Out now: the September edition of The Spectator World
Featuring Freddy Gray, Daniel McCarthy, Andrew Bacevich, Paul Wood, Robert D. Kaplan, Kelley Beaucar Vlahos and more
The Spectator
Wednesday
Thursday
Kabul airport rocked by Isis bomb attacks
From our UK edition
At least 60 people are feared dead from two explosions near Kabul Airport, in what appears to be a sophisticated bombing campaign and suicide attack carried out by Islamic State. Two explosions took place around Abbey Gate near Kabul airport – where US and UK forces have been stationed – with the second blast near or at the Baron Hotel. Twelve US
Freedom to protest is not freedom to cause chaos
From our UK edition
The concept of normality has been so disrupted over the past 18 months that the Extinction Rebellion protests — usually designed to stop people getting to work — are unlikely to have as much of an impact as they did. Even so, businesses which are trying to recover from the pandemic find themselves once again
Letters: the West has failed Afghanistan
From our UK edition
The blame game Sir: Like many who served in Afghanistan, I have watched with growing dismay the recent events unfolding in Kabul (‘Mission unaccomplished’, 21 August). I have also listened with growing frustration to the grand speeches of politicians, pointing fingers while distancing themselves from this tragic debacle. David Galula, the French military scholar well
Portrait of the week: the chaotic evacuation from Kabul
From our UK edition
Home At the virtual G7 emergency summit that he was chairing, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, urged President Joe Biden of the United States to prolong the evacuation from Kabul of Nato forces, nationals and dependants beyond 31 August. But the Taliban said no. Britain took 8,600 people out of Afghanistan in ten days, but
Is Brexit really to blame for the shortage of lorry drivers?
From our UK edition
Birth of the Paralympics While Athens can claim to be the home city of the Olympic Games, the Paralympics can be traced to Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, where, on the day of the opening ceremony of the 1948 London Olympics, neuroscientist Sir Ludwig Guttmann — a German-Jewish émigré — held an archery competition for 16 of
Wednesday
2518: Make a run for it? – solution
From our UK edition
As suggested by 11A, other unclued lights were all anagrams of ducks: 12A drake; 16A teal; 28A redhead; 31A smew; 39A widgeon; 40A poker; 10D scoter; 20D shoveller. First prize Tom Shaw, Clevedon, Somerset Runners-up Sebastian Robinson, Glasgow, John Pugh, Ely, Cardiff
Thursday
It’s time to end furlough – and let the British economy recover
From our UK edition
At the start of this year, Britain looked as if it would be the first major country to vaccinate its way out of lockdown. Kate Bingham and her team had secured Britain a supply of effective jabs delivered at the fastest rate in Europe. This opportunity was then squandered as the government was swayed by
Letters: the problem with Net Zero
From our UK edition
Zero balance Sir: James Kirkup (‘In defence of net zero’, 14 August) highlights the falling cost of solar and wind energy. But he fails to mention that on some winter days, the associated capacity totals only around 1 to 10 per cent of UK maximum demand. Adding more solar and wind generation will not change
2517: Final line-up – solution
From our UK edition
The unclued lights are the eleven England footballers who LINED UP at the kick-off of the Euro FINAL on 11 July. The shaded squares from top to bottom reveal the manager, GARETH SOUTHGATE. First prize James Dowson, Throwley, Kent Runners-up Steve Reszetniak, Margate, Kent; Helen Walton, Romsey, Hampshire
Portrait of the week: the Taliban take Afghanistan
From our UK edition
Home Parliament was recalled after the rapid fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, returned from a foreign holiday on Sunday. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, declared as Kabul fell: ‘We don’t want anybody bilaterally recognising the Taliban.’ But Mr Raab said that Britain recognised states, not governments. Britain sent an
Where did the Taliban come from?
From our UK edition
Student takeover Where did the Taliban come from? — The word ‘Taliban’ means simply ‘students’ in Pashtun. They were originally a group of 50 students from the Sang-i-Hisar madrassa in Kandahar, led by Mohammed Omar, and committed to the overthrow of the warlords who were running Afghanistan in the wake of the Soviet withdrawal in
Thursday
Castello Banfi zoom tasting.
From our UK edition
Vondeling zoom tasting
From our UK edition
Who cut more coal: Thatcher or Wilson?
From our UK edition
Woolly thinking There were protests in Whitehall to save Geronimo, an alpaca due to be put down after testing positive for tuberculosis. How many alpacas are there in Britain? — The British Alpaca Society claims to have 1,500 members who between them own 45,000 alpacas. — The society’s annual show can attract as many as
Letters: Why aren’t Italians fighting for their liberty?
From our UK edition
Wage concern Sir: Martin Vander Weyer’s call for higher wages to end the shortage of British HGV drivers (‘Your country needs you at the wheel of a lorry’, 7 August) should be extended to other hard-pressed economic areas which have lost cheap labour from the poorer EU countries. For far too long, farming, hospitality, construction,
Portrait of the week: Cameron’s cash, A-grades abound and Tower Bridge won’t budge
From our UK edition
Home With less frightening domestic data on the coronavirus pandemic to ponder, subjects such as the rivalry between Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, and Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, found time for discussion. The seven-day average of coronavirus cases detected by tests remained below 30,000. In the seven days up to the beginning
Working from home is a decision for businesses, not government
From our UK edition
After seizing so much power during the pandemic, Boris Johnson’s government is having trouble working out where its remit now ends. The division used to be fairly simple: the state provided public services but left people and companies free to organise their own affairs. Ministers now talk as if they are in charge of everything
2516: Such childish vocabulary – solution
From our UK edition
The unclued lights are the nouns from the opening sentence of The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter. TAFFETA was extracted from (T)ISSUE, TULIP(A), (F)AILS, (F)REEST, EQUIP(E)S and NO(TA)TION. First prize Robert Stephens, Bearsted, Kent Runners-up R. Dickinson, Lewes, East Sussex; Alan Norman, Impington, Cambridge
Thursday
Which industries have the most workers still furloughed?
From our UK edition
Happy valet Police Scotland dropped what they said was a randomly generated codeword — ‘Bunter’ — for the security operation when Boris Johnson visited Scotland. While the name invited comparisons between the PM and Billy Bunter, the overweight public schoolboy in the Greyfriars stories, there is another Bunter in fiction. Mervyn Bunter was the immaculate
