View Apart/Shutterstock The events of the past year have had a devastating impact on the hospitality sector in the UK. At the forefront of lockdown’s sacrifices for many is the closure of an institution that is a cornerstone of british culture – the pub. An estimated 2500 pubs closed duringContinue Reading
Myanmar’s military coup leaders have reportedly put the country’s lawfully elected leaders on trial. It is understood that the proceedings, apparently held in secret and without giving the defendants the benefit of legal representation, could last for up to six months. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s state counsellor and deContinue Reading
Italy loves technocrats. The latest proof is the decision to install Mario Draghi, former governor of the Bank of Italy and former president of the European Central Bank, as prime minister. This followed the resignation of Giuseppe Conte, who lost the support of one of the parties that formed hisContinue Reading
Despite Donald Trump’s seeming lack of interest in the project, a number of his followers around the US have been flirting with the idea of forming a breakaway party of the right to challenge the Republican establishment. Most of these have names which use the word “patriot”. In Florida, formerContinue Reading
A fortnight after Myanmar’s military coup and the momentum of protest is growing. On February 1 2021, Myanmar’s armed forces, officially known as the Tatmadaw, announced on the military-run TV channel that it had taken control of the country, declaring a year-long state of emergency. Earlier that day, several electedContinue Reading
Myanmar’s popular leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in custody since the country’s military seized power in a coup on February 1, has been charged with a new crime: that of violating the country’s National Disaster Management Law. It’s proof, if any were needed, of the extent toContinue Reading
The murder of five students at a farm in Buga, in south-western Colombia, on January 24 highlights the fragility of the 2016 peace deal which brought to an end more than five decades of civil conflict between successive governments and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). January 2021 wasContinue Reading
Shutterstock The scene was set for May 6 2021 to be a historic day for democracy in Wales. It would be the first time that 16 and 17 year olds would be able to vote in an election in UK history. It still might be. Although the pandemic has forcedContinue Reading
Children marvel at the new decimal 50 pence coin, the world's first seven sided coin. PA It’s 50 years since the UK replaced its centuries-old £sd coinage with a new, streamlined decimal currency. The shift away from a currency that divided the pound into 20 shillings, each of which wasContinue Reading
Anna Nahabed/Shutterstock “Mixed race? What’s all this mixed-race nonsense? If you’re not white, you’re black.” So said a legendary black British broadcaster to Sunder Katwala, a mixed-race Briton I interviewed for my new book Biracial Britain, during a conversation they had on identity. Katwala has an Indian father and IrishContinue Reading
