Current affairs

The aim of this article is to reflect on events that shocked unshockable Belfast this week as we approach mid-June.  It leans on conversations I had with a relative and also with a couple of close friends, all three chats to do with attitudes to migration. 1.  Earlier in the week, my niece in Alberta sent me a message to say that the (now infamous) stabbing incident in north Belfast was a main story on Canada's television news.  I explained that likewise here in the UK, it was the top story on the BBC's evening news programmes.   I replied to her saying that t he violence here last night was disgraceful.  I admitted that coverage of the attack and of the aftermath on immigrants reduced me to tears.... To keep her updated, I included extracts of an important statement from the family of the injured victim:-       “right now, our only priority is being at his bedside and helping him recover.   ​We want to say a profound thank you...

Introduction I've just read the latest best selling novel  "Precipice"  written by Robert Harris.  It's all about the Premiership of Herbert Asquith and his extra-marital relationship that involved the sharing of confidential papers in the First World War.   More about Harris's exciting new page-turner of a paperback later.   Before that, suffice it for now to say that his works cover a wide variety of topics using a specialism wherein he seamlessly mixes fiction with fact across different eras.   Given the author's meticulous research, the thought occurs that his story-telling may be able to shed light on current affairs of state.  Could there be lessons to apply from Harris's writing to contemporary world events?  People here in western Europe are increasingly concerned about the American administration's apparently confrontational and undiplomatic attitude to its allies.  The inclination of the "leader of the free world" to ...

Introduction " Current affairs" can mean something else other than today's attention-grabbing and often calamitous world events.   When placing slight emphasis on the noun, this alternative sense can stir images of exploitation and abuse.  In that eventuality, it also replaces politics and wars as the current news headlines - at least across the U.K.    Reputation There is substantial debate currently about the impact of Prince Andrew's behaviour on the reputation of the Royal Family.  The Prince is, not least, the brother of the King himself.  Whatever is happening on the global stage, from climate change to wars and famine, both the place and reputation of the British Monarchy do matter.  In September 2022 King Charles III became not only the Head of State in the UK, but he is also Head of the Commonwealth comprising 56 countries, and he is Head of State in 14 of its independent nations (1).  His  responsililities go further to include...

Defence spending How can the U.K. afford to double its spending on "defence (1)" - fighter jets, military, and nuclear weapons - as America retreats from its role in world affairs (2)? And who could have forseen a Labour Government facing policy-driven opposition  from its own MPs  over plans to cut the "balooning" welfare spending bill (3)? In signing the Hague Declaration earlier in the same week, the Prime Minister said that the UK would buy American-made fighter jets.  This announcement signals the RAF's return to nuclear deterrence for the first time this century.  In so doing, it also raises pressing questions for Government at a time of further pressures on the public purse. Was any such committment about the projected degree of upscaling armaments articulated by the landslide-winning Labour Party in July 2024's General Election to the Westminster Parliament ?  Ambiguous references to Government's first committment of any Party being the security ...

U.K. criticises Israel The Government at Westminster has at long last condemned the war in Gaza as "intolerable."   More particularly, the U.K. Prime Minister declares that he is "horrified" by Israel's decision to escalate its military campaign, that Israel's decision to allow some aid in was "utterly inadequate;" with the Foreign Secretary adding that the situation in Gaza is "abominable."  The conflict in Gaza started after Hamas militants crossed into Israel on 7 Oct 2023 and killed 1200 people and taking another 251 people as hostages.  It has been described as "the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust (1)".  Israel's response has led to an estimated  53,000  or more Palestinians being killed in  consequent  attacks in Gaza, nearly a third of them children according to Gaza's health authorities.   In the aftermath of the U.K's widely heralded ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, one wonder...

The US Presidential Election Now that the dust has settled on the date when England celebrates Bonfire Night and Europe marked  the 35th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's collapse, let's highlight 2024's November 5th as the occasion of America's Presidential election.   For weeks in the run-up to polling day, all of the experts eshewed predictions about the likely winner.  The Presidential race was, by all accounts, too close to call.  The question is - how in the modern age can all of America's psephologists and experienced pundits so badly misjudge their research as Republicans proved them wrong storming to victory with majority control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives.  No need for recounts or for recourse to prolonged legal challenges, and - mercifully, no call to storm the heart of American democracy, the Capitol in Washington DC. Instead emphatic adjectives like momentous, historic and unprecedented appeared in respons...