People have been trying to retire Luka Modric for more than six years. It was in the aftermath of the 2018 World Cup that friends first gently began to broach the subject: his contemporaries Mario Mandzukic and Vedran Corluka had called it a day after Croatia’s defeat in the final, and Modric himself knew there … Read more
Two months on from the Tories’ worst election result in its history, none of its prospective leadership candidates inspire confidence in a fast bounce-back. Research by More in Common found that 70% of the public either didn’t know who could win the next election for the Tories, or thought none of them could. James Cleverly, … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Israel’s security agency Shin Bet has published figures suggesting that August saw more rockets fired into Israeli-controlled territory from Lebanon than any other month since the Hamas attack launched on southern Israel on 7 October last year. The Times of Israel … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Royal Mail: we have to change the Universal Service Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services, says the universal service obligation needs to change. Responding to the news that Ofcom is considering its proposal to downgrade second class deliveries, Martin Seidenberg, … Read more
I live on an island. I tend to forget this, but now with the last days of summer still perfect for a swim, I decide to drive an hour out of Berlin to a lake – and I’m instantly reminded of it. The first things I notice: idyllic nature, clean air – and a lot … Read more
It is always a sign that politicians are rattled when they start coming up with ludicrous explanations for ill thought-through decisions that stir up serious opposition. And you don’t get much more ludicrous than Lucy Powell’s claim that the government was forced into emergency spending cuts because of the risk of a run on the … Read more
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived. Just weeks after the Philippines and China struck a deal to try to stop dangerous confrontations at Second Thomas Shoal, a new flashpoint has emerged. Over recent weeks, Manila has accused Chinese personnel of ramming its boats, blasting them with water … Read more
At the end of the final grand slam tournament of her breakthrough 2022 season, Jessica Pegula found herself in a familiar, painful position. She had reached the quarter-finals at three of the four majors that year, but on each occasion she was defeated by the top seed. After another loss to Iga Swiatek at the … Read more
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj’s narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music. The powerful vehicles soon get stuck in the traffic near Kalachakra temple, the place of worship of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. “You can be stuck in this traffic easily … Read more
Love rarely gets the credit it deserves for the advancement of science. Nor, for that matter, does hatred, greed, envy or any other emotion. Instead, this realm of knowledge tends to be idealised as something cold, hard, rational, neutral and objective, dictated by data rather than feelings. The life and work of James Lovelock is … Read more