When, 17 years ago, the British lowered the Union Jack on their last remaining important colony, Hong Kong, Chris Patten, the governor, buried his face in his hands for the entire world to see and feel a most profound sentiment a proud and ambitious politician could experience &m

A Western viewpoint (courtesy of Aubrey Bailey): “Some of our friends support our enemies, and some of our enemies are our friends, and some of our enemies are fighting against our other enemies whom we want to lose, but we don’t want our enemies who are fighting

There is little doubt that Russia broke international law with its takeover of Crimea and the rushed referendum that did not give citizens time to have a deep think on its implications (as they did in Scotland). It is not only observers in the West who say this, but also a good

A couple of days ago, I was on the Moscow metro. At the interchange, I asked two 20-something young women the direction. Then they asked me if I like Russia? I asked them the same question and they said “no”.

Despite Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine and Southern Sudan, the world is a lot more peaceful than it was at the end of the Cold War, and shows no sign of returning to the bad old days when there were some 25 wars going on every year. Now it is down to

Violence should have had its day. Look at its non-achievements: The US/British/French invasions of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. The upheavals of the “Arab Spring”.

In his magisterial book “Europe”, Norman Davies writes: “Europe is a relatively modern idea.

Finally, the seven-year trial of the leaders of the murderous Khmer Rouge leadership of Cambodia is over.

What would the conservative president, Ronald Reagan, have done if the Ukraine debacle had happened on his watch? I suspect he would have made sure it did not devalue relations between the US and Russia. It was not he, nor his vice president, George W.H.