Households are facing an unprecedented energy crisis, and the most vulnerable will suffer the most. Solarisys/Shutterstock With UK households facing a dire energy crisis, there has been no shortage of advice from politicians, experts and journalists about how to save energy. Not all of this advice has been good. FormerContinue Reading
When the late historian Sir Ben Pimlott embarked on his 1996 biography, his colleagues expressed surprise that he should consider Queen Elizabeth II worthy of serious study at all. Yet Pimlott’s judgement proved sound and, if few academics have followed his lead, the political role of the monarchy has receivedContinue Reading
JC JBB When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, Britain was just seven years out of the second world war. Rebuilding work was still ongoing, and rationing key products such as sugar, eggs, cheese and meat would continue for another year or so. But the austerity andContinue Reading
The UK’s tech-savvy head of state was queen of a thousand memes.Continue Reading
For his recent book on the role of the British prime minister, contemporary historian Anthony Seldon chose the title: The Impossible Office? Liz Truss will soon find out just how impossible the office can be as she walks across the threshold and into No.10. Her first task, as she takesContinue Reading
Samizdat Online syndicates banned news sites by hosting them on uncensored domains—allowing people to access independent reporting.Continue Reading
Vasin Leenanuruksa / Alamy A ‘network state’ is ideologically aligned but geographically decentralised. The people are spread around the world in clusters of varying size, but their hearts are in one place. In June 2022 Balaji Srinivasan, former chief technology officer of the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange, published an ebook entitledContinue Reading
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed an international proposal for a demilitarised zone around Europe’s biggest nuclear plant, currently occupied by Russia. In a much-anticipated September 6 update, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommended this safety and security zone be put around the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern UkraineContinue Reading
Liz Truss’s cabinet is taking shape, so far with few surprises as the new prime minister names allies to key posts. Much discussion has centred on the diversity of the top team, with Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and Suella Braverman as home secretary. Truss’s first announced appointment is also noteworthy.Continue Reading
Moscow has long used proxy leaders to provide a facade of independent legitimacy for territory it controls and it did so after occupying territory in the east of Ukraine in 2014. Many of the personnel in the militaries of the breakaway Russian-backed states of Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukrainian. TheContinue Reading
