Middle East
The Riyadh Comedy Festival is a bad joke
Comedians should not agree not to insult the powerful
Israel should not freeze out Jerusalem’s Christians
Politicians must encourage local authorities to back away from the churches
We must not forget Armenia
An ancient civilisation is at risk of being wiped off the map
The nihilism of Middle Eastern immigrants
Cut off from family, nation and purpose, many incomers aren’t actually happy in Europe
A conservative case for Palestine
Conservatives should sympathise with the right of Palestinians to a homeland
The hidden depths of Saudi soft power
The Saudis are taking culture more seriously than one might think
Boycotting Afghanistan’s cricket team would do nothing for women
A cultural boycott would have no impact on the Taliban
Will Syria’s Christians really be safe under HTS?
The evidence, alas, gives little cause for optimism
Their work here is done
British politicians are very proud of their role in Syria, whatever it was
Turkey must be at the centre of Donald Trump’s policy for the Middle East
It would be pure folly to alienate such an important regional power
Most Read
The Book of JO’B
James O’Brien’s aggressive incuriosity is becoming ever more embattled as his worldview crumbles
The rise and fall of Nicola Sturgeon
The former SNP leader squandered her talents in a classic tale of hubris
Losing control of the narrative
The British establishment no longer sets the terms of public debate over migration
Fear and fury in Belfast
Violence spiralled out of control in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of a shocking crime
The screaming spires
Oxford University must clarify where it stands on academic freedom
The intractable problems pulling modern Britain apart
When does upholding free speech become an act of self-sabotage?
Are Reform the new Greens?
As the Green Party loses interest in rural matters, Richard Negus considers the claim that British agriculture and the countryside have a new champion
Making the case for liberalism
Wooldridge’s polemic draws together the disparate traditions of liberal thought and action
The global risks of the AI illusion
What if AI turns out to be a lot less profitable than we have been told?
The man who knew too little
Faced with Mandelson, Starmer offers a bold defence: he didn’t know, and that’s what makes him blameless
Europe’s French nuclear shield?
With the NATO alliance under threat, will
Europe really trust President Macron’s
offer of a pan-EU nuclear deterrent?
The artist formerly known as Nero
The life and death of Rome’s last Julio-Claudian emperor revealed every Roman fear about the dangers of one-man rule
Contra Kemi
Is Kemi Badenoch a principled opponent of identity politics or an anti-woke opportunist?
Prosthetic, pathetic, human
Angela de la Cruz’s playful and ghastly art touches a raw nerve
How to build a Europe of the peripheries
Resetting Britain’s relations with the EU should not mean being beholden to France and Germany
Light my fire
A perfect spy requires a spark for his cigarette