In 2016 it became clear that liberalism—the belief in open societies, open borders, and free trade—was losing its progressive allure. Populist parties across the globe eked out wins against more liberal rivals, and upcoming elections across Europe could see this pattern continue.
Actress Carrie Fisher died on Dec. 27, days after she suffered a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles. She was 60.
Finns lead the world in smartphone use, and some officials are worried it’s taking a toll on the nation’s children.
Historians of the future will likely ask how and why Donald Trump’s election victory was possible—as well as why so many supposedly clever people really, really didn’t see it coming.
British singer George Michael died today (Dec. 25) at the age of 53, his publicist said.
Almost six months after the UK voted to leave the EU, the terms under which it will do so are still extremely unclear. In an attempt to suss out how Brexit will affect UK-EU trade, members of Britain’s House of Lords have been quizzing key players in the UK’s services industry, whose largest export market is the EU.
Donald Trump has withdrawn his plan to build a 2.8 kilometer (1.7 mile)-long limestone sea wall on his golf course on the west coast of Ireland.
Talk about a golden opportunity.
The Finnish state has become the latest in a series of governments to formally apologize to generations of children who suffered abuse in state-run welfare institutions.
Facebook just gave London a great big “like.” The firm said today (Nov. 21) that it will add 500 new jobs in the UK in 2017, when its new London headquarters opens—doubling the number of its British employees. The company’s Europe chief, Nicola Mendelsohn, said the UK “remains one of the best places to be a tech company.”
Journalists are known to pepper their copy with code words. These are the clichéd metaphors that have become so ingrained, we deploy them without thinking. Interventions are always “last-ditch.” Villages are usually “sleepy.” When is speculation anything other than “fevered”? (One British journalist has gone to the trouble of amassing some of the worst offenders.)
Meetings of China’s Communist Party are about to get rather entertaining. In a bid to restore discipline, the party has issued written guidelines that say all cadres should now greet each other as “comrade.” The trouble is that, having fallen into disuse among the general population, “comrade” is now a common greeting among gay people.
A day after the death of the musical visionary Leonard Cohen, another group of musical visionaries made a brief, bittersweet comeback.
Yesterday (Nov. 9), the world’s press reacted in shock to Donald Trump becoming the 45th president of the United States.
In his victory speech in New York early this morning, president-elect Donald Trump spent 15 minutes reeling off a list of compatriots and colleagues he wanted to thank. The speech contrasted from his usually divisive rhetoric: Trump promised to unify America, and even complimented Hillary Clinton, acknowledging that she ”worked very long and very hard” in her campaign.
After one of the most bitter elections in the country’s history, Donald Trump has been elected the 45th president of the United States.
Britain’s royal family is notoriously press-shy. Rarely do Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Charles or the Queen herself go out of their way to seek publicity, particularly for anything personal.
Polling places have opened on the morning of the fiercest American election in years—and Americans are turning out in droves to cast their ballots, causing long lines.
Lexicographers at dictionary publisher Collins have chosen “Brexit” as the most significant English word of 2016, describing it as the most influential political term for the English language since the Watergate scandal gave birth to a convenient shorthand for wrongdoing.
Europeans seem a little nervous about the idea of Donald Trump in the White House.
A subconscious tick is causing British politicians and TV anchors to replace the term for one of the UK’s most historic political upheavals with everyone’s favorite comfort food.
British English has many distinctive hallmarks: a plethora of “u”s borrowed from old French, a use of “s”s where “z”s are used in American English (realise, instead of realize), colo(u)rful idioms, and a rich history of slang.
There are many reasons to feel despair with the state of the world today. Isolationist politics are rising on both sides of the Atlantic, and seizing on voters’ frustrations. The last year has seen Europe’s refugee crisis hit record levels, and a stream of police killings in the United States. In a matter of weeks, America may elect a president who has boasted of sexually assaulting women.
American folk singer Bob Dylan was awarded today the Nobel Prize for Literature for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”
