Alamy/PA The “Teflon premier” has finally encountered something that may stick: the revival of a word first heard the last time a British Conservative government entered its second decade – but with a twist that’s very much of the age of Boris Johnson. “Sleaze” is squarely associated with the “shortContinue Reading
The HSE’s chief clinical officer has called on the public to wear masks in outdoor congregated settings such as sporting events. Dr Colm Henry also said that people did not have to go out every night just because bars, restaurants and nightclubs were open. Speaking on RTÉ radio, Dr HenryContinue Reading
Richard Ratcliffe’s efforts to secure the release of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from Iran, where she has been detained for over five years for “national security-related” offences, have failed to bear fruit, despite his recent 21-day hunger strike outside the UK Foreign Office. The sticking point, according to many observers,Continue Reading
Stefano Buttafoco / Shutterstock Not so long ago, in a galaxy not so far away… democracy was in danger. Our current political environment is filled with threats to democracy, from the rise of authoritarian populism around the world, to the massive expansion of state power during the COVID-19 pandemic thatContinue Reading
Pupils from a German 'Napola' at Ballenstedt before a football game with a visiting side from an English public school. Author provided In spring 1936, teenage schoolboy – and later war hero – Dick Hargreaves was given the chance to go on an all-expenses-paid exchange trip to Germany. But thisContinue Reading
Artist's impression of HS2 train. HS2 Following leaked reports that the UK government would be scrapping plans for the UK’s long-awaited high-speed rail network to extend to Leeds, transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced in the House of Commons that the eastern leg of HS2 will now reach only fromContinue Reading
Children have suffered during the pandemic. fizkes/Shutterstock During the COVID-19 pandemic children have been the target of dehumanising language and of policy which prioritises the needs of adults over theirs. While we still do not know the long-term effects of COVID-19 on children, research from early in the pandemic suggestedContinue Reading
As winter sets in across Europe, COVID-19 cases are beginning to rise, despite the vast roll-out of mass vaccination programmes earlier this year. Austria’s government has pointed the finger of blame firmly at the unvaccinated, announcing a new lockdown only for those who have not had the jab. Like otherContinue Reading
The recent political scandal in the UK involving Owen Paterson, a Conservative MP who was found to have broken parliamentary standards by repeatedly lobbying the government on behalf of two companies which paid him a large regular monthly fee, presents a classic case of a media scandal. Paterson’s lobbying workContinue Reading
Shutterstock The ability to remain anonymous when commenting online is a double-edged sword. It is valuable because it enables people to speak without fear of social and legal discrimination. But this is also what makes it dangerous. Someone from a repressive religious community can use anonymity to talk about theirContinue Reading
