markdowe

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Israel’s attack on Iran: A perilous situation

MIDDLE EAST Intro: The recklessness of the Israeli government and the incoherence of US foreign policy deepens the crisis in the Middle East American presidents who believed they could easily restrain Benjamin Netanyahu have quickly learned their lesson. Bill Clinton’s expletive fuelled language after his first meeting with the Israeli prime minister warned the world that even America’s might…

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Strategic Defence Review: New face of Britain’s military

DEFENCE IN a stark assessment, the authors of Britain’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) have said that Britain’s Armed Forces aren’t ready to fight a war against a military with similar capabilities. The report states that our forces are better suited “to a peacetime era” and are “not currently optimised for warfare against a ‘peer’ military state”. The externally-led SDR, written by former…

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Strategic Defence Review: Falls far short of being “war ready”

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Strategic Defence Review: Falls far short of being “war ready”

DEFENCE THE UK GOVERNMENT has unveiled its long-awaited Strategic Defence Review (SDR) with great fanfare. Headed by former NATO chief George Robertson, it has been presented as a “root and branch review” of our military policy, and points the way to “a new era for defence”. How pitiful then that the announcement has been overshadowed by the Defence Secretary quibbling over how much the…

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Decisive action is needed in Gaza if it is to be saved

ISRAEL-GAZA WAR Intro: Palestinians need deeds, not words THE UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher has signalled his fears that thousands of babies are at imminent risk of death in Gaza unless aid reaches them. Inconceivable, is that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, is concerned that foreign politicians could now see too many graphic pictures of Palestinian children in dire need of…

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UK-EU trade deal: a logical step forward

BRITAIN Intro: The agreement made with the European Union will have limited tangible gains, but at least the tone set by the prime minister is a positive one MUCH is being made of Sir Keir Starmer’s deal with the EU, but many things still remain to be worked out. The agreement which was announced in London should be regarded as a staging post rather than a final destination. It was, in effect,…

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Russia-Ukraine talks: a “charade”

UKRAINE CONFLICT IT has taken three years for direct talks to be held between Russia and Ukraine, and it should have been a momentous occasion. Since 2022, Russian war crimes have only deepened the chasm between them. It was Donald Trump who demanded this meeting, but who nonetheless underlined that it was largely a charade telling reporters, “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get…

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Labour’s immigration plan: language not fit for purpose

BRITAIN IMMIGRATION policy is an important plank of any government, and the one led by Sir Keir Starmer is no exception. Laws are required to establish the terms under which migration to the UK is allowed, and to deal with the range of complexities surrounding irregular arrivals. But the decision to publish an immigration white paper (which allows for consultation) a week after Reform UK made…

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The EU must lay down the law on big tech

DIGITAL MARKETS Intro: Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to bully its way to the deregulation of US digital giants. In the interests of EU citizens, these attempts must be resisted HENNA VIRKKUNEN, the European Union’s most senior official on digital policy, has fired a broadside when she said: “We are very committed to our rules when it comes to the digital world”. Such sentiments bring…

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The US administration’s attack on universities is an affront to democracy

AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES IN the authoritarian playbook, enfeebling universities is an early move in the state seizing control. It has been studied eagerly by the likes of Viktor Orbán in Hungary. Authoritarians and one-party states centrally target universities with the aim of restricting dissent. There are instances now, too, where scholars of influential universities in America, such as Yale, are…

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US-Russian bilateral talks on Ukraine: Europe is alarmed

UKRAINE DONALD Trump’s latest attack on Volodymyr Zelensky, and the US administration’s last-minute snub of London peace talks, is the clearest evidence yet that what matters to Mr Trump is not Ukrainian sovereignty and safety, nor the transatlantic alliance, but a deal with Vladimir Putin. The US president says an agreement is close, with Washington recognising annexed Crimea as Russian with…

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Trump’s economic agenda collides with fragile financial systems

FINANCIAL ECONOMY THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) is renowned for its rational level-headedness and is the calmest of all the global institutions. But when these usual and calm ideals are abandoned by technocrats to sound the alarm on the political roots of global financial instability, it’s time to pay close attention. The IMF is warning of a non-negligible risk of a $1tn hit to global…

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Financial deregulation of the City: too risky by far

BRITAIN THE UK Government has launched a consultation about whether it is time to lighten the rules governing alternative asset managers, including private equity and hedge funds, in the belief that doing so will boost growth. That is radical because, in its desire to ensure the City of London remains attractive post-Brexit, the government seems to have forgotten one of the major lessons of the…

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UK-China relations: The Brexit dilemma

BRITAIN-CHINA Intro: Trump’s trade wars have exasperated the Eurosceptic model, which is more outdated than ever WHEN the transatlantic alliance was more functional than now, there was never a united view of China. Beijing has always been perceived as a commercial rival and potential security threat, and a common wariness has existed. For hawks in Washington, however, the idea of an alternative…

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UK-US trade deal: Parliament must vote on any agreement

TRADE DEAL Intro: Abolishing tariffs would be welcome for UK firms, but not at the price of reducing high regulatory standards or a reset with the European Union LOOKED at dispassionately and objectively, a bilateral trade agreement between Britain and the United States is of relatively small economic significance to this country. Even ardent supporters of UK-US relations will find it difficult…

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EU reset: No time for UK passiveness

EUROPEAN REALIGNMENT FANATICS of Britain’s departure from the European Union have struggled to quantify the Brexit dividend and what benefits it brought, but when Donald Trump unveiled his schedule of global tariffs they finally had a number to point towards. It was the difference between the 20% levy imposed on all continental exports and the 10% baseline figure payable on British goods. A…

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Global trade war: America is advancing its own decline

ECONOMIC Intro: China is braced for economic turbulence due to swingeing tariffs. But it sees an opportunity by taking the longer-term view: a decline in US hegemony  THERE can be no winners in Donald Trump’s ferocious trade war that he has unleashed, least of all among consumers and workers. In strongarm tactics, this has become a game of who can bear more pain. And because trade is at the…