World

Saturday

Niko Vorobyov

Will a political crisis kill off Thailand’s marijuana ban?

In 2022, Thailand became the first nation in Asia to lift its ban on cannabis (or ‘kancha’ in Thai) after decades of prohibition. A massive industry mushroomed practically overnight: you couldn’t turn a street corner in Bangkok without seeing a shopfront with ‘DOCTOR WEED’ in big, green, neon letters. But now, Bangkok’s hazy days might be over. Last week, health minister Somsak Thepsutin signed a decree outlawing any sales without a doctor’s prescription. Since the vast majority of their customers are not epileptic or recovering chemotherapy patients, this means that most pot shops may well go out of business. Somsak even claimed he later plans to re-criminalise ganja outright, harkening back to the

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid

Islam has a rich history of depicting Muhammad

Journalists at LeMan are in fear for their lives after the Turkish satirical magazine published cartoons appearing to depict the Prophet Muhammad. The publication’s editor-in-chief Tuncay Akgun denied that the picture showed Muhammad, but his pleas have fallen on deaf ears. A mob gathered outside the magazine’s office in Istanbul on Monday. In the days since, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the cartoon as a ‘vile provocation’, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the image as an ‘immoral…attack against our Prophet’. But LeMan‘s critics appear to be blind to Islam’s rich tradition of depicting Muhammad. The idea of a categorical ban on drawings of Muhammad appears to be

Friday

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Did Condé Nast shape the world?

35 min listen

In this episode of Americano, Freddy Gray speaks with New York Times writer and debut author Michael Grynbaum about his new book Empire of the Elite, a sweeping history of Condé Nast – the media empire that once dictated American taste, fashion, and celebrity. From Anna Wintour’s carefully staged exit to the vanished world of glossy magazine grandeur, Grynbaum charts how the institution that once crowned cultural royalty is struggling to stay relevant in an era of TikTok stars and Substack columnists. On the podcast they explore the rise of celebrity culture, the influence of British identity on Condé’s editorial direction, and the complex relationship between Donald Trump and the

Michael Evans

Ukraine is going to suffer without US Patriot missiles

Ukraine has survived more than three years of Vladimir Putin’s war because of massive western arms supplies, an appreciation and exploitation of Russian military weaknesses, audacious special forces missions and an extraordinarily successful development of home-grown drones. All these ingredients have helped Kyiv hold off the Russian forces, saved Volodymyr Zelensky from having to capitulate and prevented Putin from marching further into Europe. The decision to suspend some of the weapon deliveries to Ukraine couldn’t have happened at a worst time But the balance of power between Russia and Ukraine, which has shifted over the last three years as Putin turned to hypersonic weaponry to strike at Ukrainian cities, has

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Corbyn is following in the footsteps of the French left

Labour has reacted with scorn to the news that Zarah Sultana has resigned from the party to create a new movement with Jeremy Corbyn. It’s reported that the MP for Coventry South, who has sat as an independent since July 2024, is still discussing the details of the new party with Corbyn – who is yet to comment on the new outfit – but whatever its form, Labour is unfazed. Gurinder Singh Josan, the MP for Smethwick, mocked Sultana for returning to ‘the irrelevance of the far left’. Another MP, David Taylor said it was a case of ‘good riddance’ and suggested any other Labour MP opposed to the proscription of

Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

Will China interfere in choosing the next Dalai Lama?

Tenzin Gyatso, otherwise known as His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, will celebrate his 90th birthday on Sunday. Despite once predicting he would live to 110, the Dalai Lama has perhaps prudently decided that the time is right to discuss his succession. He will host a conference of Lamas and luminaries (including the actor Richard Gere) to discuss the question. China, which annexed Tibet in 1959, causing the then young holy man to flee to India, will be following the preemptive Buddhist conclave with great interest. Whoever the next Dalai lama is will have large sandals to fill and is unlikely to be as charismatic

Thursday

Sam Meadows

Inflation could not end soon enough for Javier Milei

In Wild Tales, one of the most famous Argentine films of recent years, the character played by the actor Ricardo Darin decries the cost of a birthday cake he is buying for his daughter. ‘Is it imported?’ he asks the women behind the counter, a nod towards the eye-wateringly high cost of imported goods in Argentina. At the end of May, in a case of life-imitating-art, Darin inadvertently sparked a row with Javier Milei’s government over the cost of another staple foodstuff: the empanada. Appearing on La Noche de Mirtha, a cozy evening talk show, Ricardo Darin decried their cost, saying a dozen empanadas can now easily cost 48,000 pesos – roughly equivalent

William Moore William Moore

Claws out for Keir, Mamdani’s poisoned apple & are most wedding toasts awful?

46 min listen

This week: one year of Labour – the verdict In the magazine this week Tim Shipman declares his verdict on Keir Starmer’s Labour government as we approach the first anniversary of their election victory. One year on, some of Labour’s most notable policies have been completely changed – from the u-turn over winter fuel allowance to the embarrassing climb-down over welfare this week. Starmer has appeared more confident on the world stage but, for domestic audiences, this is small consolation when the public has perceived little change on the problems that have faced Britain for years. Can Starmer turn it around? Tim joined the podcast alongside the Spectator’s editor Michael

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Meet Zohran Mamdani, the man who will ruin New York

Manhattan The Friday before New York’s Democratic mayoral primary election, the 33-year-old candidate Zohran Mamdani walked the entire length of the city. ‘We’re outside,’ he told his videographer as they began their trek at Inwood Hill Park, ‘because New Yorkers deserve a mayor they can see, they can hear, they can even yell at!’ Like any good millennial, he documented every step. In his collared shirt and sneakers, he greeted and hugged supporters, who chanted his name. The celebrating was premature but justified. Four days later, Mamdani won 43.5 per cent of the vote in the first round, defying almost every pollster’s prediction. Within hours, the self-declared ‘democratic socialist’ was

Paul Wood

The Alawite women taken as sex slaves in Syria

Syria’s Alawite communities are in the grip of a fear that their women and girls could be kidnapped and held as sabaya, or sex slaves. After the Assad dictatorship fell, amid revenge attacks by militias loyal to the country’s new rulers, there were reports of abductions for rape and even of forced marriage. Alawite human rights activists say that some women are still being held prisoner and that kidnappings are still happening. They accuse the Syrian authorities of being unwilling or unable to stop it. The activists say that between 50 and 60 women and girls have been taken. These numbers are small compared with the 1,600 or more civilians

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Welfare rebellions, Glastonbury chants and Lucy Letby arrests

Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, in the face of a rebellion by 120 backbenchers over the welfare bill, undertook to limit to new claimants restrictions on personal independence payments (Pip). Modelling by the Department for Work and Pensions predicted that 150,000 people might be pushed into ‘relative poverty’ by the revised welfare cuts, compared with 250,000 before. Still fearing defeat, the government made more last-minute concessions, postponing changes to Pip rules until after a review by Sir Stephen Timms, the disability minister. The government then won the second reading by 335 to 260, with 49 Labour MPs voting against. It was not clear that the eviscerated bill would

Wednesday

Lee Cohen

The right is splintering

When Elon Musk tweeted his vision for an ‘America Party’, he ignited a firestorm of hope and scepticism. The idea was inspired by his anger for Donald Trump’s $5 trillion spending bill. In the UK, Ben Habib and Rupert Lowe, formerly figures in Reform, have splintered away from Britain’s populist party over splits with Nigel Farage. Musk, Habib and Lowe are all disruptors united by disdain for broken systems, and all face harsh electoral realities. In the US, a hypothetical Musk-led party could split the Republican vote, potentially handing Democrats victories. Habib and Lowe could dilute the populist vote in the UK, most of which is currently with Reform. Musk’s

Limor Simhony Philpott

The war in Gaza is far from over

After nearly 21 months of bitter fighting in Gaza, reports suggest Israel and Hamas may be edging closer to a 60-day ceasefire deal – or at least circling it warily. Talks mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt have resumed, raising hopes of a temporary pause, or even a broader framework for peace. President Trump claimed that Israel has agreed to a deal, although Prime Minister Netanyahu has so far maintained ambiguity. The debate in Israel is unfolding under mounting pressure. Israelis desperately want the remaining hostages released. They are also worried that the war is becoming a slow war of attrition, reminiscent of the 15-year long, costly war against Hezbollah, which bore limited achievements. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also

Ross Clark Ross Clark

Are we really living through a ‘record-breaking’ heatwave?

Thank God for the Guardian website. Without it I would never have known that I have been marching through a killer heatwave. For the past couple of weeks I have been quite happily carrying a 15 kilo rucksack over Alpine passes, walking the GR 5 trail which leads from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean. So, too, have plenty of others. Around Mont Blanc the path was positively crowded, remarkably with Chinese hikers. It has been hot work at times, though there is a good way to counter that: with a ‘chapeau d’eau’ – fill your sunhat with water from a tumbling stream and then put it back on your head.

Lisa Haseldine Lisa Haseldine

Can freedom of movement survive Europe’s migrant crisis?

Freedom of movement in the EU received another nail in its coffin yesterday after Poland became the latest European country to introduce checks along its shared borders with fellow member states. As of next Monday, Warsaw will start enforcing border controls at crossings shared with Germany and Lithuania.  The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that he felt compelled to introduce border checks in particular to ‘reduce the uncontrolled flows of migrants across the Polish-German border to a minimum’. The source of Tusk’s angst is the tougher border regime introduced by new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz less than two months ago. Under the new measures, German border guards have been

Tuesday

Damian Thompson Damian Thompson

It’s time for Pope Leo XIV to make some tough decisions

13 min listen

Nearly everyone loves Robert Prevost, the unassuming baseball fan from Chicago who unexpectedly became Pope Leo XIV this year. But as he prepares to spend his summer in Castel Gandolfo he has some difficult decisions to make. Is he prepared to clear up all the doctrinal confusion created by his predecessor Pope Francis? And will he allow liberal bishop to continue to persecute Catholics who prefer the ancient Latin form of Mass?  Damian Thompson gives us his thoughts in advance of Recovering the Sacred, a Spectator event at St Bartholomew-the-Great in the City of London on July 8 featuring debate and sacred music illustrating the recovery of tradition by a

Daniel Thorpe

Turkey’s Prophet Muhammad cartoon row is an ugly sign of the times

Hundreds of Turkish Islamists have attacked a satirical magazine after claiming that it published a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Protestors chanted ‘tooth for tooth, blood for blood, revenge, revenge’ outside the office of LeMan, which denied that the image was of Muhammad. Police quickly intervened, erecting barricades and firing pepper spray. But instead of cracking down further on the Islamists, the Turkish authorities appear to now be targeting the journalists. Four employees of the magazine have been arrested and the chief public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into claims that the cartoon ‘publicly insult(ed) religious values’. Four employees of the magazine have been arrested I was in the

Michael Evans

Trump could bomb Iran again

President Trump has already warned Tehran that he’ll be back if Iran tries to revive and advance its nuclear programme, following the strikes by B-2 stealth bombers. Judging by the comments of the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Trump may find himself with this dilemma sooner than he thinks. Iran could return to enriching uranium in ‘a matter of months’, according to Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA’s director-general, in an interview with CBS News at the weekend. However, a number of questions need to be asked before the B-2s take off again from their Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri.  Trump hopes that the combination of twelve days

Monday

Lukas Degutis

Woolworths cancels The Spectator

The Spectator has thousands of readers in South Africa, many of whom get their weekly magazine from Woolworths, the country’s upmarket retailer. Not any longer. Woolworths has taken the bizarre decision to stop selling The Spectator. The apparent trigger? Gareth Roberts’s ‘End of the rainbow’ cover story. Does Woolworths really think its shoppers can’t cope with encountering such an image on their weekly grocery shop? The issue featuring that article hit newsstands at the end of May, on the eve of Pride month – just as Woolworths launched its own storewide rainbow campaign. It seems that Roberts’s piece, in which he argues that Pride’s fall can’t come soon enough, prompted a review