In her first state of the union address as president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen called out hatred and pledged to build “a union of equality”. While European institutions have been at the forefront of fighting hate crime and discrimination in and outside of the EU, memberContinue Reading
Writing letters allowed the puritan community spread across England, Holland and the US feel a lot smaller continue practices that were important to their worship. Scisetti Alfio/Shutterstock Those who emigrated on the Mayflower in 1620 seeking religious liberty might not have realised the challenges that lay ahead of them. RoaringContinue Reading
The Indian Premier League (IPL), a franchise Twenty20 cricket tournament in which players from around the world compete in eight different teams, was postponed in March because of coronavirus. After months of uncertainty, it will now take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) instead of India, with the firstContinue Reading
After an election where he appeared to win 80% of the vote, Alexander Lukashenko should be resting easily in Minsk, looking forward to his sixth term as the president of Belarus. In happier times, Lukashenko performed such mundane duties as harvesting potatoes, inspecting tractors, and teasing Russian president, Vladimir Putin,Continue Reading
The Queen meets her representative in Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason, at Windsor Castle. Steve Parsons/PA Archive “If you want a republic, a referendum is a risky option, sir,” I told Ralph Everard Gonsalves, the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a small Caribbean state ahead of a referendumContinue Reading
One of my earliest memories is of violence and death. It happened in Harare in 1984 when I was about seven years old. I was supposed to meet a friend to play at a dump site together. He got there before me and started playing with what turned out toContinue Reading
A Moroccan UN peacekeeper in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo helps raise awareness about COVID-19. MONUSCO Photos/Flickr, CC BY-SA As the world’s leaders and their diplomats prepare to meet for the 75th session of the UN general assembly, much of the discussion will be virtual – and dominated byContinue Reading
Shutterstock Sharia councils across the UK could be facing a potentially significant rise in their workload as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and many don’t have the resources to cope. The predicted rise in divorce rates and reported increase in cases of domestic violence associated with lockdown measures willContinue Reading
Bad food: it's addictive and cheaper. Ekaterina Markelova/Shutterstock Under some estimates, airplane emissions could be down by almost 40% in 2020 because of COVID-19 lockdowns. We’ve been told not to fly so much for years by campaigners, researchers, even governments – that it’s our responsibility to reduce carbon emissions. UntilContinue Reading
After the end of the war, millions of servicemen and women needed a job. Coxy58/Shutterstock The present government’s struggle to get Britain back to work amid the pandemic looks a little less daunting when compared to the challenge that faced its predecessor in 1945. In her fine account of theContinue Reading
