Politics (Page 529)

Russia is using its dominance of the European oil and gas market, where it accounts for 40% of EU gas consumption, to attempt to reduce support for Ukraine. To ramp up that pressure ahead of the winter, Russia has closed off the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany from AugustContinue Reading

Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in the Kherson region on August 29, the success of which would have major military, political and symbolic consequences. This move has been made possible by Ukraine’s recent maritime successes that have reduced Russia’s ability to control the southern coast of Ukraine. Six months after RussiaContinue Reading

Thanks to the final Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who has died aged 91, a disarmament treaty has denied Vladimir Putin thousands more missiles which he could have ordered to be used against Ukraine. Russian forces attacking Ukraine have not been able to use land-based missiles with ranges of between 500kmContinue Reading

h No other person but the final leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev – who has died aged 91 – could bring to life the eternal debate on the role of the individual in history. Does real change happen because of impersonal structural factors, or because of individual choiceContinue Reading

Mikhail Gorbachev was a voice of sanity in a crazy cold war world, and his death marks the end of a particular era in 20th century history. During his time as leader of the Soviet Union (1985-1991), Gorbachev brought about enormous change in Russian politics and society, in international relations,Continue Reading

Over the last decade, the number of countries considered to be liberal democracies has contracted from 41 to 32, back to the same level as in 1989. In the same period, 87 other countries were labelled as closed autocracies or elected autocracies. A 2021 survey by the Economist Intelligence UnitContinue Reading

Clicksbox / Shutterstock Liz Truss, who is likely to be prime minister next week, has indicated that she may not appoint an ethics adviser. She said she has “always acted with integrity”, so there is no need for an official to advise her. As with many other aspects of BritishContinue Reading

A motorcyclist is in serious condition following a road traffic collision in Co Offaly on Tuesday. The collision occurred in Shannonbridge at about 3.45pm. A male motorcyclist, in his 20s, was injured when a collision occurred with a vehicle. He was airlifted to University College Hospital, Galway where he remainsContinue Reading