Britain's imperial legacy is complex and widely disputed but one curious side effect is the number of independent countries that still have the Queen as head of state. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and a bevy of small nations are part of her domain, despite Britain having little or no authority...
The most baffling aspect of the recent all white Oscars nominations was not the lack of ethnic minorities. That's par for the course thanks to the ageing, mostly white and male Academy voters. The really disturbing part was reaction from some online commentators, including journalists, who criticised the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag....
The greatest democracy on earth had a troubled and divisive 2015. Unarmed African-Americans were killed by police with shocking frequency, a leading presidential candidate brought racism and bigotry into the political mainstream and America's influence abroad was further eroded by crises partly of the country's own making. America starts 2016...
Caitlyn Jenner was briefly a saint to the left thanks to her global coming out as a woman. When Bruce became Caitlyn the world became just a little more accepting of transgender people and for that she deserves credit. However, many on the left, especially social justice advocates, have snapped...
Donald Trump likes Katie Hopkins. This is not a world-changing surprise. Trump discovering Hopkins is like two idiots in Nickelback t-shirts meeting each other at a music festival and instantly getting along. You could say they like each other because they agree on almost everything (Trump will probably denounce fat...
THE EU referendum is the most important vote in Britain in a generation. It will influence the UK for the rest of the century. Everything from Scottish secession to peace in Northern Ireland to the international economy are involved. It is a national disgrace that 16 and 17-year-olds will be...
Anti-Muslim rhetoric is reaching dangerous levels on both sides of the Atlantic. US Republican politicians have suggested databases for Muslims, closing mosques, interning Muslims and depriving them of constitutional rights. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims leftists are playing into the hands of a Muslim plot to take over Europe...
Working poor will be Cameron’s legacy Everyone from Labour to the Sun claimed victory when Chancellor George Osborne reversed his plan to scrap tax credits for working families. But as the Independent reported, the poorest in Britain are still getting poorer. The Conservative government’s planned cuts to welfare will see...
By Darragh Roche Sitting in a packed Starbucks across from the Brandenburg Gate a few years ago, a Berlin-based friend pointed out the former Soviet embassy across the street, once the largest in the world. Sipping a frothy cappuccino in a café where the staff spoke English, I didn’t realise we...