Jonathan Power September 4, 2018 The arrival in Sweden of 163,000 refugees, mainly Syrians, in 2015 – making for a higher proportion of Sweden’s population than almost any other European country – has been used by the far right to drum up broader fears about immigration. A recent spate of shootings, grenade attacks and […]
Jonathan Power August 28, 2018 The evidence that has come out from the UN and NGOs makes clear, without any reservation or ambiguity, that on August 9th dozens of school children on a bus in Yemen were killed by a Saudi Arabian air-strike, and that American supplied weapons had been used, and probably British […]
Jonathan Power August 22, 2018 Everything gets said, nothing gets done. When President Donald Trump met President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last month we were promised all sorts of goodies- progress in reconciliation in Ukraine and Syria, and not least nuclear disarmament. If there is progress behind the scenes it’s not noticeable to the […]
By Jonathan Power August 14, 2018 Two mistakes, committed on President Barack Obama’s watch, were the triggers for the end of the long post-Cold War period of good relations with Russia. They were the attack on Libya by the US, France and the UK and the subsequent killing of its long-time dictator, Muammar Gadhafi. […]
By Jonathan Power August 7, 2018 Recall Shakespeare’s great work of dramatic art, the Merchant of Venice, where Shylock was treated as an unpleasant Jew (with a lovely, self-effacing daughter) who dealt mainly in shady usury. His speech to the court is one of Shakespeare’s most remembered: “Hath not a Jew eyes? / Hath […]
August 1, 2018 Jonathan Power I haven’t played cricket with Imran Khan, the newly elected prime minister of Pakistan, but I did interview him back in 2005 when only a rare foreign journalist was interested in him despite his fame as having been the world’s best cricketer. Now he has won a handsome political victory. […]
Jonathan Power July 24, 2018 I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed in all my years of journalism such an hysterical outpouring against a presidential statement as I’ve seen the last week. President Donald Trump has even been accused of treason by prominent columnists and politicians. There’s barely a voice of dissent in the media. (Maybe […]
Jonathan Power * July 17, 2018 Russian president Vladimir Putin has been in a benign mood after a perfectly organized World Cup which gave Russians and foreigners the rare freedom to mass in the street. In response the world TV audience has looked at Russia with new eyes. Maybe there’s a new Russia coming to […]
By Jonathan Power June 28, 2018 Navel-gazing can sometimes be a good thing. But, as the self-help books and articles advocate, looking at one’s achievements to date to boost one’s morale is always a good step forward before attempting to improve the mind and spirit. Europe’s summit opens on Thursday. With immigration the central […]
By Jonathan Power June 19, 2018 • Give the man a break. Donald Trump found out in Singapore that, as Churchill said, “Jaw-Jaw is better than War-War”. If war can be avoided by a warm, long, very private chat without advisers, with effusive body gestures and promises of a world stage when his opponent, […]