gaze of a lone protester
Lie of the week: Dan Wootton on Keir Starmer and Adolescence
Sweat, the play Donald Trump should watch
How did Trump secure a second term? Why has he started a tariff war? The 2017 winner of the Pulitzer prize for drama offers an explanation
Attacked by the regime’s hooligans
Serbia has seen five months of student protest and now the country is at breaking point
How America’s saunas were a hot spot for prudery
Nothing could prepare me for the experience of going to a gym sauna in the US
When Istanbul’s cafes fell silent
The opposition in Turkey has been reluctant to use protests as a tool against Erdoğan. But the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, has changed everything
Greenland knows what it wants, and it’s not JD Vance
If the vice-president wishes to return to the country, he may want to be better prepared
Trump’s tariff disaster has wrecked Reform
MAGA’s trade war has abruptly silenced Farage and other useful idiots who once echoed his agenda
Was Trump’s market carnage the plan all along?
Global finance’s hopes that the White House would drop tariffs led to them jumping on a piece of fake news
Tim Bradford’s cartoon: What will the amazing future be like?
Will flattery get us anywhere with Trump?
Keir Starmer’s chumminess towards Trump has protected the UK from the worst of his tariff madness. But it also risks a rift with the EU
The Beatles vs Andrew Tate
One of the Beatles’ great gifts was to reconcile masculinity with emotional intelligence
The revenge of the Spanish economy
Spain has made a spectacular economic recovery since the last economic crash– but Spaniards are still struggling and fear Trump’s tariffs might trigger another disaster
Two men trying to lead the Middle East to peace
An Israeli and a Palestinian are turning their grief into a call for an end to violence. Is it pointless?
Were Trump’s idiotic tariffs really generated by AI?
No complex calculations have gone into these import taxes – just reckless back-of-an-envelope stuff
Liberation Day was Trump’s Liz Truss moment
The US president has relentlessly attacked the institutions of American life. But there is one thing that he cannot defeat, because if it falls, it will take him – and the US – down with it
Here comes the Trump Slump
The only answer for Britain is to build closer ties with our single biggest trading partner – and that is not the US
No, Trump’s tariffs don’t prove a Brexit win
The GDP hit from being out of the EU is far worse than the one we’re facing from the White House
Trump’s tariffs – America has used this weapon before
The last time the US imposed blanket tariffs it led to global economic and political disaster. This time could be just as bad. How can the rest of the world defend itself?
The border with Europe just got a little harder
A new Brexit rule has just come into force, making it even harder for people from the EU to enter Britain. Right now that’s the last thing we need
Why do we all feel so much poorer?
Wages may be showing signs of improvement, but on its own that won’t solve the problem
PMQs, haunted by the political ghost of David Cameron
The former PM is apparently training Kemi Badenoch for her weekly clash with Keir Starmer. As with everything Cameron has attempted in life, it’s not turning out very well
Tracey Emin: ‘Brexit was hideous and heinous’
The acclaimed artist takes Florence in her first institutional solo show in Italy
Letters: Labour are showing a complete lack of empathy
The party has no clear vision or strategy, and appears to take delight in announcing further cuts that will adversely affect peoples’ lives
The poster artists firing back at Musk and Trump
An exhibition of artworks telling the terrifying story of MAGA and Trump’s second coming has made it on to the streets of London in poster form
Why Big Tech has never been weaker
The US giants have become sprawling conglomerates, precisely the kind of fat, complacent companies they once set out to disrupt
The cancer vaccines under threat from MAGA
Researchers have developed a promising vaccine for pancreatic cancer, but its future is uncertain due to Robert F Kennedy Jr
Could Megyn Kelly become president?
JD Vance and Pete Hegseth are both desperate to succeed Trump in the White House. But a star podcaster could beat them to it
The chancellor’s dodgy forecasts
Rachel Reeves was insistent that she would only have one major budget-type event every year but circumstances have forced her to abandon that pledge